Mar 31, 2006  |  By: GREG MARZULLO  | COMMENTS     

She’s back, everyone’s favorite suspected bisexual psycho killer: "Basic Instinct’s" Catherine Tramell.

"Basic Instinct 2" arrives in theaters on Friday, March 31, and unlike 14 years ago when gay rights groups protested the original film’s opening, activists haven’t said a peep about the movie’s famous femme fatale this time around.

In 1992, the release of "Basic Instinct," written by Joe Eszterhas and directed by Paul Verhoeven, caused a storm of controversy for its flagrant depictions of sexuality of all stripes and an infamous scene involving actress Sharon Stone’s uncrossed legs sans panties. Some say the controversy is what helped the film become the highest-grossing movie of the year.

Gay rights advocates fueled the controversy surrounding the film, with the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation leading the charge, denouncing "Basic Instinct" as a negative depiction of bisexuals and lesbians.

Today, bisexual activists and GLAAD seem uninterested in the release of the sequel. GLAAD representatives said they were too busy planning their media awards gala to talk to the Blade about it, and they weren’t even planning to screen the film until just before its opening. Bisexual activists also seemed wholly unconcerned about the movie.

"Just because someone’s a serial killer whether they’re gay, straight, transgender, bi — that just becomes part of the character," says Wendy Curry, vice president of BiNet USA, a national bisexual rights advocacy group.

That take on the film represents a major turnaround from the reigning opinion in 1992.

IN THE FIRST "Basic Instinct," Sharon Stone played Catherine Tramell, a novelist who gets wrapped up in the murder of her latest male play toy. Michael Douglas played Nick Curran, the detective who tries to capture Tramell before she lures him into her sexual web with her killer bod and smoldering devil-may-care attitude. Thrown into the sordid tale was Tramell’s bisexuality (including a sultry on-screen kiss with actress Leilani Sarelle), which is part of what sent the gay activists into a frenzy.

Protesters around the country stationed themselves outside of movie theaters showing the film-—-including in Washington, D.C.-— holding signs that read, "Catherine Did It," hoping that people wouldn’t see the film after they knew the ending. Incidentally, the protesters were right-— Catherine did do it, though Nick’s bisexual ex-girlfriend (Jeanne Tripplehorn) is suspected of the crime as well.

On April 11, 1992, protesters were arrested for heckling Stone’s appearance on NBC’s "Saturday Night Live." When the actress walked on stage, the audience greeted her with the expected catcalls of excitement, but there were some boos coming from the wings. Shortly thereafter, a chant of "Fight AIDS" broke out from backstage, and security was called in. Six protesters from Queer Nation and other gay civil rights protest groups were arrested.

Ironically, since then, Stone has become something of a gay icon. She received San Francisco’s Spirit Award in 2004 from the National Center for Lesbian Rights. The Center honored her continuing financial and public service support for gay rights and AIDS activism. In 2005, Out magazine named her the straight ally of the year.

Since1995, Stone has served as the chair of the campaign for AIDS research with the American Foundation for AIDS Research, a national non-profit dedicated to research and prevention of HIV/AIDS. For her work with amfAR, she received the Harvard University Foundation’s humanitarian award in 2005.

During the controversy, GLAAD issued a report card, grading Tinseltown’s gay and lesbian creations.

"Our denunciation of ‘Basic Instinct’ had to do with the fact that there is no balance in Hollywood’s depictions of lesbians and gay men," said Chris Fowler, then-executive director of GLAAD, in a statement issued to the press by the organization in 1992.

GLAAD’s D.C. chapter issued a call-to-action in the Washington Blade in March of 1992.

"Besides alerting local media outlets to the background and history of the film, we are attempting to educate the press about the harmful effects of movies like this, how they contribute to stereotypes and gay-bashings and perpetuate myths about gay men, lesbians and bisexuals," wrote Cathy Renna, co-chair of the National Capitol Area chapter of GLAAD.

"[Basic Instinct] was a tipping point," Renna said in an interview with the Blade this week. "That was the seminal moment for GLAAD and a lot of other organizations."

Sheela Lambert, a bisexual activist with a 15-year history of advocating for bisexuals’ rights among straight and gay people, says she remembers well the feelings of trepidation and concern surrounding "Basic Instinct."

"There had been so ...