Nicole Kidman brought her erotic drama Babygirl&nbsp;to the Venice Film Festival on Friday, saying she felt exposed and nervous as the controlled intimacy of the set gets projected onto the big screen before a global audience.

Kidman has made a string of risque films throughout her career, including Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut, which premiered in Venice 25 years ago. But she told reporters she was highly anxious about the reaction to her latest movie.

Kidman plays a successful New York CEO, Romy, who jeopardises both her career and her family by having a torrid affair with a young, opportunistic intern. "Making it with these people here, it was delicate and intimate and very, very deep," said Kidman, sitting alongside the director, Halina Reijn, and fellow stars Antonio Banderas, who plays her husband, and Harris Dickinson, her lover.

"But this definitely leaves me exposed and vulnerable and frightened ... when it's given to the world," she added. "We're all a bit nervous, so I was like, I hope my hands aren't shaking."

Shot by a female director, Babygirl&nbsp;brings a woman's gaze to the erotic thriller genre as she explores Romy's darkest fantasies that she cannot fulfil within the confines of her apparently successful marriage.

"I'm very delighted to be able to make a film about female desire, but it's also a film about a woman in an existential crisis, and it has many layers," said Reijn, whose earlier movies included the 2022 comedy horror Bodies Bodies Bodies.

Babygirl&nbsp;reveals profound differences in the ways younger and older generations view sex in a city where political correctness reigns. "I think there is in general a confusion about how to ... conduct yourself within sex as well," Dickinson said, praising the work of the intimacy coordinator who helped the actors overcome their natural boundaries.

"It's always nerve-wracking constructing a scene anyway, so then you add something intimate to it and it's very vulnerable," he said.

Setting the tone for the film, Babygirl&nbsp;opens with a close-up of Kidman as she fails to achieve an orgasm with her husband, launching her search for satisfaction elsewhere.

"The huge orgasm gap ... still exists, people. Take note, men," Reijn said to laughs, adding that she hoped her movie would "function as a tribute to self-love and liberation".

Kidman, who won the Oscar for Best Actress for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf in The Hours&nbsp;in 2002, has worked with many of the leading male directors of her generation, but she said she decided some years ago to promote women filmmakers, like Reijn.

"I'm going to put my weight behind a lot of women now, in terms of directors, to try and change the ratio," she said.

Six of the 21 films in the main competition at Venice were directed by women, including Babygirl. Last year, five out of 23 competition movies had female directors.

Disclaimer: This story has been published from a news agency feed with minimal edits to adhere to WION's style guide. The headline may have been changed to better reflect the content of the story or to make it more suitable for WION&nbsp;audience.

Nicole Kidman brought her erotic drama Babygirl to the Venice Film Festival on Friday, saying she felt exposed and nervous as the controlled intimacy of the set gets projected onto the big screen before a global audience.

Nicole Kidman brought her erotic drama Babygirl to the Venice Film Festival on Friday, saying she felt exposed and nervous as the controlled intimacy of the set gets projected onto the big screen before a global audience. Kidman has made a string of risque films throughout her career, including Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut, which premiered in Venice 25 years ago. But she told reporters she was highly anxious about the reaction to her latest movie. Kidman plays a successful New York CEO, Romy, who jeopardises both her career and her family by having a torrid affair with a young, opportunistic intern. "Making it with these people here, it was delicate and intimate and very, very deep," said Kidman, sitting alongside the director, Halina Reijn, and fellow stars Antonio Banderas, who plays her husband, and Harris Dickinson, her lover. "But this definitely leaves me exposed and vulnerable and frightened ... when it's given to the world," she added. "We're all a bit nervous, so I was like, I hope my hands aren't shaking." Shot by a female director, Babygirl brings a woman's gaze to the erotic thriller genre as she explores Romy's darkest fantasies that she cannot fulfil within the confines of her apparently successful marriage. "I'm very delighted to be able to make a film about female desire, but it's also a film about a woman in an existential crisis, and it has many layers," said Reijn, whose earlier movies included the 2022 comedy horror Bodies Bodies Bodies. Babygirl reveals profound differences in the ways younger and older generations view sex in a city where political correctness reigns. "I think there is in general a confusion about how to ... conduct yourself within sex as well," Dickinson said, praising the work of the intimacy coordinator who helped the actors overcome their natural boundaries. "It's always nerve-wracking constructing a scene anyway, so then you add something intimate to it and it's very vulnerable," he said. Setting the tone for the film, Babygirl opens with a close-up of Kidman as she fails to achieve an orgasm with her husband, launching her search for satisfaction elsewhere. "The huge orgasm gap ... still exists, people. Take note, men," Reijn said to laughs, adding that she hoped her movie would "function as a tribute to self-love and liberation". Kidman, who won the Oscar for Best Actress for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf in The Hours in 2002, has worked with many of the leading male directors of her generation, but she said she decided some years ago to promote women filmmakers, like Reijn. "I'm going to put my weight behind a lot of women now, in terms of directors, to try and change the ratio," she said. Six of the 21 films in the main competition at Venice were directed by women, including Babygirl. Last year, five out of 23 competition movies had female directors. Disclaimer: This story has been published from a news agency feed with minimal edits to adhere to WION's style guide. The headline may have been changed to better reflect the content of the story or to make it more suitable for WION audience.

