Nicole Kidman Updates 09/20/10

TIFF's Day 10: Trends & Faves

It’s all over but the pontificating.

Saturday was the first day of the Toronto International Film Festival to feature no press & industry screenings; after nine days of about 50 a day, the P&I lineup eased to a halt on Friday with fewer than half that many, while the next night the public portion of the festival came to a close with Massy Tadjedin’s “Last Night” (below), which stars Kiera Knightley and has as close to a perfect title for a final-night film title as you’ll ever find.

Last NightSurveying the landscape, indieWIRE’s Peter Knegt spoke to Cameron Bailey about what the festival co-director felt was “a turnaround in the sales climate,” with 18 films selling as opposed to only 12 last year.

David Poland, of course, takes a contrary position and says that the media is getting it wrong about this year’s market being so much better than last year’s. He only counts 12 genuine sales, and says only two are significant: Lionsgate’s pickup of “Rabbit Hole,” which will probably lead to a Best Actress campaign for Nicole Kidman, and the Weinstein Company proclaiming that its still in business by submitting a preemptive bid for “Dirty Girl.” Otherwise, he’s not so impressed.


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It's a wrap: Constance Droganes picks her top TIFF moments


Hollywood heavyweights like George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Oprah Winfrey may have been missing in action from the 35th Toronto International Film Festival. (Remember the paparazzi insanity that trio inspired in 2009?)

But TIFF 2010 revved this city up with Clint Eastwood and Robert Redford, mega-mogul Bill Gates and "The Boss," Bruce Springsteen.

Movie titans from Robert De Niro ("Stone") to Catherine Deneuve ("Potiche") showed a thing or two to Hollywood's new kids on the block.

Long-time faves like Natalie Portman ("Black Swan"), Ryan Reynolds ("Buried") and Nicole Kidman ("Rabbit Hole") hit new career highs.

Final stop…

Another darkened Scotiabank theatre, where I see the Nicole Kidman-Aaron Eckhart drama, "Rabbit Hole."

I've heard many people praise this film this week.

They were right.

"Rabbit Hole" is gut-wrenching, absorbing. It's Kidman's best film in a decade.

Kidman, 43, is raw. She's messed up. She's exploding with subtle, brewing anger after her young son is killed in a tragic accident.

It was inspiring.

So, three actresses. Three very different films. And this trio gets me thinking…

Forty years ago actresses like Deneuve, Julie Christie, Sophia Loren and others weren't just beautiful superhuman mannequins toting big-gun ammo on screen. They were mysterious. They were daring chameleons.

And yes, these women could act.

There are actresses who fit that bill today -- Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Rachel Weisz, Kate Winslet...

But then you've got a whole generation of new, aspiring "serious" actresses who seem to be spinning their wheels: Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Vanessa Hudgens, and yes, even Miley Cyrus.

The bridge between the Deneuves and Kidmans of this world is littered with some pretty awesome eye candy all right. But Hollywood wasn't built on looks alone.

Some young starlets will transition from today's action babes and romcom darlings to "serious" actresses.

Many will not.

What will happen to them when they finally have to 'grow up' -- and they can no longer pull off the lycra bodysuit?

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'The King,' the Boss and the crowds ruled Toronto International Film Festival

TORONTO -- Talk about high praise.

"This place smells like a new car. There are five of them in the building," a man informed his companions as they waited for "Rabbit Hole" with Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart to start.

The theater in TIFF Bell Lightbox, the week-old headquarters of the Toronto International Film Festival, had a velvety crimson curtain in front of the screen in a throwback to movie palaces of old, rows of red seats, soothing dark gray walls, and the sort of sound and picture quality that patrons stuck in 1970s multiplexes can only dream about.

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Best performances: Mr. Firth and Geoffrey Rush in "King's Speech," Mr. Franco in "127 Hours," Ms. Portman in "Black Swan," Ms. Kidman in "Rabbit Hole" and Ms. Manville in "Another Year."


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Toronto Film Festival: A repeat for Danny Boyle and Darren Aronofsky?

Toronto tends to clarify the race in other ways. This year, a lead actress field that had been seen as shaky got stronger as the festival went on, first with Portman's well-regarded performance in "Swan" and then when Lionsgate acquired "Rabbit Hole." The John Cameron Mitchell adaptation of David Lindsay-Abaire's grieving-mother story earned raves for lead Nicole Kidman, and Lionsgate said it would release the movie this awards season to make a push for the Aussie actress.

