Sunday, February 04, 2007

Nicole Kidman's Flops

I've written before about "Walter Scott's Personality Parade." The bizarre, canned questions and the equally bizarre answers hold a fascination for me.

I've discovered someone else with the same obsession, screenwriter John August. On his blog, in fact, he goes so far as to answer the questions himself.

Today's column has an interesting question about Nicole Kidman--she's been in a bunch of flops lately, so why is she getting $16 million for her latest film? Scott's answer is she had a hit in 2001 with the horror film The Others, and so everyone figures she's worth the loot in a remake of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers

There's some truth to this, but Scott doesn't explain why she's been making this kind of money for her last few films. He would have done better to question the "flop" characterization.

The Hours (2002) was a well-respected film that probably made a small proift and, by the way, won Kidman an Oscar for Best Actress.

Dogville (2003) was a well-received, low-budget art film.

Cold Mountain (2003) was a big-budget, high-profile film that grossed $173 million worldwide.

The Stepford Wives (2004) was a big-budget movie that grossed $60 million domestic. A disappointment, but flop is a bit strong.

The Interpreter (2005) was a big-budget thriller that grossed $150 million worldwide.

Bewitched (2005) was a big-budget comedy that grossed over $60 million domestic, another disappointment that I wouldn't quite call a flop.

Happy Feet (2006), for which she provided her voice, has grossed $355 million worldwide.

Sure, she's also been in straight-out flops since 2001--The Human Stain, Birth and Fur--but the point is the public still likes her. Stepford and Bewitched both opened well, and only failed because they were so awful.

In other words, she's a star. What she needs is a good film.

5 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I completely agree. She is one of the few actresses I can think of today who really impresses me with her versatility. Her acting in Malice was just incredible. Same with The Others and The Human Stain. And she plays three utterly different characters in these movies.

10:58 PM, February 03, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey, LAGuy, still calling out here from the netherworld that Google has put me in.

Get this: I succumbed. Put the google chip in my neck.

And it won't let me post anyway. It wants to move the entire blog, which it won't do for some reason. Presumably it's what you mentioned before, that PajamaGuy himself must do it.

If my surmise is correct, that this is merely a wave in the overall upgrade process, that means you are doomed. DOOMED I say.

Because first they came for me, and you said nothing. Soon, you, too, will have to migrate, and soon, you, too, will not be allowed to do so. Await my fate, LAGuy. Await my fate. Bwahaha.

Bwahaha. BWAhaha. BWHAHAHA . . .

6:28 AM, February 04, 2007  
Blogger LAGuy said...

ColumbusGuy, go to the main page of this blog and click on whatever is on the top that let's you sign in. At that point, it may give you a choice to sign in the old way or the new way, but, regardless, you will eventually have to sign in through Google, I guess.

I would expect you can sign in so your computer remembers. Either way, I would also hope you can then start posting again.

See how it goes.

10:06 AM, February 04, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I suppose she has talent, but she still gives me the creeps. She always has this strange expression on her face, and she is rather bizarre looking. The fact that she was married to equally-if-not-more creepy Tom Cruise, then dated weird (albeit really cool) Lenny Kravitz and now has married major substance abuser Keith Urban doesn't help. I never "got" her, so I tend to avoid her movies. I was upset when she was cast in Cold Mountain, my favorite book of the 1990s. Does anyone else share my feelings?

3:52 PM, February 05, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

She didn't used to look creepy, but I think she had some work done and you can see it.

4:52 PM, February 05, 2007  

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