| Special Features » Movie Of The Month |
As part of a monthly feature here at Nicole's Magic, each month we will be taking a look back at one
of Nicole's films or acting projects. Nicole has an immense body of work behind her, and there's no better way to be
reminded of her talent and how much we love her than immersing ourselves and taking an in depth look at those works.
For the month of May/June 2011, there's only one pick for our Movie Of The Month - Moulin Rouge. Moulin Rouge premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 10 years ago (May 2001!) and took the world by storm during it's subsequent worldwide promotion and release over the following months. Ten years later and I think it's safe to say this movie is iconic, a classic, and a cultural phenomenon. It revived the musical, and arguably inspired a new wave of music featured in film and television - Glee, anyone? It's hard to put into words (or song!) how meaningful this film is for Nicole fans, and Nicole herself. It transformed her from being 'Cruise's actress (ex-)wife', showed off her talent in ways no-one expected, catapulted her onto Hollywood's acting A-List and opened new doors for her, and introduced her to and gained her millions of new movie fans. The passion that went into this film from all involved is echoed by the passion shown by movie fans for it.
'She sings. She dances. She dies', is what Baz Luhrmann told Nicole Kidman when he asked her to do this film, and that
sums up the film in a nutshell. The story begins with a heartbroken Christian, with a bottle in his hand and a typewriter
to hand to tell his story.
The Moulin Rouge - "where the rich and powerful came to play with the young and beautiful creatures of the underworld". And
Satine, the star courtesan, the Sparkling Diamond. Christian has never seen anything like it. Toulouse-Lautrec tells
Christian he has arranged a private meeting for him and Satine after Satine's performance ... but Zidler has told
The Duke, a potential financier of the Moulin Rouge the same. Satine gives a sparkling, lively performance and surprises
Christian by taking him onto the dancefloor, mistakenly thinking his is the Duke hoping for a private meeting to arrange
financing. The Moulin Rouge falls silent when Satine falls from her swing and collapses. She is taken backstage - what has
happened to her? When she awakes, she is pulled into a costume, puts on her 'smouldering temptress' face and goes to
the Elephant Room to perform her duties with the 'Duke'...
Mistakenly thinking she is meant to be making love to the 'Duke', Satine helps Christian come out of his shell by jumping
on him. She LOVES his "naughty words"!! Seeing Satine is getting slightly over-excited and his words are not getting
through to her, he decides to try another way - song. "My gift is my song ... and this one's for you".
Satine is silenced and transfixed. She takes his hand and they dance through the sky, by the Eiffel Tower and under
glittering stars and a bemused moon. "I can't believe it. I'm in love. I'm in love with a young, handsome, talented Duke",
Satine declares.
The illusion is broken when Christian informs Satine he is just a writer. When the real Duke appears,
Satine has to go to all lengths to hide Christian who is hiding in the Elephant Room with them. When The Duke catches
Christian in there, they have to put on am impromptu rehearsal for him, and the bohemians all pile in. Zidler joins in on
it, and they all perform "Spectacular Spectacular" to a slightly overwhelmed Duke. "Generally I like it", he admitted, and
they got the financing to perform the show at the Moulin Rouge.
Satine was in love. Christian was in love. Too much in love to be able to write the play. Satine dreams of a better life,
and, atop the Elephant Room, sings about dreaming of flying away from the Moulin Rouge. Christian sees her, and surprises
her on top of the Elephant. Satine is shocked to be caught at a vulnerable moment, and is unsure of how to act around
Christian with her new-found feelings for him. She tries to remain professional, but Christian again bursts into song
about how wonderful love is. Satine retorts, saying "love is just a game", and the only way to love her is "to pay a lovely
fee". Satine playfully sings along, and the two tease each other with song lyrics. The two share a passionate kiss, and
she realises he's going to be bad for business!
"How wonderful life was, now Satine was in the world". But Zidler knows different. The Duke demanded the deeds for the
Moulin Rouge be given to him, and for a contract to be drawn up that binds Satine to him. Harold has to agree and signs.
They are now able to transform the Moulin Rouge into a theatre, and rehearsals for Spectacular Spectacular begin.