"This is an extraordinary film that falls into that classic word-of- mouth model where you walk out of the theater and encourage people to go see it," said Jason Constantine, Lionsgate's president of acquisitions and co-productions. "And the fact that we had an opportunity on our release schedule in December and January made it a galvanizing opportunity from a timing perspective."

Lionsgate has a knack for buying movies out of Toronto and turning their actresses into Oscar contenders. It did the same four years ago for Julie Christie and her Alzheimer's drama "Away From Her." The company also had a strong Oscar actress run in both the lead and supporting categories last year with "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," which the company bought at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

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'King's Speech' wins TIFF audience award

TORONTO -- The odds on Colin Firth grabbing the best actor Oscar improved Sunday as Tom Hooper's "The King's Speech" picked up the top audience award, the Cadillac People's Choice Award, at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Toronto festival director Piers Handling branded "Speech," which the Weinstein Co. will release stateside Nov. 26, as one of his "personal favorites" in this year's lineup and praised the performances of Firth and co-stars Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush.

"It is a very, very moving story," he said of Hooper's portrait of the father of Queen Elizabeth II.

"Speech" will look to follow a host of festival titles including "Precious," "Slumdog Millionaire," "No Country for Old Men," "Crash," and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" that rode goodwill from Toronto's top audience award to Oscar success.

This year's class of Oscar contenders coming out of Toronto includes Darren Aronofsky's "Black Swan," with Natalie Portman's portrait of a driven ballerina, and Danny Boyle's survival film "127 Hours," which stars James Franco, both from Fox Searchlight; John Cameron Mitchell's "Rabbit Hole," with its star turn from Nicole Kidman, which was acquired by Lionsgate; Sony Pictures Classics acquisition "Barney's Version," for its lead performance by Paul Giamatti; the Weinstein Co.'s "Blue Valentine," starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams; and possibly Ben Affleck's "The Town," which Warner Bros. opened during the weekend.

Nicole Kidman's Film Rabbit Hole To Be Released This December; Nicole Going To Broadway in Sweet Bird Of Youth

Lionsgate digs 'Rabbit Hole' in Toronto

Studio to release Nicole Kidman-starrer in December



Lionsgate on Thursday finalized its deal for North American rights to Nicole Kidman-Aaron Eckhart drama "Rabbit Hole," which it will open in time for a 2010 awards run. Film will launch in theaters in December.
"Rabbit Hole," directed by John Cameron Mitchell, is based on David Lindsay-Abaire's Pulitzer Prize-winning play about a couple who lose their child. Lindsay-Abaire adapted for the bigscreen.

It's the first film from Kidman and Per Saari's production shingle Blossom Films.

Sale of the CAA-repped title capped a slew of deals inked on the ground here for a diverse mix of fare, but most of the films bought by U.S. distribs won't hit theaters until next year.

That sets "Rabbit Hole" apart and means a quick turnaround for Lionsgate, much as Fox Searchlight had to do two years ago with Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler," which Searchlight bought following the pic's world preem at the Venice Film Festival.

"It's one of those films where all the intangibles came together," Lionsgate prexy of acquisitions and co-productions Jason Constantine told Daily Variety . "In December and January, we didn't have a film in that part of our release schedule, so it was really an opportunity for us to have a great film, and we are honored to be releasing it."

Constantine announced the deal with Lionsgate chief operating officer and Motion Picture Group prexy Joe Drake.

It was produced by Olympus Prods.' Leslie Urdang and Dean Vanech, Odd Lot Entertainment's Gigi Pritzker, and Kidman and Saari.

Constantine and Lionsgate senior VP of acquisitions and co-productions Eda Kowan and exec VP of business and legal affairs, acquisitions and co-productions Wendy Jaffe negotiated on behalf of Lionsgate. CAA, which reps Mitchell, Kidman, Eckhart and Teller, brokered the pact on behalf of Odd Lot, Blossom Films and Olympus Pictures.

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Nicole Kidman to Star in Broadway Revival of Sweet Bird of Youth; David Cromer to Direct

By: Dan Bacalzo · Sep 17, 2010 · New York

Nicole Kidman will star in a Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams' Sweet Bird of Youth, planned for Fall 2011, according to The New York Post. David Cromer is scheduled to direct.

The play centers on Alexandra Del Lago (to be played by Kidman), a faded movie star who occupies a hotel room with a young man, Chance Wayne, who hopes the actress can help him break into the movies.

