Nicole Kidman Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Welcome to a new series here on Cinematical where we select an actor or actress and the role we think is their all time best.

There is no doubt about it, Nicole Kidman is a big old movie star. But, what's always struck me as a little odd is that when you ask most people what they think of the actress, more often than not the reactions aren't all that positive. As for box-office, it's not like her numbers are going to blow you away either. But neither of those things have stopped Kidman from joining the ranks of A list actresses. So yeah, her career has spanned two continents and she has become an icon of glamor, but when it comes to her work as an actress, I happen to think that she peaked in 1995 in Gus Van Sant's dark comedy, To Die For. In Van Sant's film, Kidman played Suzanne Stone, a loose approximation of Pam Smart (the high school teacher who was convicted of conspiring with her 15-year-old lover, and his three friends to kill her husband), a ruthless and truly terrible person who will use her looks and just anything else she can get her hands on to make her dreams of stardom come true.

It was her role in the Aussie thriller, Dead Calm, which had Kidman as a grieving mother in a fight to the death with a psycho on the open sea that first caught the attention of Hollywood. Kidman had a charisma and natural beauty on screen that must have seemed like the perfect fit for blockbuster stardom -- and that's where things started to change. In her subsequent roles in the big budget racing flick, Days of Thunder, she was basically 'the girl', before turning to her first Hollywood role as a bad guy in the '93 thriller, Malice. But her turn as a con-woman in that film was no match for her performance as the murderous meteorologist in Van Sant's black comedy.

Cinematical has just received this sexy new poster for the upcoming movie-musical Nine, directed by Rob Marshall (Chicago), and starring ... well, who isn't starring in this film? We've got the sensational, bound-to-be-nominated-for-Best-Actor-again Daniel Day-Lewis, followed by a plethora of gorgeous female co-stars like Nicole Kidman, Penélope Cruz, Kate Hudson, Marion Cotillard, Judi Dench and Sophia Loren.

Based on the popular Broadway show, Nine follows a famous film director named Guido Contini (Day-Lewis) who's struggling to juggle all of the different dysfunctional personal and professional relationships in his life. You'd be hard-pressed to find an Oscar-related list that doesn't already include Nine as a shoe-in for multiple nominations, including Best Picture. Early reviews are already touting it as a must-see, and I can kinda see why -- this poster alone gives us at least five reasons right off the bat.

Nine is set to roll out into theaters in limited release on December 18th and nationwide on December 25th. Click on the image below to view the full poster, then head after the jump to watch the film's trailers.

I may not be the biggest devotee of movie musicals, but I've been keeping an eye on Rob Marshall's adaptation of Nine (the Tony Award-winning musical) since the production was first announced back in 2007. The thought of some of the coolest chicks in Hollywood with Daniel Day Lewis in a musical about 8 1/2? Well, count me in. Despite early casting changes and rumblings about Lewis' singing abilities, I've held out hope for the flick, and now that the film's Christmas release date is a little over a month away the early reviews are trickling in. First up is AICN who scored an early review from a source going by the name of Tobby (You can read the entire review over there, but be warned, it's a little spoilery)

So let's start with the good news: according to this review, the film is pretty darn good. The reviewer had nothing but praise for Marion Cotillard as Lewis' wife, and even Fergie gets some love as the prostitute, Saraghina. As for Lewis in the role of the troubled director Guido Contini, it turns out those rumors of his lack of singing ability were just rumors, and he makes out pretty good in the review for the limited singing he does in the film (two songs) -- and I think we all knew his acting was never going to be the problem.

Of course, the film is far from perfect and there are some rough patches according to this reviewier. Most of the scorn was directed towards Nicole Kidman's performance as Contini's muse, and unfortunately one of the other problems with the film is Kate Hudson (who plays an American Vogue reporter) in what was described as a throwaway role. Bad timing, perhaps, now that Hudson's musical number, Cinema Italiano, is the bulk of the latest trailer for the film.

After the jump: Hudson's Go-Go debut and a musical layman's review of Cinema Italiano...

