All decked out, Nicole Kidman received a gala tribute at the New York Film Festival Wednesday night ahead of the U.S. premiere of her latest starrer, The Paperboy, directed by Lee Daniels. Appearing like audiences have never seen her before, Kidman said she pushed her boundaries in the role in which she plays a sultry vixen who is carrying on with a convicted murderer in prison (played by John Cusack). Kidman opened up about the role and why she decided to take on the part which required her to — among other things — spread her legs and even pee on fellow co-star Zac Efron; she also shared why she never spoke to John Cusack on the set outside of their characters. But despite pushing herself into admittedly uncomfortable territory, there was one thing she would not do.
Initially, Kidman did not think she could pull off the part. Daniels had her meet with five women who have had relationships with men in prison. Unsure of herself, she said the experience allowed her to find he way to the character with some encouragement from one of the women.
“I was kind of freaking out and didn’t think I could be authentic in this role. And then, one of them said to me, ‘No, I think you can do this.’ And she kind of gave me that confidence. And after that, it sort of just flowed out of me. I didn’t want a sense of myself in any way, so I went straight into the character and never stepped out of it.”
Based on a novel by Pete Dexter, The Paperboy is set in late ’60s/early ’70s Florida. Kidman plays Charlotte Bless, who sashays…
Full Story »Children of the Nintendo generation, take heed: Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph was made just for you. In addition to setting up a rather compelling hero’s journey for video game character Wreck-It Ralph (voiced by John C. Reilly) — an arcade villain who goes “game-hopping” to reinvent himself as the good guy — the animated adventure stuffs in more Gen X/Y video game references than you can count. Who will weep for Bowser as he gives his testimony at AA for baddies!?
I say Nintendo generation (and by that, I mean NES) because we bridged the gap between the 8-bit/Atari era and the slicker Xbox crowd that followed years later. We who popped quarters into stand-ups and owned Sega Dreamcasts know the sorrow of saying goodbye.
Wreck-It Ralph features the voices of Sarah Silverman as Vanellope von Schweetz, Ralph’s 9-year-old new BFF from the Candyland-like game Sugar Rush, Jane Lynch as Sergeant Calhoun from the first-person shooter Hero’s Duty, and Jack McBrayer as Fix-It Felix, the handyman hero of Ralph’s world. Also onboard bringing Wreck-It Ralph to life: Dennis Haysbert, Mindy Kaling, Alan Tudyk, Rachael Harris, Ed O’Neill, Adam Carolla, Horatio Sanz, and Edie McClurg.
Credit for the film’s fresh, zingy spirit goes to director Rich Moore, veteran of The Simpsons and Futurama, and a script credited to Phil Johnston (Cedar Rapids) and first-timer Jennifer Lee. Wreck-It Ralph hits theaters November 2.
Verdict: Jokes! Drama! Q*bert! Maybe I’m still high off the nostalgia factor but I declare this a must-see.
[Via Yahoo]
