SEPTEMBER 2004


September 30th - Knightley voted sexiest by Brits

British newcomer Keira Knightley has been voted the sexiest movie star of all time - with Australians well down the list. The 19-year-old beat Hollywood beauties Angelina Jolie (in second place), Halle Berry (4), Charlize Theron (26), >b>Nicole Kidman (33), Jennifer Lopez (42), Julia Roberts (56), Cate Blanchett (59) and Naomi Watts (60). She also pipped screen legends like Marilyn Monroe (6), Grace Kelly (17), Brigitte Bardot (20) and Audrey Hepburn (23) to the title. Fellow Briton Orlando Bloom is the highest ranking male in the 100 Sexiest Movie Stars of All Time - the Lord Of The Rings actor takes third place. When the Empire magazine poll was last carried out six years ago, Titanic star Kate Winslet took the top spot. Now the British actress has plummeted to 35th place, and has been beaten by new entries Scarlett Johansson (9), Monica Bellucci (18), Troy star Australian Eric Bana (19), Catherine Zeta-Jones (22) and Kate Beckinsale (24). Pirates Of The Caribbean actor Johnny Depp comes fifth and is the second sexiest male. Other men on the list are actor Hugh Jackman (8), Alexander star Colin Farrell (11), screen legend Paul Newman (12), Marlon Brando (13), George Clooney (21) and Russell Crowe (49).
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September 29th - Warriors boss Eric Watson 'dates Nicole Kidman'

New Zealand businessman and Warriors boss Eric Watson was Australian actress Nicole Kidman's "mystery man" at a recent boxing bout in the US, the Australian Herald Sun website reports, citing an unnamed US weekly magazine. It's not clear whether the pair are dating, but they have been spotted in each other's company before the world middleweight boxing championship fight in Las Vegas. There, they watched the challenger's Oscar De La Hoya's defeat at the hands of Bernard Hopkins at the MGM Grand. Kidman and Watson were both among high-profile guests, including New Zealand-born actor Russell Crowe, who attended Wollongong Entertainment Centre in January to watch Australian boxer Anthony Mundine defeat Japanese boxer Yoshinori Nishizawa.
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September 26th - Nicole Kidman had to twirl on grass to `bewitch' Will Ferrell!

Despite being equipped with magical powers in her upcoming flick 'Bewitched', Nicole Kidman had to resort to some 'traditional' ways to charm co-star Will Farrell. The actress reportedly had to do some whirling on the grass to attract her 36-year-old American co-star for a kiss, while shooting for a song for the movie remake of the classic 1960s TV comedy. "Nicole and Will have had great fun making this movie.The dance scene was meant to be quite romantic but they were larking about so much that it took them a while to start acting seriously," an insider was quoted by the Daily mail, as saying. Shirley Maclaine and Michael Caine also star in the film, which will hit the theaters next summer.
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September 20th - Nicole Kidman linked to Noyce film

Nicole Kidman has been linked with the lead role in 'Dirt Music', the new Australian film from 'Rabbit Proof Fence' director Phillip Noyce. Variety reports that the film is based on the Tim Winton novel and tells the story of a woman torn between her husband and her lover. The trade paper adds that the Oscar winner is "desperate" to make a film in Australia. Kidman and Noyce previously worked together on the thriller 'Dead Calm'.
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September 15th - Kidman tops female rich list in Australia

Nicole Kidman is Australia's richest woman under 40 and the fourth richest person, a report revealed yesterday. The Oscar-winning actress has an estimated fortune of £60million, according to BRW magazine's rich list. The 37-year-old is worth more than supermodel Elle McPherson and pop star Kylie Minogue combined, who have about £23million each. The country's richest person is 39-year-old mobile phone magnate John Ilhan, who is worth an estimated £117million.
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September 13th - Kidman finally meets her latest 'love'

Nicole Kidman and Italian motor racing boss Flavio Briatore finally met for the first time last week - rubbishing reports they're a couple in the passionate throes of budding love. The Moulin Rouge actress and the Benneton boss had been linked after they were allegedly spotted sharing an intimate meal two weeks ago, but Miramax mogul Harvey Weinstein had to introduce them during last week's Venice Film Festival, because they'd never met before. After spotting Kidman and Briatore at Venice's Harry's Bar, Weinstein brought them together saying, "Since you are both supposed to be in the throes of this great love affair, it's time you were introduced. "Now we've got past this little formality, there's absolutely nothing to stop you getting married next week."
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September 13th - Bewitched Takes a Twist