The upcoming The Danish Girl is one of those independent, edgy films that has all the right elements for something brilliant, but it's subject matter is so tricky that it could end up becoming a farce. Based on David Ebershoff's novel, The Danish Girl is the story of the world's first post-operative transsexual, Einar Wegener, and his wife, Greta. Tomas Alfredson is set to direct, Nicole Kidman has long been attached to play Einar, and Variety reports that Gwyneth Paltrow has stepped in to play Greta. She's stepping in for Charlize Theron, who originally held the role, but has dropped out for unspecified reasons.

The story takes place in 1920s Denmark. Greta* was a portrait painter, and needed a model. She asked Einar to step into a dress, stockings, and heels, and created some kind of awakening in Einar. In women's clothes, her husband became an outrageous character named Lili. The paintings of Lili became extremely popular, few realizing a man had stood in for them. Lili than took on a public life of her own, and Greta often introduced Lili as her sister. Eventually, Einar / Lili decided to commit to gender reassignment surgery, a dangerous and experimental procedure at the time. Greta stood beside her husband until his transformation was complete, and then their marriage was declared null and void by the King of Denmark.

Once you've made emotional mincemeat out of legions of adoring young girls, what's next? How do you transcend tweendom and seduce the seas of adult women (Twilight moms not included)? Bedding Nicole Kidman is a start. Screen Daily reports that Robert Pattinson and Kidman have signed on to star in an adaptation of Guy De Maupassant's Bel Ami. Adapted by Rachel Bennette, the film will be directed by Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod.

Published in 1885, Bel Ami is an erotic tale of journalist Georges Duroy and how he sleeps his way to the top of Parisian high society. After a few years of military service in Algeria, Duroy works as a clerk in Paris until he becomes a journalist, aided by Mme Forestier (presumably Kidman). She helps write his first articles, he works his way up to chief editor, and she uses her political connections to get him the information he needs, which also leads him to his own network of increasing power. Bit by bit, he sleeps with influential women, using his loins to work his way to the top.

If you've seen Little Ashes, this is just wiping away the Dali quirks and throwing Pattinson into a Parisian life roughly 25 years earlier -- which wasn't quite the visual and social jump then as it is now. And while I wonder why Kidman so often gets cast opposite young males (at least this one's of age!), it's not hard to imagine a retro world of Parisian enticement with Pattinson and Kidman at the center of it.

Production begins this February in London and Budapest.

As you may have seen, Nicole Kidman is the focus of some ridiculous headlines today, with everyone from the AP to The Hollywood Reporter and E! blaring that Kidman "conceded" to Washington that Hollywood contributes to violence against women. It's the kind of headline I hate: Attention grabbing, anti-entertainment, and completely misleading.

Kidman is a Goodwill Ambassador for UNIFEM, and was testifying before a House Foreign Affairs committee. Her goal was funding and resources, and to discuss violence against women overseas. The committee is currently debating whether to pass legislation for humanitarian relief. In true government fashion Rep. Dana Rohrabacher ( R-Calif) decided having A Real Hollywood Star was a chance to shift the discussion into shallow ground, and ask Kidman whether or not the movie industry had played "a bad role." Kidman, who probably came prepared to actually discuss humanitarian efforts, gave a fairly bland answer: "Probably." She hastily added that she didn't feel her own roles had, that she was through with roles that portrayed women as weak or as sex objects. "I can't be responsible for all of Hollywood but I can certainly be responsible for my own career," she added, and argued that Hollywood had also "contributed to solutions."

Undoubtedly, many will blame Kidman for making a shallow statement, and poke fun at her poorer script choices, but surely the blame falls on Rep. Rohrabacher for such an inane question. While Hollywood's portrayal and treatment of women is hardly stellar (if you read Cinematical regularly, you know we complain about it on an obsessive basis), and is certainly harmful socially and culturally, I would hardly blame it for violence. That's just the usual government claptrap that loves blaming the big, bad movie industry for glorifying sex and violence, and would now attempt to dodge humanitarian obligations by blaming Moulin Rouge.

