Love Her Like A Rock

I'm not sure if I have stated this but I set aside an hour every day at eight am to do something, solely, for myself. It is something that Pat and I try to do together but he, usually ends up having to leave me to get ready for work. We sit down to breakfast together (that is extremely important) and we will eat together and sit together, sometimes lie together on the sofa, until it is TIME for him to get ready to leave. What we do while engaged in these activities is this: we turn on the F/X network and watch re runs of THE PRACTICE.

We both hail David E. Kelley as one of our personal heroes. He has brought such great joy and artistic validation to our lives with his shows like PICKET FENCES, BOSTON PUBLIC, BOSTON LEGAL, ALLY MCBEAL, CHICAGO HOPE; our love of this man's work dates ALL the way back to his first movie as a writer, FROM THE HIP, starring Judd Nelson and Elizabeth Perkins. The man is a freakin genius and always entertains us; and THE PRACTICE is (for me), artistically, the truth. I could go on for this entire story about the brilliance of the storylines, the full, fleshy, flawed characters (how many actors has David Kelley written into Emmy awards? I wanna know!), the cinematography, the crackling dialogue, all of it. The truth is, though, this is not a story about David Kelley--it's about the woman whom I just saw do three extraordinary episodes of THE PRACTICE. That's her up above. You know her. Everyone knows her. She is one of our generations greatest movie stars--and she knows how to be a movie star, which is an art in and of itself. There is no one in the world who does not know her on sight.

Her name is Sharon Stone.

Doing a run down of her resume would be silly--anyone can IMDB her. Writing about the award nominations and wins is pointless, as that is also at IMDB. So what's to write? Should I write about the honesty of her work in movies like THE MIGHTY? Or her incomparable comic timing in movies like THE MUSE? How about her unwavering commitment to the character she is playing (could YOU as an actor do some of the things she did in BASIC INSTINCT? I didn't love or even like the movie CASINO but I am, certainly, glad that I saw it because anyone who loves actresses should see it. I don't know what I can say about Sharon Stone except this: I am so tired of people being down on her and saying that she is not a good actor. Horse hockey.

Actors have to work. Actors have to work at it. Sharon Stone has done the obscure films and the blockbusters; she has had the hits and the flops. She does film and television, voice overs and (I believe!) commercials. She is an activist and a parent, she has been a wife and will always be a movie star. She takes risk with her acting and with her fashions. She eats life and she eats her role as a celebrity. Sharon Stone gives great interview. Sharon Stone speaks Italian and survived a brain aneurysm. She is a close friend of the legendary Jeanne Moreau--one of the greatest actresses of all time!! Sharon Stone auctioned a kiss off for an AIDS charity--the woman who won paid fifty thousand dollars (I am sure it was worth it--the kiss is rumoured to have been very passionate). Sharon Stone gave a teenage ballet dancer seventy five thousand dollars for tuition. Sharon Stone is groovy. She is cool. She is one of the artists with whom I CRAVE a photo shoot (and don't think I ain't gonna get one, one of these days).

Miss Stone got an Emmy award for her work on THE PRACTICE, playing a lawyer with schizophrenia who gets messages from God. This week I got to see why. I had, sadly, missed these episodes when they were first-run. I did, though, cry when she got the Emmy because I want Sharon Stone to receive more accolades for her work. I am into Sharon Stone. You got that part, didn't you?

Even if you are not into Sharon Stone, even if you don't think (like me) that she is one of the most gifted actresses, one of the most gorgeous physical beings, one of the most socially conscious celebrities, I defy you to not admire these quotes I found online:

"Celebrity is a pretty stunning thing. At first I was like 'They love me! Oh, I love them, too!' And suddenly, I was tap-dancing on my pedestal and it was WHACK! Facedown in the dirt."

"I have this philosophy that money talks and cash screams."

"If you act like you know what you're doing, you can do anything you want- except neurosurgery."

"Women might be able to fake orgasms. But men can fake whole relationships."

"It's my experience that you really can't lose when you try the truth."

"Never play cards with a guy named Doc. Never eat at a place called Mom's. And never have sex with anybody who has more problems than you do."

"...be willing to say yes, no matter who says no, and to say no, regardless of who says yes."


Yesterday was (what appeared to be) her last appearance on THE PRACTICE. Maybe not. We'll see. I'm bummed but I'm glad she came along to brighten my mid-morning time period for a few days this week. It made the rest of my day better and I can always use that.

Thank you, Sharon Stone. I love you.

please note: i did not take the photo(s) shown in this piece.