The Specialist Turns 32: Seagal Wanted $9 Million, Fincher Was Overruled, and Stallone and Stone Needed Six Shots of Vodka for the Sex Scene

In 1994, The Specialist marked Sylvester Stallone’s third consecutive box-office hit after his major comeback with Cliffhanger and Demolition Man the year before. Released on October 7, 1994 (32 years ago this week), the movie took the number-one spot with $14.3 million and knocked off last weekend’s champ, The River Wild, to No. 2. While it only did $57.3 million domestically, the international box office ultimately boosted the ticket sales to a worldwide total of $170.4 million on a $45 million budget. The overall reviews may have been poor results (10% on Rotten Tomatoes), and frankly, it’s a cheesy guilty pleasure masquerading as an A-list, major Hollywood blockbuster with then-hot commodities Stallone and Sharon Stone teaming up for the first time.

How Six Shots of Black Death Vodka Got Stallone and Sharon Stone Through The Specialist Sex Scene

The latter, who shot to fame in Total Recall and Basic Instinct, was known for her sex-symbol status, and her appearance in an action thriller with an erotic edge felt like a can’t-miss cinematic event. This included her much-publicized sex scene with Stallone, where the latter made a rare appearance by embracing the romantic side of his otherwise typical muscle-bound persona.

The idea of seeing these two actors in a risqué moment was more than enough to make The Specialist a unique selling point. What was shown on-screen began with Jeffrey L. Kimball’s chiaroscuro-style cinematography in the dimly lit bedroom scene, highlighting Stallone’s and Stone’s perfectly sculpted anatomy. The following shower scene saw Stallone and Stone completely naked and kissing under running water, with legendary James Bond composer John Barry’s sultry score playing in the background.

And yet, the scene was frequently ridiculed for all the wrong reasons, with the so-called passion and intimacy looking more like a glossy, overproduced music-video montage. Behind the scenes, the sex shoot didn’t originally go smoothly as expected, considering Stone’s experience in the erotic thriller genre at the time, including Basic Instinct and Sliver.

Apparently, she refused to take her robe off after getting “sick of nudity”, even though director Luis Llosa made a compromise by allowing only a small crew on the set. Stallone then went back to his trailer to grab a bottle of Black Death vodka, a bottle he said Michael Douglas had given him. The two got drunk, and according to Stallone himself, they ended up downing half a dozen shots before they finally shot the scene. Despite the commotion, Stallone and Stone are said to remain good friends.

Why Warner Bros. Rejected Steven Seagal’s $9 Million Salary Request for The Specialist

Interestingly, before the Peru-born Luis Llosa was on board to direct The Specialist, whose notable credit was 1993’s Sniper, starring Tom Berenger and Billy Zane, Warner Bros. initially tapped Steven Seagal to star and even gave him a chance to call the shots, which would mark his directorial debut. Seagal loved Alexandra Seros’s script except for the sex scenes, to be scaled down. He even went so far as to request a reported $9 million salary, a figure that didn’t sit well with Warner Bros., and the studio decided to move on with Luis Llosa instead while offering Stallone the role of Ray Quick.

Had Seagal accepted the job without the high salary demand, he would have reunited with Stone after they played husband and wife in Above the Law, even though her experience working with the actor was best described as “an individual who isn’t worth the ink it would take to write about him” in a 1999 Movieline interview. After The Specialist didn’t work out as planned, Seagal went on to direct Rainbow Warrior before it was later retitled On Deadly Ground, which opened in February 1994, months before The Specialist reached theaters.

RELATED: “Yellow in the Front, Brown in the Back”: Did Gene LeBell Really Change the Color of Steven Seagal’s Underwear?

Why David Fincher Never Directed The Specialist

Separately, there was David Fincher, who was being considered at one point, as Stallone happened to be a fan of his directing style. But unlike the Fincher we know today, his early career was still a mess following his notorious Alien 3 debacle, which resulted in the producers refusing Stallone’s request. Fortunately for Fincher, he managed to bounce back with 1995’s Se7en and the rest, as they say, is history. His next film, The Adventures of Cliff Booth, opens exclusively in IMAX on November 25 before arriving on Netflix on December 23.

RELATED: Joy Ride Turns 25: Stallone Reportedly Wanted To Play Rusty Nail. Buffalo Bill Got the Job

The Specialist is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV and Fandango at Home.