NICOLE KIDMAN and WILL FERRELL's adaptation of hit TV show BEWITCHED is taking on a twist - it's all about remaking the 1960s series. Going against the grain for such TV-to-film adaptations as STARSKY AND HUTCH and CHARLIE'S ANGELS, which simply updated the storyline, the anticipated movie will be about the remake of the series. Castmember STEPHEN COLBERT explains, 'The movie's about making the remake of the television show, and I'm the head writer of that show. 'Will Ferrell plays a washed-up actor who's reviving his career by doing the remake, and I have to deal with his ego.' OSCAR-winning actress Kidman will star as ISABEL BIGELOW, a witch who lands the lead role of SAMANTHA STEPHENS, originally portrayed by late screen star ELIZABETH MONTGOMERY. The movie will also feature SHIRLEY MacLAINE and MICHAEL CAINE, who land roles as Samantha's parents.
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September 13th - Nicole Kidman lashes out at critics for paedophile accusations

Oscar winner Nicole Kidman has said that the accusations by film critics that her character in her new movie, 'Birth," has paedophile overtones, are disgusting and horrible. Critics have slammed her character in 'Birth," which premiered at the Venice film Festival recently, because she is shown to be sharing a bath with a 10 year old boy and having a discussion of a sexual nature with him. According to Female First, Nicole defended her character in the film, which centres around a young boy who is convinces Nicole that he is the incarnation of her dead husband, saying that she has no sexual feelings towards the young boy. She also said that she is sickened by the critics reviews because she has a 10-year old son and would never play a character like that. The Australian actress explained that the relationship between the character, Anna, and the boy is not about sexual attraction but about belief in the appearance of Anna's dead partner.
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September 13th - Kidman: I'm no legend

Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman was thrilled when Lauren Baccall labelled her "a beginner" during a Sept. 8 interview -- because she likes to be reminded that her celebrity means nothing. During an interview on British television, Baccall, 79, became irritated when 37-year-old Kidman was described as "a legend", and replied, "She's not a legend. She's a beginner...She can't be a legend, you have to be older." And Cold Mountain star Kidman is more than happy to agree with Baccall, who features as Kidman's mother in the controversial new movie Birth. Kidman says, "I was thrilled that she dismissed the legend stuff." "To put me into a category I don't belong burdens me with responsibility I don't want. "I telephoned Lauren and thanked her for saying that. She always calls it like it is and that's a reality check I adore."
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September 13th - Wang Kar-Wai woos Nicole Kidman

The Oscar winning actress Nicole Kidman has announced she'll work with the renowned Hong Kong director, Wang Kar-Wai, next year. The Hollywood star revealed that she will spend half the year in New York shooting of the film, which as yet has no name. China Radio International reported Saturday. Besides this new deal, Wang Kar-Wai's film "Days of Being Wild," starring the late Hong Kong singer and actor Leslie Cheung, will hit the US big screens later this month.
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September 9th - Kidman defends controversial film

Hollywood diva Nicole Kidman made waves in Venice yesterday as a fragile young widow who believes a 10-year-old boy is the reincarnation of her dead husband in the world premiere of Birth. The disturbing film by up-and-coming director Jonathan Glazer has already stirred up controversy with provocative scenes of Kidman and the boy naked in a bathtub together. In another shot, Kidman's character Anna tenderly kisses the young Sean after being convinced that he is indeed her long lost husband. "I responded to this woman who was in mourning," Kidman told a packed Press conference at the Venice Film Festival, where Birth is vying for the Golden Lion top prize. "It wasn't about, 'Oh I want to make a film where I get to kiss a 10-year-old boy'. To me it was I wanted to make a film where you're trying to understand love," she said. In an interview with Italy's la Republica daily, she denied rumours that racier parts of the bathtub scene had been cut for US audiences. For the role, Kidman was given a short, dark pixie cut that emphasised her delicate features, but her golden locks had grown back in time for the Venice premiere of the movie. In Birth, Anna is finally getting over her husband's death 10 years earlier and preparing to remarry when the mysterious boy appears, declaring he is the reincarnation of Sean. By revealing details about their relationship that only her dead husband could have known, the boy convinces Anna despite opposition from her wealthy, New York family headed by Eleanor, who is played by a regal Lauren Bacall. Cameron Bright played the intense, young Sean. "Playing opposite him, he allowed me to believe he was a man," said Kidman, who arrived in Venice just days after her ex-husband Tom Cruise was in town to promote Collateral. The director of the film festival Marco Muller said Kidman's performance deserved an award. But the much-hyped film got a mixed reception at a preview screening on the Lido, where some moviegoers jeered. It is up against 21 other films and faces tough competition from the likes of Vera Drake by Britain's acclaimed Mike Leigh. Six decades after her screen debut alongside future husband Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall is back in the limelight playing the regal matriarch and mother of Kidman in Birth. The bubbly 79-year-old told a Press conference here that she's still learning.
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September 9th - Kidman keeps trade secrets

