Saturday, February 7, 2009

Would it have worked with Nicole?

As mentioned in a previous post, Kate Winslet was first choice for the lead role in The Reader but declined because of filming commitments on Revolutionary Road. Nicole Kidman was then surprisingly offered the role. Nicole accepted, but pulled out before filming began due to pregnancy. By that time, Kate was available to take on the role.  

The Reader is an intriguing story that sees Kate as a German woman, Hanna Schmitz, accused of Nazi war crimes. The film will draw you in, and this is largely attributable to Kate's convincing portrayal, as well as the performances of the two male leads.  Kate has been nominated for Best Actress at the upcoming Oscars, while the film has been nominated in the Best Film category (apparently pushing The Dark Knight off the nomination list).  Kate appeared at the Berlin Premiere yesterday with her male co-stars (Ralph Fiennes and David Kross).

Would The Reader have been the same if Nicole had been in it? We will never know, but based on her acting in Australia it's highly unlikely. I just can't imagine Nicole doing those courtroom scenes. 

Nicole secretly must be kicking herself though at a lost opportunity. Good luck Kate on Oscar night!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is a brilliant film. Kidman would have killed the movie. Probably would have gone straight to DVD with her in it. Or might have been classified as a Comedy.

blue sky said...

As Cher says, "if we could turn back time," it would be interesting to see what kind of film The Reader would have been if Kidman didn't get "pregnant". For the life of me, I can't imagine for a minute that Kidman would have done better than Kate. These two actresses don't belong in the same category - Kidman belongs on the B List!

Anonymous said...

In a word No. I never saw Kidman as Hannah. The author was quite thrilled with Kate Winslet back in the role.

Anonymous said...

Isn't it amazing just how natural and realistic Kate Winslet looks as oppose to Nicole Kidman, who's now beginning to look like a post-plastic surgery transexual?!

Kidman is a dreary actress with little to no screen presence, so if she'd starred in The Reader it would have been really boring with lots of whispering and blank expressions and bad wigs - a movie that few people would have wanted to watch.

Choice said...

The Director was the same guy who directed Nicole in THE HOURS. He probably suggested her when Kate first pulled out. He may have been able to pull some sort of performance out of her, but the main problem (like Linda said) is that Nicole is no longer natural looking. Her film roles require the use of wigs and fake noses. Kate doesn't require these 'add ons'.

Just for the record, I didn't think Nicole wasn't that great in THE HOURS. It was Julianne Moore who deserved that Oscar for the same film.

Anonymous said...

I couldn't agree more, Choice. Julianne Moore's subtle and haunting performance is certainly the most memorable one in The Hours. Although, Virginia Woolf is one of Kidman's better performances, it could have quite easily been played by an English actress like Emma Thompson or Joely Richardson, or Juliet Stephenson without all the hoo ha, add ons and publicity. It was definately Kidman's Kirk Lazarus moment.

Choice said...

Hi Linda
Also, The Hours was made when Nicole had alot of public sympathy. People wanted something good for after Tom leaving her. The Hours truly belonged to Juliane Moore. Having said that, I'm not denying Nicole had some magic moments in her career. She was quite good in Dogville and The Others, even if the whispering style she likes took over. Not sure if you ever saw "Bangkok Hilton" but Nic was quite good in that. Just a shame she is no longer the natural fresh faced person she once was.

Anonymous said...

I've seen Dogville and if another actress had played Grace it would have been a superb movie. However Nicole Kidman's affected, whispery, baby doll voice that just sounds so phoney, irritated the hell out of me!
She was certainly better in The Others, but you know she's just so bland on the screen that you want to slap her! I much prefer actresses with more screen presence and greater acting ability; Cate Blanchett, Sigourney Weaver, Glenn Close, Judy Davis, etc...