Nicole Kidman is one of the few movie stars who can pull off both big-budget popcorn flicks (Aquaman) and arthouse films (The Killing of a Sacred Deer) with ease. No, she does. So is it any wonder that she was chosen by AMC Theaters to get audiences interested in movies again?
The “we’re here to promote magic” topic is so cliched and Kidman is so confused, which is to say that it’s the last thing on Kidman’s mind when we meet; we mainly discuss her illustrious acting career and her upcoming projects, including Netflix’s soapy detective film The Perfect Couple (with Liev Schreiber) out September 5 and the erotic thriller Baby Girl (with Harris Dickinson and Antonio Banderas) out December 20.
It’s Independence Day weekend, and on the day of our Zoom meeting, Kidman, 57, immediately reveals herself to be an observant and curious interviewee. She was fascinated by the art in the background of my residence, a house I rented for the weekend on Fire Island. Kidman quickly told me that she herself had been to the gay mecca known as Fire Island twice.
“Have you ever been to a wild party?” I told her, having attended several that weekend alone. “That’s how it is there,” she said. Kidman’s second trip to Fire Island was when she drove to a party on Independence Day. “I got a lot of love.” Can you imagine walking down Fire Island’s boulevard and bumping into Nicole Kidman? “I wore a hat,” she said with a smile, as if a hat could effectively disguise the most recognizable movie star.