What Made Stanley Kubrick A Special Director, According to Nicole Kidman

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Nicole Kidman has shared what she believes made Stanley Kubrick a special director. Kidman collaborated with the late director when she starred as Alice in erotic thriller Eyes WideShut, which was his last film to be completed before his death in 1999. Kubrick had left behind several unfinished and unrealized projects such as A.I. Artificial Intelligence, an idea that he'd reportedly been working on for 18 years of his life, and which went on to be completed by Steven Spielberg. The director had made an incredible contribution to cinema during his lifetime, and was behind highly respected films such as the Stephen King adaptation The Shining, psychedelic sci-fi 2001:A Space Odyssey, and war film Full Metal Jacket. Kubrick was also known for the dark themes within his films, and sparked so much controversy with A Clockwork Orange that it was banned.

Kubrick was notorious for his perfectionism and dedication to getting perfect takes. This led to him breaking a couple of world records; firstly for the most amount of takes for a scene with dialogue due to a scene in The Shining, which took 148 takes. Eyes Wide Shut also broke the record for longest continuous film shoot, which was over 15 months long. Despite his undoubtedly grueling mentality to film shoots, Kidman had previously praised Kubrick's direction of Eyes Wide Shut nude scenes, saying that he had made her feel safe throughout filming.

Related: Every Stanley Kubrick Movie Ranked, Worst To Best

Speaking to WSJ, Kidman gave high praise for Kubrick, opening up about what made the director so special. She credits him with shaping her approach to acting by going against what actors are traditionally taught to do, and instead directing with an ambiguity about the true