A look inside Hollywood and the movies. : POLITICALLY CORRECT FILE : We Thought About It (<i> Really</i> ) and Decided That Movie Endings Are Special

Gay activists have made their displeasure over director Paul Verhoeven’s thriller “Basic Instinct” well known since the film went into production last year. Now, a group of San Francisco protesters have taken a step that they hope will stop people from going to see it once it’s released.

The group has named themselves “(------) Did It,” after a bisexual woman character who becomes a serial murder suspect. Leaders of the group hope that in revealing the film’s ending in such a way, their organization will attract media attention--and discourage potential moviegoers. The thriller starring Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone opens March 20.

(The Times has a practice of not revealing movie endings or significant dramatic plot twists. Therefore, Film Clips will not reveal that character’s name.)

“Our major focus is to keep people from going to the film,” says spokeswoman Annette Gaudino. “We want to tell everybody as much about the movie as possible.”

Many members of the group protested the shooting of “Basic Instinct,” which stars Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone, while it was being filmed in San Francisco last year. During those protests, gay activists tried to get director Verhoeven to make changes in the script, which has several bisexual and lesbian characters. According to Gaudino, they are resorting to the protests because many of the changes they asked for were not made. “We know that they went ahead without doing what we asked for, so now we’re going to do what we have to do to keep the public away from this film,” she said.

“We’re not trying to prevent them from making a movie, but we would certainly like to cut into the obscene amount of money that they intend to make,” Gaudino said.

According to Pam Bates, another spokeswoman, the group is planning other tactics to reveal the film’s ending. “We’re going to actively distribute leaflets at theaters that give away the whole ending of the film,” says Bates.

Billboards, Gaudino says, “are one option but not the only one. There’s certainly a lot of free public space available in major cities that could be decorated with information about the film. You’ll start seeing some of this very soon.”

Although it was announced this week that “Basic Instinct” will be rated R after Verhoeven trimmed some scenes, there is reportedly life for the steamier version. Sources close to the film say Verhoeven’s earlier cut will be released in Europe.