Nicole Kidman by Steve Granitz/ WireImage.com
Who nearly made an honest woman of Nicole Kidman after her mission: impossible with Tom Cruise ended and her romance with Keith Urban began? That's the big question now that the Aussie actress has revealed in a Vanity Fair sitdown that she was engaged to an unidentified man in between her two marriages, "[But] I wasn't ready," she says. "We weren't ready." (Kidman's dalliances during the time in question, Us notes, were Lenny Kravitz and Steven Bing.)Kidman also confirms in the interview that she and Cruise "lost a baby early on" in their marriage, "so that was really very traumatic. That's when it came that we would adopt Bella," who is now age 15.
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Nicole Kidman by Lester Cohen/WireImage.com
Nicole Kidman is joining Ralph Fiennes in The Reader, based on Bernhard Schlink's best-seller about a female defendant in a Nazi war-crimes trial.... Also per the Reporter, American Pie shtupper Jason Biggs is the best (and betrayed) bud of Bachelor No. 2 (aka Dane Cook), while The Class' Lizzy Caplan is Kate Hudson's No. 1 gal pal.... Per Variety, Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston are the married owners of an incorrigible Labrador retriever in Marley & Me.... Senator Patrick Leahy plays "a distinguished gentleman" in a scene with Batman, the Joker and Alfred in The Dark Knight, says the AP.
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Nicole Kidman in The Invasion courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
Gee, who first riffed on this, like, a full two years ago? Oh yeah — me. A roundup of "evidence" by the New York Daily News makes a compelling case for Nicole Kidman's Invasion being an allegory for her marriage to Tom Cruise and his devotion to Scientology. For example:• Kidman plays an ambitious woman who went through a nasty divorce from a narcissistic man• Said ex reenters Kidman's life surrounded by a humorless, robotic entourage• Kidman's character prescribes mood-altering drugs (a Scientology no-no)• Director Oliver Hirschbiegel hails from Germany, where Cruise's beliefs are summarily deridedKidman's rep dismisses the supposition of subtext as "so silly," yet based on our own Maitland's review of Invasion, the theory sounds far more entertaining than the actual film.
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Jason Statham courtesy 20th Century Fox
The Hanna-Barbera adventure series Jonny Quest is being revived by Warner Bros. Pictures as a potential movie franchise.... Also per the Reporter, Joan Allen, Jason Statham, Ian McShane and Tyrese Gibson are all on board for Death Race, a remake of the Roger Corman classic. Statham will play "Frankenstein," while Allen, McShane and Gibson are the prison warden, a coach and sociopath Machine Gun Joe, respectively.... Thomas Haden Church is in final talks to play Eddie Murphy's workplace rival in NowhereLand.... Per Variety, Nicole Kidman will produce and star in a remake of Al Final del Espectro, a Colombian horror film about an agoraphobic who begins to see a ghost in her apartment.
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Per the Hollywood Reporter, Nicole Kidman is producing and may star in a redo of How to Marry a Millionaire, the 1953 comedy featuring Marilyn Monroe as one of three models on the prowl for rich men. Kidman's project, though, is said to be a "complete overhaul" of the original story.... Filmmaker David S. Goyer (Blade, Batman Begins) will develop and may direct the X-Men franchise prequel recounting the early friendship and ultimate rivalry between Magneto and Professor X, with actors in their twenties playing the leads. Hugh Jackman's Wolverine spin-off, however, is expected to get made first.
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Per Variety, Edward Norton will set aside his indie cred to play Dr. Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk, a more fun follow-up to Ang Lee's Eric Bana-fronted venture.... Christina Ricci is Speed Racer's girlfriend, Trixie.... Per the Hollywood Reporter, Lost's Evangeline Lilly will make her feature debut opposite John Malkovich in the supernatural thriller Afterwards.... Ted Danson has joined Mad Money, the heist comedy starring Katie Holmes, Diane Keaton and Queen Latifah.... Harvey Weinstein tells the New York Post that he's hot to round up Paltrow, Kidman, Dench, Zellweger, Zeta-Jones and Hathaway for a big-screen take on Nine.
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• A spokesperson for Nicole Kidman tells the New York Daily News it's "not true" that the Aussie beanpole will guest on the coming season of Nip/Tuck, as claimed last week by series creator Ryan Murphy. Intriguing!• Peyton Manning hosts Saturday Night Live on March 24, with musical guest Carrie Underwood.• Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger puts in an appearance on this Sunday's The Apprentice, as part of the winning team's reward. • Kevin Nealon, Jane Lynch, Richard Kind and Wendie Malick are among those who have been added to the guest-star lineup for Thank God You're Here, NBC's improv comedy-challenge series debuting April 9.
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At the Museum of Television & Radio's Paley Festival, Nip/Tuck creator Ryan Murphy said he has at least 10 guest stars lined up for the coming season, including Tom's ex and perhaps a Material Girl. "Nicole Kidman's coming," Access Hollywood has Murphy saying. "I don't know when, but... she wants to do it, so we're trying to make it work. She wants to do something where she wears a lot of prosthetics — maybe all over." Worked in The Hours, right? Right...?Acording to Extra, the FX series also hopes to book Madge, a CWPF of one of last season's memorable drop-bys. "I'm going to write something for Madonna, who is a fan of the show," says Murphy. "I would love for her to do something with Rosie [O'Donnell]." OK, must. Remove. That mental image.
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As reported here weeks ago, Oprah Winfrey's inaugural pre-Academy Awards ABC special will tweak the format by having a trio of Oscar winners — Nicole Kidman included — Q&A other also-acclaimed peers. As such, TVGuide.com was curious as to whether Kidman's recent on-set mishap, though minor, might keep her from engaging fellow Aussie Russell Crowe in a one-on-one. Says an ABC rep, "Nicole's segment was shot several days before the accident," an as such, the Wednesday-night scare "shouldn't have an impact on her participation in the special," which premieres Feb. 22.
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In a statement cited by Reuters, Warner Bros. says that Nicole Kidman was the only actor involved in the car accident that occurred late Wednesday night during the shoot for The Invasion, a sci-fi thriller. "No other actors were involved," says the studio, adding that two crew members sustained minor injuries as a result of the collision. A Los Angeles Police spokesperson, however, reported earlier on Thursday that seven crew members went to local hospitals complaining of injuries. Or so the aliens would have us believe.And no, it is not lost on me the connection between today's first two news items. That's just how newsblogging plays out sometimes!
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