SBIFF - Nicole Kidman - Cinema Vanguard Award

Saving one of the best for last...

On the 2nd to the last day of the 26th International Santa Barbara Film Festival, Nicole Kidman received the Cinema Vanguard award. This special award goes to an actor who is willing to take risks.  Many regard this award as the most prestigious of the festival's awards.  Kidman certainly has taken risks in her expansive career.  The festival's Executive Director, Roger Durling conducted the almost 60 minute interview.

From listening to her, Nicole Kidman is an actor that is passionate about the roles she chooses.  There seems to be no doubt about that. She is intelligent, articulate, deep, and funny.  I think the audience was pleasantly pleased at how open she is with her thoughts on acting as well as in personal issues.

She mentioned that she always seems to be attracted to more dramatic roles but she loves comedy also.  She is seemingly not afraid of any role... or rather she is afraid occasionally but doesn't let her fear stand in the way.  She goes for it!  At one point she said she is not governed by her fear... For Moulin Rouge she had to dance and sing and she was nervous about that.  She won the Golden Globe for best actress and was also nominated for an academy award for best actress.  Not bad for facing your fears head on!

After a very intense clip was shown from her latest movie, Rabbit Hole  she said,  "I like to get into the psychology of the character."  The film deals with a couple who lost a child.  Some consider this role to be Kidman's best to date.  She says her capacity to love is so strong and when a person grieves so hard it's because, she feels, that they have expressed so much love for that person.  

She reflected about her childhood for a few minutes and said she began reading at a very young age.  In Australia, where she grew up, people love to go to the beach.  Because Kidman has very light skinned and is prone to sunburns her mother didn't let her go to the beach.  So she stayed home and read a lot of books.  She also mentioned that she became, in her mind, the characters in the books.  That led to her incredible acting career.   It's always something like that isn't it?  Rarely do we hear of "normal" people becoming great actors!  If I had spent less time at the beach I wonder how great I would have become???  Hmm... a good question for my therapist... anyway... let's move on...

When asked if she thought about her age (she's 43) and how that relates to acting she said she is getting incredibly interesting offers.  And by the looks of it it doesn't seem to be letting up.  After Rabbit Hole she is working on a psychological thriller (no surprise there) directed by Joel Schumacher called Trespass as well as a romantic comedy called Just Go With It featuring Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler.

I thought I should mention at one point she said how she is "drawn to obsessive compulsive roles... but not obsessive compulsive husbands!"  I'll leave that to you do figure out what she meant by that!

Another very interesting moment came when she said that what happens on a movie set is private... and sacred.  This was in reference to a certain actor who went ballistic when a cameraman walked into a scene by mistake.  I'm not excusing the actor for losing it  but I do understand what Kidman meant about this.  We don't know these actors or what they go through in order to "be" a character.  It was interesting that she remarked about it.  I have to agree with her that what happens on a set should be private because I doubt the public understands exactly what goes through an actor's mind when he/she is preparing for a part.

Another interesting thing she said was that actors these days become famous so quickly.  So quickly that they have not laid the groundwork to developed their craft very well.  She would know.  At 43 Nicole Kidman has been in at the top of her game for a long time and has definitely laid that groundwork.  This oscar nomination for Rabbit Hole is special to her because she says, "I now know what it means."  (Possibly referring to the process of laying that groundwork).  When she learned that she was nominated she cried and her daughter asked, "why are you sad mommy?"  Kidman said she was not sad and that these were happy tears.   All this while her husband country music singer Keith Urban danced around the house when he learned the news.

After the interview Nicole Kidman was presented with the Cinema Vanguard Award which she graciously accepted.  She thanked everyone for coming out.

I had different thoughts about Nicole Kidman based on what I had heard from various people.   We have to remember that we don't  know these actors except through the characters they play or what we hear on TV or see in an interview.   My experience at this event made me realize that Nicole Kidman is a true artist and is incredibly dedicated to her work.  She's a complex person who thinks a lot about life and the roles she plays.  She has a lively spirit and a humorous side as well.  She is willing to take risks and challenges herself to explore different characters.  So, it's no surprise she won this coveted award.