Kidman starred on Broadway in The Blue Room. She won the Academy Award for The Hours and recently co-starred in the film versions of Rabbit Hole and Nine.

Nicole Kidman's Rabbit Hole Sold; Film Eligible For 2011 Oscars!

We are more than thrilled for Nicole & Blossom Films, John Cameron Mitchell, David Lindsay-Abaire, and the rest of the immensely talented cast and crew. Congratulations everyone!


“Rabbit Hole” Picked Up For 2010 Awards Season

by Peter Knegt

Lionsgate has confirmed that John Cameron Mitchell’s Toronto premiere “Rabbit Hole” has been acquired by the distributor for North American release later this year. That means “Hole” will factor in to this year’s awards season, with performances from the likes of Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart and Dianne Wiest all strong contenders for Oscar nominations.

Adapted from David Lindsay-Abaire’s Pulitzer Prize winning play, “Rabbit Hole” stars Kidman and Eckhart as parents coping with the recent death of their four-year old son. The film has won significant acclaim in the days since it premiered in Toronto, currently averaging a rare “A” level grade on criticWIRE.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be working with the distributor that brought us ‘Precious,’ ‘Monster’s Ball’ and ‘Crash,’” Mitchell told indieWIRE today. “To have their expertise a bringing small yet commercial family dramas to the marketplace and the fact that it will be a priority project for them is a heavy-sent gift this late in the season.”

It is the second big deal in two days for Lionsgate, which partnered with Roadside Attractions for the U.S. rights on the Robert Redford-directed ‘The Conspirator’ yesterday morning.



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Lionsgate takes trip down 'Rabbit Hole'

Picks up North American rights to Nicole Kidman drama

By Gregg Kilday

In a move that injects a new contender into this year's Academy Awards race, Lionsgate has picked up North American rights to John Cameron Mitchell's "Rabbit Hole," starring Nicole Kidman.

The movie will be released this year, and based on positive reactions at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it had its world premiere, that should make it a player this awards season.

Directed by Mitchell and adapted for the screen by David Lindsay-Abaire from his play, the movie, which is in the vein of domestic dramas like "Kramer vs. Kramer" and "Ordinary People," stars Kidman and Aaron Eckhart as parents mourning the death of a child and attempting to come to terms with their grief.

Dianne Wiest plays Kidman's mother, and Kidman, Wiest and Eckhart have all been lauded for their awards-worthy performances.

The play, first produced in 2006 in New York, earned a Pulitzer Prize, and a Tony for Cynthia Nixon, who played the Kidman part.

The film version was produced by Olympus Pictures, Bloosom Films and Odd Lot Entertainment. Producers are Leslie Urdang, Dean Vanech, Kidman, Per Saari and Gigi Pritzker, with Daniels Revers, Bill Lischak, Linda McDonough and Brian O'Shea as exec producers.

The deal was negotiated between CAA and Lionsgate's Jason Constantine, Eda Kowan and Wendy Jaffe, and marks Lionsgate's second buy of a high-profile title after it joined with Roadside to acquire Robert Redford's "The Conspirator."



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TORONTO: Lionsgate Buying 'Rabbit Hole'

By MIKE FLEMING | Thursday September 16, 2010 @ 1:57pm EDT

EXCLUSIVE: Lionsgate is wrapping up a deal to acquire North American distribution rights to Rabbit Hole, and the plan is to jump right into this year's Oscar race by releasing the picture before year's end. They will take advantage of a career performance by Nicole Kidman as a mother who loses her child. The John Cameron Mitchell-directed film stars Kidman and Aaron Eckhart as a married couple trying to keep the relationship alive after a devastating loss. David Lindsay-Abaire adapted his Pulitzer Prize-winning play.

It is the second big deal in two days for Lionsgate, which partnered with Roadside Attractions for the U.S. rights on the Robert Redford-directed The Conspirator. While the decision was made for that pic to sit out this crowding Oscar field, Lionsgate needed a horse to ride in the race and Rabbit Hole is it. The buzz on the film has been strong here, both among critics and audiences, despite its dark subject matter. Kidman is credited with her best performance since her Oscar-winning turn in The Hours. On Rabbit Hole, she found and bought the stage play and receives her first producing credit since she was the catalyst for getting the movie made. The deal was negotiated between CAA and Lionsgate's Jason Constantine, Eda Kowan and Wendy Jaffe.