Nicole Kidman feels 'exposed and vulnerable' as sex drama hits Venice

Morgan Freeman spoke the words, but pretty much everyone who took the stage at the presentation of the AFI Life Achievement Award agreed: “ Nicole Kidman. She makes movies better.”

The line came in a video parody of Kidman’s AMC Theatres “we make movies better” ad that opened the Saturday night ceremony at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. It got huge laughs from the crowd of multigenerational A-listers there to honor the 40-year career of the 56-year-old Australian that has included roles in Moulin Rouge, Eyes Wide Shut&nbsp;and an Oscar-winning turn in The Hours.

Meryl Streep, Kidman’s The Hours&nbsp;co-star who presented to Streep the Life Achievement Award that she won herself in 2004, got laughs nearly as big when, in a mock-boastful voice, she described the hardest part of being “incessantly called the greatest actress of my generation.”

It’s when you come up against someone else who is “really, really, really, really, really, really great” and you realize they did things you couldn’t do, as happened with Kidman the first day they worked together on the HBO series Big Little Lies, Streep said.

Streep and their Big Little Lies&nbsp;co-star Reese Witherspoon both did spot-on, Australian-accented impressions of Kidman that had the audience in stitches.

Streep also drew tears from Kidman when describing what she believed motivated her.

“People call it bravery when an actress bares all and leaps off into the unknown and she dives deep into the darker parts of what it is to be a human being,” Streep said. “But I don’t think it’s bravery. I think it’s love. I think she just loves it.”

Kidman teared up for the first time in the evening when her husband and fellow Australian, singer Keith Urban, said she showed him “what love in action really looks like” when his substance abuse problems emerged almost immediately after they wed in 2006.

“Four months into our marriage, I’m in rehab for three months,” Urban said, looking at Kidman where she sat on a dais with their two daughters and other family. “Nic pushed through every negative voice, I’m sure even some of her own, and she chose love. And here we are 18 years later.”

Kidman said the night was the first time she allowed their teenage daughters to join her on a red carpet. She also has two children with her first husband, Tom Cruise.

She accepted the AFI award in the same venue where she accepted her Oscar in 2003 for playing Virginia Woolf in The Hours.

She thanked by name every director she has worked with, including Stanley Kubrick, Jane Campion, Baz Luhrmann, Sofia Coppola, Yorgos Lanthimos, Sydney Pollack and Lars von Trier.

“It is a privilege to make films. And glorious to have made films and television with these storytellers who allowed me to run wild and be free and play all of these unconventional women,” Kidman said, wearing a floor-length, glittering-gold gown. “Thank you for making me better at my craft and giving me a place, however temporary, in this world.”

It was announced back in November of 2022 that Kidman would receive the award, first handed out in 1973, whose previous winners include Orson Welles, Bette Davis, Alfred Hitchcock, Gene Kelly, Sidney Poitier, Barbara Streisand, Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro, Denzel Washington and Julie Andrews.

The ceremony originally was scheduled for June of 2023, but delayed because of Hollywood’s strikes. It will air on TNT on June 17.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/samantha-makes-surprise-announcement-of-her-next-film-bangaram-on-birthday-set-to-debut-as-producer-715936">Samantha makes surprise announcement of her next film Bangaram on birthday; set to debut as producer</a>

Kidman also was nominated for Academy Awards for Moulin Rouge, Rabbit Hole, Lion, and Being the Ricardos, whose director, Aaron Sorkin, also sang her praises at the ceremony.

Others honouring her included Zac Efron, Miles Teller, Zoe Saldana and Mike Myers, who came on stage in disguise in one of the eerie orgy masks from Eyes Wide Shut.

Kidman began her career as a teen in Australia in films including Bush Christmas&nbsp;and BMX Bandits. Naomi Watts, a friend from those days, described meeting Kidman when both had to sit in a waiting room in bathing suits for two hours at an audition. Aussies Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman and Cate Blanchett all gave video tributes to the first from their country to win the award.

Kidman said in a video played at the ceremony that her appearance in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm&nbsp;brought her to the attention of, among others, Cruise, the only time his name was spoken Saturday night.

She had her breakthrough Hollywood role alongside him in 1990’s Days of Thunder&nbsp;— they would marry the same year — and also starred together in 1992’s Far and Away&nbsp;and in 1999 in Kubrick’s final film, Eyes Wide Shut.

She divorced Cruise in 2001, but her stardom only grew. Some of her biggest roles, and her Oscar, were still to come.

The role most often cited as a favourite during the awards show Saturday night was her musical turn in Luhrmann’s 2001 Moulin Rouge.