ACTOR Nicole Kidman, acclaimed for her daring performances, said today she wanted to keep details of her acting method to herself from now on. Kidman, in Venice to present her latest film Birth, in which she plays a psychologically brittle widow, balked during a news conference at a question about what music she listened to on set to help her prepare for a part. "I think if you reveal anything too much about anything to do with the performance you're stripping it away, so I don't like to reveal anything that I use, even psychologically," she told reporters. "I'm trying to do less of that now. Other films that I'm made I've spoken freely about all sorts of things and I feel like it does somehow demystify the process." Kidman plays opposite Lauren Bacall in Jonathan Glazer's film which premieres at the festival today.
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September 9th - Kidman Booed at 'Child Love' Film

Actress NICOLE KIDMAN was met by a chorus of boos at the premiere of her shocking new movie BIRTH - which sees her fall in love with a ten-year-old boy. The redhead, 37, stars as ANNA, who believes a young boy, played by CAMERON BRIGHT, is her reincarnated dead husband. Many disgusted viewers walked out of the cinema at the VENICE FILM FESTIVAL last night (07SEP04) after a shocking nude scene featuring Kidman and the boy sharing an erotic bath. The movie's director JONATHAN GLAZER was disappointed by the reaction but is thrilled it is the front-runner for this year's (04) prestigious GOLDEN LION prize.
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September 8th - Nicole Kidman to work with director Lars von Trier again soon

Australian megastar Nicole Kidman, who starred in Lars von Trier's controversial film "Dogville", expects to work with the Danish director again soon on a project in the Swedish film town Trollhaettan. "We will work together again. We haven't decided on the exact project we'll do but I will definitely come back to Sweden," Kidman said in an interview with Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet. Kidman starred in von Trier's 2003 Dogville, in which she played a woman running from the mob who seeks refuge in a small town in Colorado, but she turned down a role in the next film in the trilogy, Manderlay. "It didn't fit into my life just then. I couldn't leave my two children to do that project. I do in fact choose life over my career," she told the paper. In the interview, the actress also rejected reports that she is suffering from anorexia and osteoporosis. "There isn't much happening in my love life right now so I guess they have to find something to write about," she said.

September 8th - Bacall Balks After Kidman Called 'Legend'

How old is a movie legend? Definitely older than 37-year-old Nicole Kidman, according to screen veteran Lauren Bacall. Bacall became irritated during an interview with Britain's GMTV Wednesday when the younger actress was described as "a legend." "She's not a legend," Bacall said, cutting off interviewer Jenni Falconer in mid-sentence. "She's a beginner. What is this 'legend'? She can't be a legend at whatever age she is. She can't be a legend, you have to be older." The two actresses were in Venice, Italy to promote their new film "Birth," in which 79-year-old Bacall plays Kidman's mother. At a joint interview, reporters peppered Kidman with questions and, embarrassed, she finally suggested they direct their questions elsewhere. Bacall, the former wife of Humphrey Bogart and star of such films as "The Big Sleep" and "Key Largo," insisted she and Kidman get along famously. The two women acted together once before, with Bacall playing a supporting role in Kidman's star vehicle "Dogville" last year. "I love working with a young actress," Bacall said. "Nicole and I worked together on Dogville and we were friends when we started this. That laid the groundwork for our fabulous relationship on screen and off." In the film, Kidman plays a woman who believes her dead husband has been reincarnated in the body of a 10-year-old boy. The assembled stars and the film's director and producer, were asked who they would like to come back as if they could be reincarnated. The others gamely tried to answer the question but Bacall snapped: "It's not a fascinating question. No offense."
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September 8th - Kidman heads for Venice premiere

Nicole Kidman will grace the Venice Film Festival tonight for the premiere of her new movie, Birth. The actress stars in one of her most controversial parts to date as a woman who believes her dead husband has been reincarnated in the body of a 10-year-old boy. Kidman, 37, will attend the screening with co-star Lauren Bacall. Birth is a front-runner for this year’s prestigious Golden Lion prize, competing with the likes of Mira Nair’s Vanity Fair and the Kate Winslet movie Finding Neverland. The unusual subject matter has already provoked controversy weeks before its release. The film was booed yesterday at a pre-view screening for journalists. Kidman plays Anna, a wealthy New Yorker whose husband collapses and dies while jogging in Central Park. Ten years later she is about to marry another man. Their engagement party is interrupted by Sean, a 10-year-old boy who announces he is her dead husband. At first she is disbelieving, but soon becomes convinced Sean is telling the truth and begins to fall in love with him. In one scene, Kidman and the boy are naked as they share a bath together. Sean is played by 11-year-old American actor Cameron Bright in an extraordinary performance. Kidman arrived in Venice on Monday – three days after ex-husband Tom Cruise left. He was there to promote his new film Collateral. Tonight’s premiere will be held amid tightened security after a series of hoax bomb threats and fears that anti-globalisation protesters may attempt to disrupt the event. The protesters have already invaded one press conference and have threatened more action.
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September 8th - Kidman Linked to Italian Racing Tycoon