Whilst rehearsing with the bohemians, Satine and Christian grow closer, and Satine lets down her guard and falls under the
spell of LOVE. But they must work hard and be on alert for The Duke, who pops up unexpectedly to try to take Satine away
to woo her.
Zidler is informed that Satine is dying. But the show must go on, and he doesn't want Satine to know. Christian is
becoming jealous of Satine's forced relationship with The Duke. She informs him they must stop seeing each other. He
protests, and says they'll write a song to perform in the play, and that whenever they sing it they are reminded of
each other and the power of their love. "I love you, until the end of time." It brings a smile to their faces, and they
continue their meetings.
In the Gothic Tower, The Duke gives Satine an elaborate diamond necklace, promises her security and, knowing he'll have
his way with her, says Zidler can keep his fairytale ending in the play. But he forces himself on her, and she runs, not
wanting to have to lie anymore. She goes to Christian, who tells her they will leave tonight to be together. The Duke
tells his man-servant to kill Christian, and having overheard this, Zidler tells Satine. Desperate for something real,
to enjoy love, Satine tells Zidler she is leaving. But in response Zidler, finally, tells her she is dying. Knowing she
can't let Christian go through that, and knowing she must protect him, she goes to him to announce she has decided to stay
at the Moulin Rouge and be with The Duke. She has to make him believe she doesn't love him. She has to give the performance
of a lifetime, and "hurt him to save him".
"The jealousy has driven him mad". But Toulouse reminds Christian of the power of love, and Christian decides to return
to the Moulin Rouge. The show IS going on, and has started at the Moulin Rouge. Satine arrives on stage to great applause,
and The Duke shows off a big smile, full of pride that she is his. Backstage, Christian has arrived and is trying to get
to Satine ... but is closely followed by The Duke's man-servant. The bohemians try to stop the man-servant. Christian finds
Satine, and - full of jealousy - desperately tries to get her to admit she doesn't love him. Satine is sick, and is
struggling to continue. Finding themselves on stage, he continues to beg her to tell him. Exasperated, he tells he's
paid his whore, and she's cured him of his ridiculous obsession with love. As Satine stands up, and Christian walks away,
Toulouse crashes onto stage ...
... reminding both Satine and Christian of their love, she sings their song - Come What May. The lovers are reunited ...
on stage. The man-servant is still after Christian though, and when he drops his gun, The Duke picks it up, points it
at Christian and is about to pull the trigger when Zidler steps in and punches him. The gun flies out of the Moulin Rouge
and bounces off the Eiffel Tower! The lovers have been reunited, The Duke has gone, the curtain is down ... but Satine's
consumption is still there. She collapses on the stage beind the curtain, and Christian holds her. She knows she's dying,
and makes him promise he will tell their story. As she passes, the bohemians and Moulin Rouge people watch on in great
sadness. In front of the curtain however, the crowd are still cheering out of enjoyment for the play.
Satine is the star courtesan attraction at the Moulin Rouge club in Paris, a smouldering temptress designed to please the
men and essentially keep bringing the money in. But she wants more - her real dream is to be an actress like her idol Sarah
Bernhardt, and "fly away" from the Moulin Rouge. Satine lives in the Elephant Room, a sumptuous room next to the Moulin
Rouge, where she entertains her clients. She's used to a life of selling herself and pleasing men, and rolls out the
'smouldering temptress' routine easily. But she's taken aback when she meets Christian and he sings to her. She's breaking
the rules of the Moulin Rouge and her job - life - by falling in love, and this is the first time she has fallen in love.
"She is on the one hand unattainable, but extremely available," Baz says of Satine. She was written to resemble some of the
classic iconic stars of the 20th century, "a little bit like Marlene Dietrich, a little bit like Madonna, a little bit like
Marilyn," the director tells. Indeed, her opening "is supposed to resemble bits of Marlene, Marilyn, and those kinds of
stars, and there's no doubt in my mind that Nicole embodies classic movie stardom," Baz explains. Costume and production
designer Catherine Martin worked on the costumes using those same ideas. They "pull[ed] out what we felt were
characteristic of all those heroines," she says, and some costumes were nods to outfits those icons would wear, or
costumes they wore in their films. They also drew on Nicole's natural beauty in creating Satine's look - "Nicole is so
naturally glamorous, it's ridiculous not to use that because she does embody the sparkling diamond". But while much is
said about Nicole's stunning hair in the film, people are surprised to find out she's actually wearing a wig!! It's
interesting to notice that as Satine was seen as the glamourous megastar of the Moulin Rouge, Nicole found herself
becoming a superstar herself, just like her character, upon the film's release in 2001 ... much to her discomfort.
