September 27, 1995
Web posted at: 8:40 a.m. EDT
From Correspondent Sherry Dean
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Nicole Kidman turns evil with a twist of quirky, dark humor in her newest film, "To Die For." Based on a true story, the film is about a woman whose desire to be on television leads her to have her husband killed because he gets in the way of her career.
Kidman plays a woman who is determined to be successful. And success, defined by her character Suzanne Stone, is being on TV. "You're not anybody in American unless you're on television," Stone says. Kidman says she spent more time preparing for the role than any other she's had. She says for three months she was "preparing emotionally to understand why she does certain things and to try to build the character into my psyche."
When Stone feels her career is being threatened by her marriage, she convinces a teen-ager, who she's taken as a lover, to kill her husband.
Clip from "To Die For" - 1.17M QT movie
Kidman's real-life marriage to Tom Cruise is totally different than her on-screen marriage. "I think in this business, to have a partner who is supportive and who allows you to go and do what you want to do is one of the greatest gifts," she says.
There may be one similarity between Kidman and Suzanne, though. And that is determination. Kidman was so determined to play the part that she called up director Gus Van Sant. "She told me she thought she was destined to play the part of Suzanne Stone," Van Sant recalls. "And I guess it just sort of caught me off guard. You know, the gravity of that statement. Destiny, and not wanting to stand in the way of destiny."
Kidman says that the reason she desired the role so strongly was because she is a huge fan of black comedy. "And I just thought that it was one of those movies that was really different from anything I'd seen or read, and the part, you know, there's such a scarcity of great female roles and this was one of the great female roles."
Destiny may be a phone call away, but Van Sant admits that Kidman wasn't his first choice, but later became his first choice. And the glowing reviews which Kidman has been receiving for "To Die For" may prove that she was, indeed, destined for the role.
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