Kidman Kicks Off Cannes
May 10 -- (CANNES, France) — Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor were well-prepared when they were asked to sing a few bars of one of their love songs from the $50 million musical Moulin Rouge, which opened the 54th Cannes Film Festival Wednesday night to violently mixed reviews.
The duo dared to do their own singing in the film, but they both swiftly declined to warble on demand at Wednesday's globally telecast Cannes press conference.
"We made an agreement that we'd never [sing] at a party or a press conference or do any numbers from the film because it would be too embarrassing!" laughed Kidman, who was calm and upbeat despite her headline-grabbing split from her superstar husband, Tom Cruise.
"We knew the day would come when it would be asked and we made a pact to never, ever let that happen, no matter how drunk anyone was," added McGregor.
Although the film is set in Paris in 1899, the music in Moulin Rouge is pure contemporary pop, ranging from a goofy sendup of Madonna's "Like a Virgin" to Kidman's entrance on a swing descending from the ceiling while singing Marilyn Monroe's anthem "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend."
Kidman, the veteran of London and New York productions of The Blue Room — in which her brief nudity scored a sold-out run — was asked if she'd return to the stage in a Broadway musical. "Ah, vocally Broadway is tough on your voice. I'd really have to train up for it. I'd actually like to," she said.
"Even doing a film of this nature, physically you have to take care of yourself so much more. You can't smoke. [With] the dancing, you constantly have to keep your body warm. Physically it's much, much harder than a straight play and that's the thing that scares me about it. I had some injuries on this film, but ultimately, any challenge, I'm usually up for it, so I'd certainly consider it."
Kidman was being too modest. She broke several ribs — "I broke them, actually," McGregor said of what must have been a too-tight squeeze — and badly injured her knee in a dance sequence.
