If you think Nicole Kidman is playing the title role in “Babygirl,” the Oscar-winning actress wants a word with you.
I don’t even need to read it.” But with Halina and with every script since subsequently, I’ll make notes immediately.
The other night, me and a bunch of my gay boy friends were having a Nicole Kidman love fest.
That’s when Madonna and Courtney Love said to me, “Best dressed,” and I was like, “What?
It’s like that’s an energy, that’s tacit agreements between creative people going, “Let’s go for it.
Should you believe that Nicole Kidman is portraying the lead in “Babygirl,” the Oscar-winning actress would like to speak with you.
My conversation with Kidman for the first “Just for Variety” episode of 2025 takes place over Zoom, just a few days before Christmas.
The erotic thriller, which was written and directed by Halina Reijn, features Kidman as a tech CEO who has a very kinky sub-dom relationship with an intern (Harris Dickinson).
Kidman or Dickinson is the babygirl, I ask.
“Both, correct?” she asks. We don’t exactly know who the father is, as Halina states in the scene with the “father figure.”. I adore how she portrays the generations and how power changes depending on age, showing how I am the father one minute and he is the father the next. This movie, in my opinion, subverts everything. “”.
The length and clarity of the following Q&A have been adjusted. The entire discussion is available on “Just for Variety.”. “.”.
Tell me how you went about reading the script for the first time. When you read a script, do you follow a certain ritual, retreat to a corner, or do you just start reading it after someone sends it to you?
I mean, if the script is good, I sit down and begin reading. If it holds, I continue reading without stopping. After that, I start taking notes right away.
Now?
I learned that from Kubrick. “Because the first read is the only option,” he stated. The response will be a little different after that, but it won’t be instantaneous or intuitive. And all the concepts that come up or the things that are missing. Therefore, he would send you the script in an envelope with the words, “I’ll pick it up in two hours,” and then he would take it back to make sure you read it.
Did you include notes when you returned it to Kubrick?
I didn’t write anything down with him. I simply said, “I’m in, whatever.”. Even I don’t have to read it. However, with Halina and all subsequent scripts, I will take notes right away. I know it isn’t for me if I can’t finish it. And that simply indicates that I’m not in it, not because it’s good or bad. However, I read “Babygirl” from start to finish before calling her and asking, “Okay, how do we get it made? What do we do? Tell me now what to do.”. We also simply discussed my feelings, my responses, my ideas, and my questions for her. Since it was the first draft—or, I believe, one of her first drafts—and still in the shaping stage, it was different from the final version of the movie. There were some things in it that aren’t there now but that you and I can discuss at a later date. However, it was lovely to enter the project from that ground level. Considering that it’s a final draft the other times you enter and nothing needs to be changed. This was still in motion, so it was very much. However, both the structure and the ideas were very sound.
To what extent does reading the script make you decide that “I kind of fear this, that means I need to do it?”.
No, I’m too smart for that. It is overly sophisticated. It made me feel attracted. It made me very happy. The real scenes and things first excited me, but then I got scared. I almost felt like I had an audience reaction. And I simply adored Romy. I mean, I also had feelings for Samuel. Jacob was someone I adored. Every time it happened, I was caught off guard because it wasn’t what I expected. And I simply couldn’t get it off my mind. When I read it, I was Romy. It’s innate. I responded to the film in that way because it is visceral. Romy didn’t understand what she was doing, so there were times when I thought, “Gosh, I don’t understand this.” After that, it was like, “Well, how do we do this?”. I was wondering, “What does that mean?” when I saw these odd images, but it was because it was a dreamscape with elements of a genre movie.
Some theories and ideas suggest that this is all a fantasy or Romy’s dream.
I read it and didn’t think that. Now that I’ve seen it, I can say, “Ah, interesting,” because I love responses that are different. However, that was not how I first felt about it.
“Okay, how did he get this internship? He’s a little too schlubby for this place,” I said when people began to explain their reasoning. He might be a bit too old.
Who knows? That’s always the push-pull in it. As it was happening, I thought, “Did he actually plant himself in there, because he’d seen her and met her earlier at some point and become obsessed?”. Although Halina has compelling responses, I’m always hesitant to respond to those questions because viewers should always be able to determine what they want from it. It’s similar to visiting a painting and thinking, “Well, now it looks different,” “Now I’m responding to it differently,” or “What I was offended by, I’m now drawn to.”. “”.
