“Meet Nicole Kidman “It was like a dream,” he said. Zac Efron As soon as he began the speech with which he paid tribute to the Australian actress at the ceremony of the Honorary Award from the American Film Institute (AFI)held on June 12.
A couple of weeks ago, all of Hollywood gathered to pay tribute to an actress who has made history in the seventh art, but in his speech, Efron, very emotional, confessed the importance of Kidman in his professional career.
Efron recalled that even in The newspaper boy (2012), from Lee Danielswhich they both starred in, the actor had only played very small roles, apart from the Disney musical High School Musical.
“What no one knows is that when I was making those movies, I religiously watched Moulin Rouge” he continued. “I’m not kidding: I must have seen that movie like a hundred times. And there I found inspiration and I found Nicole Kidman.”
In addition to remembering the first time he discovered Kidman, Efron also recalled his work on The Newspaper Boy in his speech, also revealing that he was extremely hooked on the actress.
“When I wanted to go beyond musicals, I was fucking nervous,” he said. “And then The Paperboy came along. It was edgy, provocative and pushed me out of my comfort zone. But what really made me super nervous was Nicole… Yes, he had a super strong crush on her.“
Sex, violence and scatology in Cannes
Efron’s presence in the parade of proper names that paid tribute to Kidman at the AFI gala made all the sense in the world, since both have also worked together again on the romantic comedy A family affairthat Netflix premieres on the platform on Friday, June 28.
This rom-com It marks the reunion of Efron and Kidman twelve years after the aforementioned The Paperboy, a much more heated film than the Netflix production, and which earned the actress a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Supporting Role..
Her role in that Daniels film is one of the most intense of her career, not only because it shows us a register of the actress very far from the usual, but also becauseto the high sexual charge that accompanied it.
The film is the story of journalist Ward Jansen (Matthew McConaughey) who returns to the town where he was born, in the state of Florida, to investigate the case concerning Hillary Van Wetter, a prisoner sentenced to death (John Cusack).
To achieve this goal he will be helped by his co-worker Yardley Acheman (David Oyelowo), his brother Jack (Efron), and Charlotte Bless (Kidman), an extremely attractive woman who is corresponding romantically with the prisoner.
The Paperboy was presented at the Cannes Film Festival that year amid a strong controversy due to the sexual and violent nature of the film.
In particular, there are two scenes that shocked those present: the sequence of the face-to-face meeting between Kidman and Van Metter, in which the character masturbates in front of the prisoner and the journalists; and a subsequent sequence in which The actress had to urinate on Zac Efron to soothe the character’s skin irritation after being stung by jellyfish.
As expected, Nicole Kidman was asked a lot about that last sequence in particular. This was said in Deadline: “Yes, I did the scene. That was what Lee wanted. It was in the script… I mean, I love Zac. He’s a great guy and let me tell you, I’m glad it was him. I feel safe with Zac and I hope he feels safe with me.”.
In an interview for GQthe film’s director confessed that he was on the verge of eliminating that scene and that it was Kidman who insisted that he keep it as it was.
“She told me: ‘Lee, you made me piss on Zac Efron, if you don’t put that in the movie, you’re crazy’” Daniels recalled. “That’s when I thought, ‘Oh… No!’ When you’re writing the script it makes sense, when you’re shooting it it makes sense, but then you see the whole thing and you’re like, wow.”
Daniels also revealed then that the scene was especially memorable for Efron: “If you could have seen Zac’s face… He’s supposed to be passed out and (while she’s pissing) he’s got this smile on his face. I’m like, ‘Zac, act like you’re dead. ‘ And he just gets this crazy smile on his face. It’s crazy.”
A tremendous chemistry and a great friendship
If The Newspaper Boy was clearly an intense experience for Kidman and Efron, their new film together lowers the revs to show us the couple’s most affectionate side. And comical!
Because in A Family Affair, Zac Efron plays movie superstar Chris Cole, who ends up falling in love with Brooke (Kidman), the mother of his personal assistant, Zara, played by Joey King.
The sentimental entanglement not only works to stage an atypical romance, but also to Efron and Kidman laugh at the dynamics and conventions of Hollywood cinema, proving that their chemistry goes beyond the racy scenes and they form one of those professional couples that we would see again and again, on the big and small screen.
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