It's not that strange for two people who work together to fall in love, but it does seem to happen an awful lot in Hollywood (although to be fair, most of us don't spend our days rolling around half-naked with our co-workers). So even though it might be easy to fall in love at work, it isn't as easy for a couple to stay in love once they're spending every waking moment together -- and the latest celebrity couple who will put my theory to the test is Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer (better known as Sookie and Vampire Bill) from HBO's True Blood. The two fell in love (and got engaged) while working on the vampire soap, and now they're heading back to work together in the thriller, Open House.

According to IMDB, the story will center on a couple whose marriage is on the rocks, and are trying to offload their palatial home during a weekend 'open house'. But, things start to get a little weird when it turns out one of the potential buyers never left. The film was written by Paquin's brother Andrew (who will be making his directorial debut), and the cast will include Tricia Helfer (BSG), Rachel Blanchard (Spread), and Brian Geraghty (The Hurt Locker) in unspecified roles while the True Blood stars will play the married couple.

Moyer and Paquin aren't the first real-life couple who like to work together, and over the years plenty of Hollywood power couples have tried and failed to translate that relationship onto the big screen. After the jump: some other famous real-life couples on the big screen...

Now I know I'm not the only one who is fascinated by the prospect of watching the great Daniel Day Lewis singing and dancing in Rob Marshall's Nine. But the first trailer has been released on Apple for Marshall's adaptation of the Tony-nominated play of the same name, and if you were hoping for a glimpse of Lewis doing jazz-hands, then you're going to be disappointed. But, jazz-hands aside, after watching this trailer I think I may have to change my opinion of the directing talents of Mr. Marshall -- because Marshall's musical skills look better without Renee Zellwegger doing '3/4 shot' dance numbers while warbling her heart out.

Nine is based on the classic Fellini film, 8 1/2, and centers on the famous film director, Guido Contini. The story is set in early-1960s Venice, and on the eve of Contini's 40th birthday he is struggling to complete his latest film, and attempting to balance the women in his life. Those women include his wife Luisa (Marion Cotillard), his mistress Carla (Penélope Cruz), his muse Claudia (Nicole Kidman), his producer Liliane (Judi Dench), and his mother (Sophia Loren). But that's not all, because as Monika told us back in 2008, Stacy Ferguson (better known as Fergie) will play a whore from Contini's youth, and Kate Hudson also has a small role as an American fashion journalist. It's not often you get this many big name actresses in one film, but I'm sure Lewis won't have any trouble handling all that estrogen.

So to the strains of 'Be Italian' we finally get our first glimpses of the big-budget musical, and it looks like Marshall may owe a small debt to the style of Bob Fosse's production numbers once again. But that doesn't mean Nine won't be a good time at the movies for fans of both Broadway, and classic cinema. So take a look, and tell me what you think. Oscar contender?

Nine will arrive in theaters on November, 25th.

When I wrote about Nicole Kidman signing up for the next Woody Allen film in March, I bit my tongue and didn't mention my doubts. While I knew she could handle the material, I had a sneaking suspicion that it wouldn't come to fruition. This was not because I can see the future, but because many projects that she signs on for she inevitably exits -- Manderlay, The Reader, The Producers, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, etc.

And now she's out of Allen's latest ensemble piece, according to Variety. While she was a solid addition to the cast that boasts the likes of Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Josh Brolin, Naomi Watts, and Freida Pinto, there's now a big hole to fill before production kicks off in London this summer. So the big question is: Who will fill it this time, and who should?

For the films I mentioned above, Kidman was replaced with Bryce Dallas Howard, Kate Winslet, Uma Thurman, and of course, Angelina Jolie. (What a different world we'd be in if Pitt was matched with Kidman...) In other words, there's no tried and true Kidman replacement -- they run the gamut. Personally, I'd like to see someone like Maggie Gyllenhaal or Julie Delpy take over, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Woody's beloved ScarJo come to the rescue.

Who would you cast?