Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman took part in Stanley Kubrick's final film, 'Eyes Wide Shut'. The film is remembered for its graphic nudity scenes, though in truth, it was so much more.
As we'll reveal throughout the article, Kubrick left a lasting impression on the greats, including Kidman who approached a script differently thanks to the iconic filmmaker.
In addition, the two made a mutual agreement when it came to the graphic scenes, ultimately, Nicole agreed to them all.
"When I went to work with Stanley Kubrick, he was like, ‘I’m going to want full-frontal nudity,’ and I was like, ‘Ahh, I don’t know.’ So we came up with a great agreement, which was contractual. He would show me the scenes with the nudity before they made it into the film,” she said. “Then I could feel completely safe. I didn’t say no to any of it."
We'll take a look at the lesson Kidman learned during and the film and a few other things that took place behind the scenes.
She Was On Good Terms With Tom Cruise While Making The Film
It was a different time in 1999, although Nicole Kidman doesn't speak much about her past alongside Tom Cruise, she has admitted that the two were on great terms at the time of the film.
"We were happily married through that. We would go go-kart racing after those scenes. We’d rent out a place and go racing at 3 in the morning. I don’t know what else to say. Maybe I don’t have the ability to look back and dissect it. Or I’m not willing to."
Ultimately, Kidman revealed that it was a long process for the couple, however, it was all worth it in the end.
"We were working with the greatest filmmaker and learning about our lives and enjoying our lives on set. We would say, 'When is it going to end?' We went over there thinking it was going to be three months. It turned into a year, a year and a half," she said.
"But you go, 'As long as I surrender to what this is, I’m going to have an incredible time,'" she continued. "Stanley, he wasn’t torturous. He was arduous in that he would shoot a lot."
Through all the shooting, Kidman was able to pick up on more than a few things along the way.
Kubrick Changed The Way She Looked At A Script
Working alongside Kubrick was a career-changing experience for several actors and that includes Kidman. She revealed that looking at a script was a completely different experience once Stanley chimed in with advice. Kubrick revealed how to approach a script. According to the filmmaker, the first impression is everything. Kidman took those words to heart.
“I was taught really early on to always read the whole script from beginning to end, and the first time you do it, to write everything down because you’ll never have that first response, you’ll never have that first reading ever again. You’ll have different ways of approaching it when you reread it."
"But the first time, you get an immediate response. And so quickly write your feelings down so that you can capture that. Stanley Kubrick was the one that said that to me, and it was just wonderful, I’ve never stopped doing it. That always has a wealth of information in it.”
Nicole enjoyed a thriving career following the film and that theme continues to this day. Clearly, she saw the magic involved with such a method, one that followed her throughout her career.
It Was Kubrick's Final Film
Just six days after the final cut of the film was presented, Kubrick passed away, making the film his final project. With a $65 million budget, the film was able to earn $162 million worldwide, making it a modest success. The film was met with mixed reviews, though most were positive. The likes of Tom Cruise had a great experience with the director, he recalled the experience alongside Roger Ebert.
"Stanley would just say, let them keep talking," Cruise smiled. "Now it's such a relief to actually be able to discuss the picture. It's also--it's strange. It has a bittersweetness. At night, you hear Stanley's voice..."
A lot of lessons were learned behind the scenes of the film and it changed the way some of the very best actors look at a script.
It just goes to show the profound impact the filmmaker had. In truth, the film is remembered for its edginess, some coin as it being a little too over the top when it came to nudity. However, it is remarkable to see the impact it had behind the scenes on some of the very greats.
