FILM · 1993 · USA
Sliver
35 archived facts 7 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (35)
- #001
While filming a kissing scene, Sharon Stone bit William Baldwin's tongue so hard that he could not speak properly for days afterward.
- #002
During production, a crew was sent to Hawaii to film an active volcano for the opening sequence. The volcano erupted during the flight and the helicopter carrying the crew crashed. No one died, but all the footage was lost. The opening credits sequence in the film references the crystal volcano in Zeke's room.
- #003
Joe Eszterhas's original ending was incomprehensible to test audiences, and an alternative ending had to be quickly devised and shot. Eszterhas created five different endings in three days.
- #004
The script initially required the men to appear fully nude from the front, but William Baldwin changed his mind after the scenes had been shot.
- #005
Sharon Stone signed on for the lead for $2.5 million, a fivefold increase over her Basic Instinct (1992) salary. Combined with her points on the film's gross box office, the total would have been eight times what she earned on Basic Instinct (1992). Because Stone wanted to avoid a situation like the notorious "leg crossing" shot in Basic Instinct (1992) being used without her consent, her contract also gave her approval over any nudity or sex scene. Stone's other condition was that producer Robert Evans could not visit the set during filming.
- #006
Joe Eszterhas's script was changed by the producers during filming. Eszterhas also says he hated the film, especially its final line, "Get a life," which he did not write.
- #007
Ira Levin was reluctant to sell the rights to his book. Among the attempts to film his novels, he had been satisfied only with the film adaptation of Rosemary's Baby (1968). When producer Robert Evans, who had produced Rosemary's Baby, heard this, he sent Levin a copy of Roman Polanski's autobiography with all the passages about Evans saving the film highlighted. The trick worked, and Levin sold the rights to Evans for $250,000.
- #008
Sharon Stone claimed that producer Robert Evans suggested she actually sleep with William Baldwin to improve their on-screen chemistry, and that she was horrified by the suggestion. William Baldwin denied this and claimed that during filming Stone flirted with him constantly and he rejected her. Baldwin also claimed that relations became so strange that the pool sex scene was partly designed so that he and Sharon Stone would not have to look at each other or kiss.
- #009
The original script called for a different ending in which Zeke (William Baldwin) is revealed to be the killer, but it was reshot after it tested poorly with audiences.
- #010
The helicopter crash involving Mike Benson (II), Chris Duddy and pilot Craig was documented in season 2, episode 6 of the series I Shouldn't Be Alive (2005).
- #011
Johnny Depp and Val Kilmer turned down the role of Zeke Hawkins.
- #012
Australia decided to release the "soft" US theatrical version in cinemas. International distributor UIP even printed posters with the lower MA rating that version had received, but at the last minute they decided to release the full uncut version in cinemas. All the printed one-sheet posters (there were thousands) had to have an R-rated sticker placed over the MA rating.
- #013
Shannon Whirry said that she and Kevin Fry, who plays one of the surveilled residents, had to stay naked for more than an hour to film shower scenes because there was no hot water on set and cold water was poured over them. In another scene they are in bed and the woman covers him with whipped cream. Her legs were wrapped around him and the shoot took so long that the cream froze and her legs stuck to his stomach. The crew had to intervene and help carefully peel their skin apart.
- #014
According to his autobiography, producer Robert Evans initially wanted Roman Polanski to direct the film. Because Polanski would not return to the United States, Evans planned for a second-unit director to shoot some footage of New York while Polanski directed the film from Paris.
- #015
The soundtrack includes "Unfinished Sympathy" by Massive Attack. Bassist Ralphe Armstrong filed a copyright infringement lawsuit claiming they had lifted vocals and other samples from the song "Planetary Citizen" on the Mahavishnu Orchestra's album Inner Worlds. Ralphe claimed he became aware of the copyright issue while watching this film. The lawsuit was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.
- #016
This is the second film in Joe Eszterhas's unofficial "Corelli Trilogy." Here Detective Corelli is played by José Rey. The first film is Basic Instinct (1992), in which a character named John Corelli is played by Wayne Knight. The last film is Jade (1995), in which the main character, David Corelli, is played by David Caruso. In both Basic Instinct (1992) and Jade (1995), the characters are both Assistant District Attorneys in San Francisco.
- #017
Sharon Stone wanted Brad Pitt cast in the lead role, but Philip Noyce refused.
- #018
Sharon Stone was determined not to work with William Baldwin because she had lobbied hard for her friend Brad Pitt, who was then taking roles in smaller projects. She thought she had better chemistry with Pitt, but Philip Noyce was determined to cast Baldwin after seeing him in Internal Affairs and Backdraft, because he thought Baldwin was the better actor and somewhat more recognizable at that point. This would lead to serious turmoil on set that Noyce genuinely regretted.
- #019
Kurt Russell turned down the role of Jack Lansford.
- #020
In the original screenplay, Carly masturbates in the bathtub while looking at a magazine. Sharon Stone objected to this detail, arguing that a woman does not need visual stimulation while masturbating.
- #021
Director Phillip Noyce genuinely regrets not casting Brad Pitt as Zeke in the film, for which Sharon Stone lobbied intensively to star opposite Pitt.
- #022
In the original novel, Sharon Stone's character was named Kay, not Carly.
- #023
In Levin's original novel, the character "Zeke" is named Peter.
- #024
When Judy offers Carly tickets to see Luciano Pavarotti, Carly objects, saying she would rather buy tickets to see the band Pearl Jam. When Sharon Stone first hosted Saturday Night Live (1975) after the success of Basic Instinct (1992), Pearl Jam was the musical guest.
- #025
The masturbation scene did not work as first shot, so producer Robert Evans and assistant editor William Hoy spent three days fixing it, doing so by blowing up some of the images of body parts you see on Zeke's screens, rather than through Sharon Stone herself, who had initially objected to the scene being fully nude. Director Philip Noyce was surprised and pleased that the scene ended up working with Evans's contributions.
- #026
According to writer Joe Eszterhas, the eccentric producer Robert Evans was so pleased with the first screenplay that he sent a "human telegram" to Eszterhas's hotel. A woman wore nothing but a mink coat and carried a note reading 'The best first draft I've ever read. Love, Evans.'.
- #027
The film's subplot involving the lecherous villain's secret video recording is eerily similar to the documentary drama Video Voyeur: The Susan Wilson Story (2002).
- #028
Among the reasons the film was more successful abroad than in the United States were the full restoration of the erotic footage the MPAA had forced to be cut for an R rating, the use of popular songs such as those by the band UB-40 that increased international interest, and, according to director Philip Noyce, a hit soundtrack.
- #029
Actor Tina-Desiree Berg told Femme Fatales magazine that she turned down the role after auditioning for Joel Schumacher because she learned it required nudity.
- #030
The film's cast includes one Oscar winner, Martin Landau, and three Oscar nominees: Sharon Stone, Tom Berenger and Nina Foch.
- #031
The film was not shot entirely in Manhattan as it depicts. Some scenes, such as Zeke's video room, were shot on soundstages on the Paramount lot, while others were shot in New York.
- #032
William Baldwin worked with director Phillip Noyce on this film. The previous year Noyce had directed Patriot Games (1992), starring Harrison Ford, because William's brother Alec Baldwin had refused to return to his role in The Hunt for Red October (1990).
- #033
The film was submitted to the MPAA more than five times before it finally secured an R rating.
- #034
The film inspired writer Joe Ezsterhaus to write Showgirls (1995) and Jade (1995), because the story had the alluring material that would form the basis of Showgirls and the suspense elements that would form Jade.
- #035
Sharon Stone and Martin Landau later appeared in Intersection (1994).
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