The backlash against Sharon Stone’s suggestion that China's earthquake was karmic payback for its handling of Tibet continues. The American actress was told she’s not invited to this year's Shanghai International Film Festival, spokeswoman Tang Bing said Wednesday (June 4, 2008).
Shanghai festival organizers said Stone's comments were inexcusable and that they were considering permanently banning her.
"We are indignant," Tang said. "She should have respected Chinese people's feelings and showed some sympathy to those who suffered from the earthquake."
Stone was not scheduled to attend the nine-day festival, one of the largest events of its kind in East Asia, which begins June 14. She did, however, attend in 2007 to promote anti-aging creams for French fashion house Christian Dior. At the time, she impressed festival organizers with her charity work and her appearance, Tang said.
"She showed her affinity for the Chinese people and her affinity for Shanghai,” said Tang. “She didn't say any bad things."
But the star provoked outrage in China when she suggested the recent earthquake in central Sichuan province may have been the result of bad "karma" because of Beijing's rule in Tibet.
"I'm not happy about the way the Chinese are treating the Tibetans because I don't think anyone should be unkind to anyone else," Stone said May 22, 2008, in a red-carpet interview at the Cannes Film Festival with Cable Entertainment News of Hong Kong. "And then this earthquake and all this stuff happened, and then I thought, is that karma? When you're not nice that the bad things happen to you?"
More than 69,000 died in the May 12 earthquake. More than 18,000 remain missing and millions were left homeless.
Stone’s remarks triggered anger across the Chinese-language media. Ng See-Yuen, the founder of the UME Cineplex chain and the chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers, said his company wouldn’t show her films in his theaters, according to the Hollywood Reporter. UME has branches in China’s biggest urban movie markets, including Beijing and Shanghai.
Stone's image was also removed from a number of Dior outlets at department stores in Beijing, according to state media reports.
"My erroneous words and deeds angered and saddened the Chinese people, and I sincerely apologize for this," she said in a statement issued May 28, by the China branch of French luxury goods maker Christian Dior, where she is a top model. "I'm willing to participate in any earthquake relief activity and to do my utmost to help Chinese people affected by the disaster.”.
Stone admitted in an interview with The New York Times that she had sounded like "an idiot," but she denied making an apology that Dior China issued in her name.
"I'm not going to apologize," Stone told the newspaper, recounting her conversation with the company. "I'm certainly not going to apologize for something that isn't real or true. Not for face creams."
Shanghai festival organizers said Stone's comments were inexcusable and that they were considering permanently banning her.
"We are indignant," Tang said. "She should have respected Chinese people's feelings and showed some sympathy to those who suffered from the earthquake."
Stone was not scheduled to attend the nine-day festival, one of the largest events of its kind in East Asia, which begins June 14. She did, however, attend in 2007 to promote anti-aging creams for French fashion house Christian Dior. At the time, she impressed festival organizers with her charity work and her appearance, Tang said.
"She showed her affinity for the Chinese people and her affinity for Shanghai,” said Tang. “She didn't say any bad things."
But the star provoked outrage in China when she suggested the recent earthquake in central Sichuan province may have been the result of bad "karma" because of Beijing's rule in Tibet.
"I'm not happy about the way the Chinese are treating the Tibetans because I don't think anyone should be unkind to anyone else," Stone said May 22, 2008, in a red-carpet interview at the Cannes Film Festival with Cable Entertainment News of Hong Kong. "And then this earthquake and all this stuff happened, and then I thought, is that karma? When you're not nice that the bad things happen to you?"
More than 69,000 died in the May 12 earthquake. More than 18,000 remain missing and millions were left homeless.
Stone’s remarks triggered anger across the Chinese-language media. Ng See-Yuen, the founder of the UME Cineplex chain and the chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers, said his company wouldn’t show her films in his theaters, according to the Hollywood Reporter. UME has branches in China’s biggest urban movie markets, including Beijing and Shanghai.