Hollywood superstar Nicole Kidman is the latest beauty to fall into the arms of Italian motor racing boss Flavio Briatore. The Stepford Wives star, who was married to Tom Cruise for ten years, set tongues wagging when she was spotted sharing an intimate rendezvous with Briatore over dinner last week. Now friends say the pair are planning to spend time together this week in Venice, Italy - where Kidman is promoting her latest film, Birth, at the Venice Film Festival. A source close to Kidman says, "I can't see this latest one being more than a passing fling at best." Briatore has a reputation as a Casanova and has dated some of the world's most beautiful women including Eva Herzigova and Naomi Campbell . He is also the father of ex-girlfriend Heidi Klum 's baby Leni.
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September 8th - Nic has Lion's share of style

WITH her Chanel-style jacket, green polka-dot blouse and tight-fitting black pants, Nicole Kidman was more Brigitte Bardot-style Cannes chic than Sophia Loren-style Italian siren when she arrived yesterday at the Venice Film Festival. Kidman made a stylish entrance on board a speedboat taxi ahead of tonight's world premiere of her film Birth, one of 22 in the running for the Golden Lion, the festival's top prize. Birth stars Kidman, who is almost unrecognisable in a short, pixie-style dark-brown wig, as a woman convinced a boy is the reincarnation of her dead husband. Directed by Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast), it co-stars Canadian actor Cameron Bright as the young boy, along with Anne Heche and Lauren Bacall, who plays Kidman's mother. Birth caused controversy in the US earlier this year when some film executives were reportedly disturbed by a couple of scenes where Kidman has a bath with her pre-teen co-star, and they share a passionate kiss. Kidman travelled to Italy from the US where she has just begun filming Bewitched after spending most of last month at home in Sydney enjoying a break with her family where she was spotted in private movie screenings and taking her niece to ballet classes. In Bewitched, the big-screen adaptation of the popular 1960s TV show, Kidman plays nose-twitching witch Samantha Stephens. Kidman's ex-husband, Tom Cruise, was also in Venice earlier this week to promote his new film, Collateral, which is screening out of the competition at the festival. However, it is understood their paths have not crossed. Kidman and Cruise are among many film-makers and celebrities who have descended on Venice for the festival, including Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro, Angelina Jolie, Will Smith, John Travolta and Al Pacino. The Golden Lion award will be handed out this Saturday.
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September 7th - Kidman provides scandal

Venice - Nicole Kidman has arrived in Venice to present Birth, a movie vying for the Golden Lion award and guaranteed to provide scandal at this year's film festival. Directed by Jonathan Glazer, the movie tells the story of Anna (Kidman), a mature woman who calls off her wedding with Joseph because she is intrigued by a 10-year-old kid who claims to be the reincarnation of her late husband Sean. Controversy is secured by a scene in which the boy and Kidman appear naked in a bathtub. A subsequent sequence in which the two also kiss has since been cut by distributors for fear of upsetting censors. "Simply stated, I think it's about a woman driven into madness by love. It's about the universe inside being equivalent to the universe outside," Glazer has said of his movie. Birth is due to be screened on Wednesday. Kidman, who arrived in Venice on Monday, is staying at the city's luxurious Cipriani Hotel, the same used until a few days earlier by former husband Tom Cruise, who has since left the lagoon.
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September 7th - Sharon's 'Sandwich' Attack On Nicole

Sharon Osbourne has launched an astonishing attack on actress Nicole Kidman, calling her a "skinny cow" who "needs a bloody good meal". Sharon, wife of rocker Ozzy Osbourne and a judge on new reality talent search show X-Factor, made the comments during an appearance on daytime TV's This Morning. As host Philip Schofield introduced an item on the actress, Sharon launched the tirade. "She needs a sandwich, that's what she needs," she said. "She needs a bloody good meal. Skinny cow she is," she added. Schofield and his co-host Fern Britton laughed off the attack on Nicole, who last week was forced to deny rumours that she is suffering from a bone disease which has made her lose weight. "I have always been thin. I'm the same weight I've always been," said Nicole, 37.
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September 4th - Nicole Kidman says her bones are not brittle