Like those working inside the Moulin Rouge, Moulin Rouge's cast is made up of an international team of actors and
actresses! Baz stayed true to his roots by using several Australian actors in the film, including Richard Roxburgh as
The Duke. Carrying the film and taking us on Christian's journey into adulthood was Scottish actor Ewan McGregor. Known
for a risky and varied career, Ewan is probably best known for his role in the cult classic Trainspotting, and
has also been seen in more Hollywood fare such as Angels & Demons, Down With Love, and Star Wars. He's
worked with Nicole's good friends Naomi Watts and Renee Zellweger twice each. Nicole and Ewan struck up a strong friendship
and professional relationship, knowing they would need to stick together to be able to give the best performances
possible - "It was great to work with him. Straight away we had a tacit agreement that we'd support each other throughout,
taking risks, and be willing to make complete fools of ourselves in front of each other. The great thing about working
on Moulin Rouge is that people are saying, 'Let's try something different' and we've connected wholeheartedly to it -
that's what made this project so fulfilling." Like Nicole, Ewan showed off a singing voice that no-one knew he had,
and it bought him new fans, including his leading lady - "Every time Ewan sings I'm more in love with him," Nicole
swoons! Ewan won several awards for his performance as Christian, and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for
Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Ewan has since said he'd love to do another musical with Nicole ...
let's keep our fingers crossed!
Playing the larger-than-life Moulin Rouge owner, Harold Zidler, is British actor Jim Broadbent. With an extensive career
in British film and television behind him, 2001 was a highly successful year for Broadbent - not only starring in this
musical and winning a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor for it, and taking home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his
role in a slightly different type of film from the same year, Iris. He has recently been seen in the Harry Potter
movies, the two Bridget Jones movies, and Hot Fuzz. He won an Emmy in 2001 for The Gathering Storm.
Rounding out the main cast is Richard Roxburgh as The Duke. Hailing from Down Under, Roxburgh has worked in several
Australia stage, film and tv productions, including his breakout role in tv series Blue Murder. Interestingly,
he starred in Mission: Impossible II, which filmed in Sydney around the same time as Moulin Rouge, and
of course starred Nic's then-husband. His most recent film release was 2010's Sanctum. Roxburgh won the
Australian Film Institute for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his role as the wicked Duke.
Several actors, actresses, and even musicians were auditioned and considered for the film before Nicole and Ewan McGregor
were finalised. Renee Zellweger, Sharleen Spiteri, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and even Courtney Love tried out for Satine, and
Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal and the late Heath Ledger auditioned for Christian. Baz went to see Nicole on Broadway in
The Blue Room, and sent her some red roses and a note telling her about the role. Unsurprisingly, Nicole said that
typically if she was approached with a musical she'd say no, but when she found out Baz Luhrmann, who had previously
directed Romeo + Juliet and Strictly Ballroom, was making it, she thought it would be interesting. "His whole idea was
to take the genre and re-invent it". She was also excited to go back to Australia and work with some of the same crew
she'd worked with when she was 15. And her then-husband was also working in Sydney at the time, so they were able to make
it work for their family. Extensive auditions and workshops were held during the casting process. Baz auditioned
Nicole with several actors, but wanted to see what she was like with Ewan McGregor - there were obviously sparks, and they
were cast as Satine and Christian. "When I got the role, I was absolutely floored and so excited because it meant being
able to do something so unusual," Nicole says.
One of the many challenges Nicole faced in this film was the singing, something she had never done on screen before.
