Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman’s marriage was the subject of public fascination in the '90s and also drew the interest of Stanley Kubrick. The revered filmmaker decided to construct his sexual thriller around the real couple's marriage via his film, Eyes Wide Shut. The controversial movie was his last, and has retroactively been considered one of Kubrick's best movies. However, rumors have swirled around the tedious, years-long process of making the movie, as well as Kubrick’s strange directing techniques allegedly leading to Kidman and Cruise’s divorce. Nevertheless, the movie remains iconic, and Kidman recently reflected on the experience positively and revealed a "great" note the directer gave her and Cruise.
In a recent interview with The LA Times, the Moulin Rouge star opened up about making Eyes Wide Shut, which came along so early in Nicole Kidman’s Hollywood career. She chatted about what it was like working with the famously meticulous Stanley Kubrick and how he wanted to create a comfortable environment for the actors to express their ideas. He wanted his actors to not treat him like a legend, and wanted input regarding creative decisions. She explained:
The great thing about him is that he told us, 'Don’t put me on a pedestal.' That’s the No. 1 rule. Because when we came to his house, we were like, 'Oh, my God. The great Stanley Kubrick.' And that kind of thinking hinders the creative process. He didn’t want sycophants. He told us to throw ideas out. And everyone has to wait at least 10 seconds before they say no to an idea. I heard that, and I’m in my 20s, and I’m like, “OK. It’s on.” It was experimental, like making student films in Australia.
Many directors have also taken their approach to the creative process. Martin Scorsese encourages his actors to improvise some of their lines, and Yorgos Lanthimos has rehearsal sessions that just involve acting exercises to make performers more comfortable with movement. It’s a great technique and a smart way to ground the creative process and keep ideas flowing.
Because of this approach, this meant much of the production on Eyes Wide Shut was devoted to talking, not actually shooting footage. While the cast felt supported that their ideas and input was being respected by someone so renowned like Stanley Kubrick, at a certain point, the actors were anxious to actually start filming. One scene that took the longest was the scene where Cruise and Kidman smoke a spliff in bed together. By the time they ended up actually filming it, the two were very comfortable with the dialogue, and improvised some of it. Kidman said of the experience:
Just a lot of talking. When Tom and I first started with Stanley, it was at his home, and we didn’t even go over to the sets at Pinewood [Studios]. Six, eight weeks passed, and we’re wondering, 'Are we ever going to start?' And we just wouldn’t start. We were getting comfortable with each other, comfortable enough to throw out ideas. For that scene, we improvised the beginning of it through the rehearsals.
This level of preparation is probably why the actors ended up being game for some of the more racy scenes in the movie. For instance, Nicole Kidman is naked in the opening scene of Eyes Wide Shut and has said in the past that she felt completely safe filming those kinds of scenes. The Oscar-winning actress also explained that she understands the fascination with the process because it took two years to film, and the subject matter at the center. She also recalled a time where Sydney Pollack, who is a director himself, expected to only be filming his acting scenes for a couple of days. But she and Cruise knew from working on the film for so long that it would likely be much longer than that:
They want to know what it was like to spend that much time making it, which I understand. It was two years of our lives! [Laughs.] I remember Sydney Pollack when he arrived, telling us, ‘I’m only going to be here for about three days. And it seems like we got the scene today.’ And Tom and I just looked at each other, going, ‘Mmm-hmmm. Sure, Sydney.’
Even though the process was apparently draining for the two lead actors, many would consider the end product to be worth it. Eyes Wide Shut has garnered a significant following, and the mystique of the film is cemented in cinematic and pop culture history. It may not be everyone’s favorite Kubrick movie, but it is certainly one of his most discussed, and was revolutionary for its time.
You can check out Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise in Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut, which is one of the best movies streaming on Pluto TV. For more information on some other great films starring Kidman.