Movie actress Nicole Kidman has dismissed rumours that she is suffering from brittle bone disease, osteoporosis. The 'Cold Mountain' star said that there is no truth at all in the claims that she had recently taken a bone density test. "I'm supposed to have it because of my weight and apparently I'm having tests in hospital, but I laughed because no-one told me. I haven't had tests for anything. I haven't had tests for anything," the Daily Mail quoted Nicole as saying. The stunning actress also went on to say that she has not lost any weight, despite recent pictures of her looking very skinny. "I've always been thin. Yet the same story keeps getting more and more absurd. It's amusing that, with everything else that's going on in the world, people are concerned about my weight. But guess what? I've always been like this - ever since I studied ballet as a girl," added the Australian beauty.
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September 3rd - Cruise in Britian for 'Collateral'

Tom Cruise mingled with about 3,000 fans at the British premiere of "Collateral," chatting on their cell phones, posing for photos and signing autographs for more than two hours outside a theater in Leicester Square. Cruise even kept smiling when one fan told him that he should get back together with his ex-wife Nicole Kidman. The suggestion came when Aran Burk put the actor on the phone with his mother, Lina Burk. "She was almost speechless. She complimented him on his voice and suggested he get back together with Nicole," Aran said. "He complimented her back on her voice, but he pretended he didn't hear the Nicole comment." Speaking to Cruise was a birthday treat for Mrs. Burk, who turns 50 on Friday. Cruise, 42, plays his first bad-guy role in "Collateral," starring as a contract killer who hijacks a cab driver and forces him to drive from hit to hit. He arrived at Thursday's premiere at the Empire theater in a red-and-yellow taxi. Cruise didn't stay for the screening of "Collateral," instead flying to Italy, where the movie was to be shown Friday at the Venice Film Festival. "Collateral" opens in Britain on Sept. 17.
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September 3rd - Nicole's twitchy over weight fears

Nicole Kidman was busy perfecting her nose twitch for the film version of famed television comedy Bewitched. Really, though, she was wishing she could 'magic away' persistent and what she called 'absurd' rumours that she was suffering from a bone disease.
'I'm supposed to have it because of my weight and apparently I'm having tests in hospital, but I laughed because no one told me.
'I haven't had tests for anything. The only thing I've been testing is how to twitch my nose for Bewitched,' she told me during a quick break from rehearsing with Will Ferrell, who plays her panicky husband Darren, and director Nora Ephron in Los Angeles.
'I've always been thin,' she protested. 'Yet the same story keeps getting more and more absurd. It's amusing that, with everything else that's going on in the world, people are concerned about my weight. But guess what? I've always been like this - ever since I studied ballet as a girl.
'I'll give you a twirl when you see me in Venice and you'll see I'm the same weight I've always been,' she joked. The Oscar-winning actress will be attending the Venice Film Festival for the world premiere on Wednesday of her new film, Birth.
The original reason for my phone call had been to have a quick gab about that film, which was directed by Britain's Jonathan Glazer, who also made the acclaimed Sexy Beast with Ray Winstone and Ben Kingsley.
'I loved working with Jonathan,' Nicole said. 'I love to have as many different experiences on film and work with directors who can push me in different directions.'
Nicole started work on Birth after making Cold Mountain with Anthony Minghella, then shot The Interpreter with Sean Penn and went directly into preproduction on Bewitched, which also stars Shirley MacLaine, Michael Caine and Joan Plowright. Filming will begin after Nicole returns from Venice.
In the classic TV show of the same name, actress Elizabeth Montgomery created the role of Samantha Stephens who, with the twitch of her nose, caused much magical mayhem.
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September 2nd - Cruise and Kidman bypass each other in Venice

Hollywood's former golden couple Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman are reportedly going to great lengths to avoid bumping into each other at this week's Venice Film Festival.
The pair are both due to attend the event to promote new movies - but have arranged the schedule so their projects are showcased on different days, according to gossip site The Scoop.
Cruise will promote Collateral on September 3 and Kidman will push Birth four days later.
A source tells the site: "It's always terribly awkward, especially if the press is there and makes a big deal over it.
"Besides, some of the tabloids keep trying to say they're getting back together again - which they're not. So, if they're photographed together in Venice, that will just be fuel for the fire - unless they snub each other, which, of course, then causes a whole new type of story."
But Kidman's representative disputes the story, insisting: "She's there when she's there because that's when her film is showing. She can't be there earlier because she's filming Bewitched and doesn't have the luxury of going any earlier."
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