The cast were required to sing a lot of the songs live, because Baz believed it would maintain the intensity
of the scene - something which Nicole found embarrassing in front of 600 extras! But once she got into character, put on
her costume, she was ok and lost her inhibitions. She adds that "it’s hard when you’re crying and singing and trying to
stay in the right key and the right timing without accompaniment." Baz's intensive pre-production process helped with
challenges like this though: "What's so brilliant about Baz, is that he pushes you early on in the piece, so by the time
you start to film you're so comfortable with what you're doing that you're ready to try anything." Nicole was also surprised
by the power of the song, and how it be used to express emotions sometimes words can't, saying "I think in some ways love
can be expressed through music in ways that it can't in other genres." Once inside the recording studio Nicole was
surprised to find that you can approach singing the same way you can acting, by exploring and finding ways to use your
voice in different ways. Every note you hear them sing in the film was their real voices, and Fred Baron, a music producer
on the film, was "knocked out" by Nicole's voice.
flew to Cannes to present their film on opening night, posing for the press in the beautiful town in the South of France
and walking the famous red carpet up to the Palais des Festivals. Appearances followed in Los Angeles, Sydney, Melbourne,
London, Berlin and Tokyo. The promotional appearances for the film ended with an AMPAS Screening of the film in LA in
November 2001. As well as all of those public appearances, Nicole was 2001's favourite cover girl, appearing on various
editions of Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Good Housekeeping, Vogue, Esquire, Interview, Vanity Fair and In Style.
such a massive tour by herself for the first time, and at a time of such turmoil in her life, must've been something she
would've wanted to avoid. But she found the strength to do it, saying "I could have said, 'I'm not doing any press for
this film. See ya later. I'm not coming out until I am completely healed'. But I don't know if that will ever happen.
It's been awful, but I will move forward day by day. I'm dealing with this, and I find I'm stronger than I thought."
Nicole was not alone during the tour though, as her sister Antonia joined her, with the twosome walking the red carpet
at Cannes together holding hands. The grace and dignity with which Nicole conducted herself during the promotion, is
nothing short of inspirational. Baz Luhrmann has said that the film is about growing up, and making that transition into
adulthood, and that was certainly something Nicole could relate to when taking part in the promotional tour for the
film - "I've said so much over the last five months of me has been about growing up - in terms of having to learn to
deal with a lot."
FilmThreat.com think Baz suceeded in his aim to
re-invigorate the musical genre and produce something new, saying "Musicals are already a hard sell in this cynical day
and age, let alone one that dares to take the genre to even greater escapist extremes. But it’s that very quality that
will win the film its share of admirers, and rightfully so. As with any experiment, certain choices along the way in
“Moulin Rouge!” simply fail, but what counts is the end product–and what ultimately comes through is an undeniably
imaginative work that is a glorious testament to the limitless and largely untapped possibilities of cinema." And several
reviewers praised Nicole's commitment to the role, something the
BBC said of which,
"...it’s Kidman who steals the movie with a devastating display of sultry allure. Watching her commit herself body
and soul to Luhrmann’s bizarre vision makes it easy to overlook the film’s structural deficiencies and its tendency to
sacrifice emotional resonance for stylistic bombast." But with the good comes the bad, and some didn't appreciate the
over stylistic movie and criticised it for choosing visuals over story.
Variety's review thought that
"the love story never truly takes on a life of its own that rouses viewer emotion and becomes moving in its own right.
Tale is so clearly a synthetic recycling of "La Boheme" elements that the characters remain constructs, exaggerated
caricatures that are vibrant yet bloodless."
he admits he cried when Nicole received her nomination! There was some out-cry when the one original song in the film -
Come What May - was not nominated for Original Song, but it was revealed that the song was actually originally written for
Romeo & Juliet. On the big night itself, Nic graced the red carpet in a feminine pale pink Chanel dress with an
impressive set of Bulgari diamonds (that she helped to design) round her neck - much like Satine's! Antonia again
accompanied her sister on her big night. Nicole lost out on Best Actress to Halle Berry, but Moulin Rouge took
home the awards for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration and Best Costume Design. Nic was awarded with the Golden Globe award
for Best Actress, Comedy or Musical, and Moulin Rouge was named Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy. The film,
and Nicole, received numerous other nominations during the 2001-2 awards season.
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