Stone's image was also removed from a number of Dior outlets at department stores in Beijing, according to state media reports.
"My erroneous words and deeds angered and saddened the Chinese people, and I sincerely apologize for this," she said in a statement issued May 28, by the China branch of French luxury goods maker Christian Dior, where she is a top model. "I'm willing to participate in any earthquake relief activity and to do my utmost to help Chinese people affected by the disaster.”.
Stone admitted in an interview with The New York Times that she had sounded like "an idiot," but she denied making an apology that Dior China issued in her name.
"I'm not going to apologize," Stone told the newspaper, recounting her conversation with the company. "I'm certainly not going to apologize for something that isn't real or true. Not for face creams."
Born Sharon Vonne Stone on March 10, 1958 in Meadville, Pennsylvania, she was the daughter of a factory worker, Stone won a scholarship to Edinboro University of Pennsylvania at age 15 where she studied creative writing and fine arts. Upon graduation, the Miss Pennsylvania beauty pageant winner decided to pursue a modeling career in New York where she signed with the Ford agency. By the late 1970s, Stone was a highly sought-after model, appearing in both print and television ads nationwide.
Stone decided to branch out into acting in the 1980s, only to appear in a number of little-seen films throughout the decade with the exception of 1984's Irreconcilable Differences. Her first notable part came in 1990's Total Recall as the wife of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Two years and one nude photo shoot for Playboy later, the actress's star vehicle arrived when she landed the role of the unforgettable bisexual murder suspect in the blockbuster film Basic Instinct with Michael Douglas. However, subsequent films such as 1993's Sliver and 1994's The Specialist suggest that the acclaim may have been more due to her simmering sexuality than her acting.
In 1995, Stone proved the critics wrong with her Golden Globe-winning performance in Martin Scorsese's Casino. Following the win, she took on a number of dramatic roles, including The Quick and the Dead in 1995 and Last Dance in 1996. She finished the decade with a number of uneven films, including Sphere in 1998 and Gloria in 1999, but received praise for her first comedic performance in The Muse that same year. In 2003, the actress costarred in Catwoman with Benjamin Bratt and Halle Berry.
During the late 1990s, Stone earned more attention for her fashionable lifestyle than her filmmaking. She was married to producer Michael Greenburg from 1984 to 1987 and to San Francisco Chronicle Executive Editor Phil Bronstein from 1998 to 2004. The couple adopted a son, Roan Joseph, in 2001; Stone adopted two sons: Laird Vonne (2005) and Quinn Kelly (2006).
Stone decided to branch out into acting in the 1980s, only to appear in a number of little-seen films throughout the decade with the exception of 1984's Irreconcilable Differences. Her first notable part came in 1990's Total Recall as the wife of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Two years and one nude photo shoot for Playboy later, the actress's star vehicle arrived when she landed the role of the unforgettable bisexual murder suspect in the blockbuster film Basic Instinct with Michael Douglas. However, subsequent films such as 1993's Sliver and 1994's The Specialist suggest that the acclaim may have been more due to her simmering sexuality than her acting.
In 1995, Stone proved the critics wrong with her Golden Globe-winning performance in Martin Scorsese's Casino. Following the win, she took on a number of dramatic roles, including The Quick and the Dead in 1995 and Last Dance in 1996. She finished the decade with a number of uneven films, including Sphere in 1998 and Gloria in 1999, but received praise for her first comedic performance in The Muse that same year. In 2003, the actress costarred in Catwoman with Benjamin Bratt and Halle Berry.
During the late 1990s, Stone earned more attention for her fashionable lifestyle than her filmmaking. She was married to producer Michael Greenburg from 1984 to 1987 and to San Francisco Chronicle Executive Editor Phil Bronstein from 1998 to 2004. The couple adopted a son, Roan Joseph, in 2001; Stone adopted two sons: Laird Vonne (2005) and Quinn Kelly (2006).
Source :- http://www.biography.com/
