Nicole, Queen of the Amazons?
Thursday, November 5, 2015 at 12:30PM In her continual quest to spent every waking moment of her adult life on film sets (girl enjoy that lovely farm for a month!) our Nicole Kidman has lined up two potentially awful / potentially awesome new roles this week. (That's in addition to the films she's already shot that have yet to hit theaters.) The biggest ticket is Wonder Woman (2017) the sequel/prequel (?) to next spring's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The role in question is apparently Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons and mother to our wondrous woman.
Whatever would Cloris Leachman make of this?
Cloris looks none too pleased. If you're of a certain age you'll remember that Cloris Leachman played the role on TV's Wonder Woman and she was the only member of the cast who truly embraced the (unintentional) comedy of Amazon Island.
That's a ridiculously high profile film but the more intriguing project is the film adaptation of the best seller The Silent Wife about a woman who plots her philandering husband's murder. Our Ms Kidman has been attached to that one for a couple of years but now it has a director and that's where the intrigue comes in. It's none other than maestro of sexually charged thrillers Adrian Lyne (Indecent Proposal, Fatal Attraction, Lolita, 9 1/2 Weeks) . Lyne hasn't made a movie in 13 years but it's worth noting that he didn't go out with a whimper. He just quit. His last film was Unfaithful (2002) which was a hit and nabbed Diane Lane well deserved acting awards including an Oscar nomination. Lyne is now 74 years old but this year alone should have definitively put a stake in the undead assumption that directors age out of their gift -- see George Miller & Ridley Scott's huge artistic successes this year in their 70s and their entrenchment in the Best Director conversation.
The movie star's recent femme thriller work has opened and closed without much excitement but Lyne is a big deal in that genre, even wrestling an Oscar nomination from it for Fatal Attraction, so godspeed to them both.
Reader Comments (15)
Where's the option for "No, it's written by Jason Fuchs?" Because, seriously, Fuch that guy.
It's worth noting that Adrian Lyne had a film in development with Jennifer Garner and Marcia Gay Harden for years. And he's also been quoted as saying that moviegoers just aren't interested in his type of films anymore. So I'm not sure that he just quit - I think he's had trouble getting films made.
I would love for Nic to have a mainstream hit just to shut people up but both of these projects make me nervous for her. I mean, like most of her choices, Wonder Woman sounds great on paper but who knows how that's even going to turn out. We don't even know if Gal Gadot can carry that movie as yet plus Nic's role. I mean, yeah, she has the height and regal realness to carry it off but I can't picture Nicole picking up a sword to slice a bitch as an Amazon Queen. Plus, that role totally screams Lynda Carter or Lucy Lawless. The Silent Wife is another one good on paper. Hopefully it works out for the better because it's been a rocky as hell road for her these past couple of years.
Derreck: Plus the fact that the guy who wrote Pan is currently the one writing the script?
Suzanne may be onto something re: difficulty getting films made. I was astounded to see that Unfaithful had a $50 million production budget - in 2002! I can't fathom an R-rated erotic drama being made for anywhere close to that amount in today's studio fillmmaking atmosphere. If Lyne has been unwilling/unable to scale back production costs then that could have a lot to do with the big gap in his productivity.
RJ - That was its budget? Where did that money go? It wasn't cheap-looking but it was a bunch of adults standing around talking or having sex. And Lane and Gere don't command THAT much money. Maybe one of Lyne's problems getting films made is he asks for too much money.
If I can't have Charlize in the big-screen version of The Bionic Woman, then Nicole would be good.
On the one hand, Our Lady Kidman in a superhero movie is a wonderful idea! On the other hand, this movie's production problems (the lack of a director, their choice of screenwriter) don't give me any confidence in this. On the other OTHER hand, I can see her as an Amazon warrior goddess. But then on the fourth hand, Batman Forever was a 1-800-HOT-MESS.
I'll be very excited to see a new film directed by Adrian Lyne. I think Fatal Attraction is terrific and Unfaithful had some really good stuff in it.
Cloris would throw a cup of coffee against the wall and shout - why am i always thinking about you????
I'll watch Nicole in anything so of course this means I'll end up seeing Wonder Woman, though The Silent Wife is more up my alley.
Good luck sister.
The Silent Wife sounds like a lot of fun, lively and pulpy.
I agree with Derreck though, that the Queen of the Amazons should be Lucy Lawless or Lynda Carter.
I would buy Uma Thurman much more than Nicole Kidman in this role (though I love them both).
I miss the Nicole of Birth, Dogville, The Hours, The Others - 2002 to 2006- come back to us.