In preparation for the car chase scene, Douglas drove up the steps on Kearny Street in San Francisco for four nights by himself. Douglas recommended Kim Basinger for the role of Catherine Tramell, but Basinger declined. He also proposed Julia Roberts, Greta Scacchi and Meg Ryan, but they also turned down the role, as did Michelle Pfeiffer, Geena Davis, Kathleen Turner, Ellen Barkin, and Mariel Hemingway. Verhoeven considered Demi Moore. Stone, who was eventually selected for the role, was a relative unknown until the success of this film, but had previously worked with Verhoeven on "Total Recall". Verhoeven said her quick change of emotion before her character was killed in "Total Recall" prompted him to select her for the part. "That transition for me was so notable. The evil in her eyes changes into the love of her life in a couple seconds." She was paid $500,000, a low sum relative to the film's production budget. Michael Douglas was determined to have another A-list actress starring in the movie with him; worried to take the risk on his own, he was quoted as saying "I need someone to share the risks of this movie. [...] I don't want to be up there all by myself. There's going to be a lot of shit flying around."