Sharon Stone Accused Of Being A Diva On Set By Italian Filmmakers

Sharon Stone's Italian film, "Golden Boy," may be hitting the theaters on Thursday, but the filmmakers do not have a lot of good memories on their working experience with the veteran actress. In fact, the Italian filmmakers are saying that the American actress was an absolute diva who was challenging to work with.

"Golden Boy" is directed by Pupi Avati and produced by his brother, Antonio Avati. Having Sharon Stone agree to work on their project was initially thought of as a great achievement for the two, until they realized how difficult the actress was, the Hollywood Reporter reports. Stone plays Ludovica, a sexy actress turned publisher whose main goal is to have Davide's father's autobiography published. Davide is played by Riccardo Scarmacio. The movie revolves around Davide, the book and his relationship with Ludovica.

According to Pupi Avati, the script was formulated with Stone already in mind and he went to great lengths just to have her signed. Pupi said he picked Stone because she was an icon, even though there are more American actresses more capable. Pupi said he bordered on desperate measures to have the actress sign the contract. He said there were times that her agents and lawyers even made him and his brother feel as if Italy was a third world country.

According to the report, when the actress arrived in Italy, no one recognized her at first. The brothers catered to her every whim to make her feel comfortable. However, they noticed that Stone literally transformed when people started to recognize who she is.

Pupi said that when people recognized who she is, "she started to feel more and more like Sharon Stone." He also dissed the actress, saying as time went by and the actress started to feel like a pampered celebrity, "her ego definitively inflated. It is the classic pattern with these American actresses who are slightly declining."

Pupi did not stop there. He said also that shooting the final scene with Sharon was the most difficult of all. He narrated that on the last scene, when doing the last shot where Sharon had to kiss Scamarcio, Sharon got angsty when she saw photographers are present during the shoot as well as a TV cameraman. Sharon disappeared even before the shoot was done, prompting the brothers to make a wild goose chase.

"We looked for her everywhere, but nothing! Then my brother received a phone call from Los Angeles from her manager: She wouldn't come back on the set until the photographers and especially that damned TV cameramen had gone away. Obviously we did so and she, like nothing happened, shot the scene. The thing that I found most absurd is that she had to call to the States and to close herself in a car, instead of coming to ask us directly," Pupi narrated.

It was not only Avati who had some negative things to say of the actress. Actress Cristiana Capotondi also shared what she observed of Stone's behavior at the conference. She said seeing how Sharon treated the Avati brothers was truly an unforgettable experience. Ironically, she also shared that Sharon went shopping for her character's outfits using the production's credit card. Antonio Avati nearly fainted when he heard Sharon was going into Bulgari.

It could be remembered that this is not the first time that the actress was hailed as a "diva." Back in 2010, Nikki Finke, the editor-in-chief of Deadline.com also claimed Sharon is difficult to work with.

The director, however, said that this bad experience does not necessarily mean he would never work with Sharon Stone anymore. Hollywood Reporter on the other hand, was able to reach Sharon's representative, Cindi Berger, who denied everything and lauded Sharon's professionalism.