The fact that you are subsequently having a conversation is what makes art fascinating. When two people watch the same movie simultaneously, their brains are active in entirely different ways. That strikes a chord. That must be the ultimate objective for an artist.
Fantastic, indeed. And I’ve appeared in movies that did that. I think this is the most extreme version of it.
You mentioned that “Eyes Wide Shut” has a male protagonist and is more viewed through a male lens.
It was, after all, about a marriage. However, I was clearly in a different realm. I had a role in his narrative. And while this still exists now, twenty years later, the films are very different. I’ve talked about loss, grief, sex, fantasy, desire, and longing. Interesting things. I mean, I also enjoy working in other realms, such as “Rabbit Hole,” which is about parallel universes and the desire to live in one because this one is painful. Those things have a profound resonance. But as I mentioned before, I adore filmmakers with philosophical viewpoints.
My gay male friends and I were having a Nicole Kidman love fest the other night.
I adore that. Provide more details. Why wasn’t I invited?
Turning around, my friend Glenn says, “You know what? I really like what she said recently about why she’s acting so much and how it empowers women filmmakers.”. She was also able to create stories. I replied, “Well, thank you. That was my interview with her, to start. “”.
To you, that is. That spread all over. Thank you. On the red carpet, it was just the two of us.
It was a really lovely response. I’m also not sure if people didn’t anticipate that as the response. However, it makes sense after you say it.
I get to use my voice, strength, and weight to support those who are being given second or third chances, starting over, or in need of direction. My goal is to accomplish that, so I’m glad to be doing it.
Nicole, do you know when I first saw you?
In what location?
The Galliano dress you wore to the Vanity Fair Oscar Party.
“Best dressed,” said Madonna and Courtney Love, and I thought, “What? Oh my God.”. both of them. My year was made by them.
What the Vanity Fair Party was, I had no idea. While working at Premiere as an assistant, I created a party page. I said, “Everyone in here is famous,” as soon as I entered. It’s crazy. “.”.
Did you think Premiere was a great magazine?
I started out in entertainment journalism at that job.
Whoa. In fact, I was just getting started. After doing some things in Australia, I came here and played “Days of Thunder.”. That is insane. However, it’s also beautiful because I adore that you’re still here and that we’ve grown up together, seeing things change and evolve, and yet still being very excited about the present and the future. Being a key component of it still is wonderful, isn’t it?
One thing, though: you have never received a SAG award for your work in film.
No.
I will tell you honestly, I am shocked.
Seldom have I received nominations either.
What would it mean to you if your peers acknowledged you?
When you see what you’ve done on screen and other actors recognize or understand it, especially with this movie, you get certain things that really resonate with you. It seems like they understand it when I hear it from various actors. They are aware of what it takes to act sexually, especially in this way on screen. You say, “Oh, thank you,” when an actor says, “I know what that took.”. And I’ve had lengthy conversations about it with a couple of actors who are very close friends of mine, whose harsh opinions I greatly respect. And when you say you love the movie, you almost ask, “Can I hug you?” because it’s a powerful feeling to be seen and understood.
It’s passionate.
That’s right.
And when you’re watching a movie, there’s nothing better for making you feel emotional.
or have a powerful reaction that sparks a conversation in your life or a relationship. He said, “I’ve kind of lost my faith in art,” in an article I recently read—I believe it was in the New York Times. I don’t think it has the power to alter lives. And I thought, “Oh my god. “Wow, I wonder if that’s true?” I was followed by the thought, “But wait a minute. I have seen things that have changed my life—either by changing it or by emotionally unlocking something or opening a door inside of me that I didn’t fully realize was closed.”. or letting a hidden emotion surface, since it’s not entirely insane, strange, or unsettling.
You continue to provide us with the best kind of art, Nicole.
No, it’s not me. It isn’t me.
Nope, you must recognize that.
No, I couldn’t.
I am aware that you cannot.
I hang my head. Since it’s shared, I am unable to. It transcends. Without the person who created it, oversaw it, or behaved in opposition to you, nothing exists. It does not exist. And without the crew and the hustled cinematographer, it wouldn’t exist because they know they have to move to get a shot of you crying on the floor. They also do. That seems to be an energy, a set of unspoken agreements between creatives saying, “Let’s go for it.”. Let’s pursue it. Let us pursue it and attempt to locate it. “.”.