Freeman, the 2011 AFI honoree, in his in-person presentation that followed the video spoof, serenaded Kidman with the modified Elton John lines she sings in the film: “How wonderful life is, now you’re in the world.”

Morgan Freeman spoke the words, but pretty much everyone who took the stage at the presentation of the AFI Life Achievement Award agreed: “ Nicole Kidman. She makes movies better.

Morgan Freeman spoke the words, but pretty much everyone who took the stage at the presentation of the AFI Life Achievement Award agreed: “ Nicole Kidman. She makes movies better.” The line came in a video parody of Kidman’s AMC Theatres “we make movies better” ad that opened the Saturday night ceremony at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. It got huge laughs from the crowd of multigenerational A-listers there to honor the 40-year career of the 56-year-old Australian that has included roles in Moulin Rouge, Eyes Wide Shut and an Oscar-winning turn in The Hours. Meryl Streep, Kidman’s The Hours co-star who presented to Streep the Life Achievement Award that she won herself in 2004, got laughs nearly as big when, in a mock-boastful voice, she described the hardest part of being “incessantly called the greatest actress of my generation.” It’s when you come up against someone else who is “really, really, really, really, really, really great” and you realize they did things you couldn’t do, as happened with Kidman the first day they worked together on the HBO series Big Little Lies, Streep said. Streep and their Big Little Lies co-star Reese Witherspoon both did spot-on, Australian-accented impressions of Kidman that had the audience in stitches. Streep also drew tears from Kidman when describing what she believed motivated her. “People call it bravery when an actress bares all and leaps off into the unknown and she dives deep into the darker parts of what it is to be a human being,” Streep said. “But I don’t think it’s bravery. I think it’s love. I think she just loves it.” Kidman teared up for the first time in the evening when her husband and fellow Australian, singer Keith Urban, said she showed him “what love in action really looks like” when his substance abuse problems emerged almost immediately after they wed in 2006. “Four months into our marriage, I’m in rehab for three months,” Urban said, looking at Kidman where she sat on a dais with their two daughters and other family. “Nic pushed through every negative voice, I’m sure even some of her own, and she chose love. And here we are 18 years later.” Kidman said the night was the first time she allowed their teenage daughters to join her on a red carpet. She also has two children with her first husband, Tom Cruise. She accepted the AFI award in the same venue where she accepted her Oscar in 2003 for playing Virginia Woolf in The Hours. She thanked by name every director she has worked with, including Stanley Kubrick, Jane Campion, Baz Luhrmann, Sofia Coppola, Yorgos Lanthimos, Sydney Pollack and Lars von Trier. “It is a privilege to make films. And glorious to have made films and television with these storytellers who allowed me to run wild and be free and play all of these unconventional women,” Kidman said, wearing a floor-length, glittering-gold gown. “Thank you for making me better at my craft and giving me a place, however temporary, in this world.” It was announced back in November of 2022 that Kidman would receive the award, first handed out in 1973, whose previous winners include Orson Welles, Bette Davis, Alfred Hitchcock, Gene Kelly, Sidney Poitier, Barbara Streisand, Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro, Denzel Washington and Julie Andrews. The ceremony originally was scheduled for June of 2023, but delayed because of Hollywood’s strikes. It will air on TNT on June 17. Also read: Samantha makes surprise announcement of her next film Bangaram on birthday; set to debut as producer Kidman also was nominated for Academy Awards for Moulin Rouge, Rabbit Hole, Lion, and Being the Ricardos, whose director, Aaron Sorkin, also sang her praises at the ceremony. Others honouring her included Zac Efron, Miles Teller, Zoe Saldana and Mike Myers, who came on stage in disguise in one of the eerie orgy masks from Eyes Wide Shut. Kidman began her career as a teen in Australia in films including Bush Christmas and BMX Bandits. Naomi Watts, a friend from those days, described meeting Kidman when both had to sit in a waiting room in bathing suits for two hours at an audition. Aussies Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman and Cate Blanchett all gave video tributes to the first from their country to win the award. Kidman said in a video played at the ceremony that her appearance in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm brought her to the attention of, among others, Cruise, the only time his name was spoken Saturday night. She had her breakthrough Hollywood role alongside him in 1990’s Days of Thunder — they would marry the same year — and also starred together in 1992’s Far and Away and in 1999 in Kubrick’s final film, Eyes Wide Shut. She divorced Cruise in 2001, but her stardom only grew. Some of her biggest roles, and her Oscar, were still to come. The role most often cited as a favourite during the awards show Saturday night was her musical turn in Luhrmann’s 2001 Moulin Rouge. Freeman, the 2011 AFI honoree, in his in-person presentation that followed the video spoof, serenaded Kidman with the modified Elton John lines she sings in the film: “How wonderful life is, now you’re in the world.”

AFI Life Achievement Award: Nicole Kidman thanks directors who let her 'run wild, be free'

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Nicole Kidman feels 'exposed and vulnerable' as sex drama hits Venice

AFI Life Achievement Award: Nicole Kidman thanks directors who let her 'run wild, be free'