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By Dana Thomas
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Who Will Bite for 'Dogville'?
Sure, it's Nicole Kidman's year. But that may not be enough to save Lars von Trier's "Dogville" from the dogs. The avant-garde Danish filmmaker ("Breaking the Waves") had yet to find a U.S. distributor for the new Kidman flick before its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this week. Bad sign, given that von Trier is a Cannes darling--and "Dogville" is first in a trilogy (what's next, "Kitty City"?). Maybe the problem's not that "Dogville" is a bowwow, but that it paints such an ugly picture of America: Kidman plays a stranger abused by the locals in small-town U.S.A. Von Trier refused to show the film early to American buyers, allowing only a few French critics into the screening room. What did those critics think? "Morally and politically violent, sacrilegious and extremely anti-American," one told NEWSWEEK. "Nicole is sublime."
Less sublime was the fury of the 1,300 members of the press at Cannes when Kidman granted only a few TV interviews during her two-day whirlwind, a trip costing von Trier's production company an estimated $500,000 (practically the budget for one of his films). But maybe Nicole's earned a half-million-dollar trip to the Riviera, given von Trier's reputation for putting his actresses through hell. (After "Dancer in the Dark," Bjork swore she'd never act again.)
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By holding back "Dogville" until the public screening, some speculated that von Trier hoped to launch a bidding war. "Are you kidding?" snorted a top Hollywood independent distributor. "It's three hours long, it's shot like a play and it's filmed digitally." But it's got Nicole! "Julia Roberts was in 'Full Frontal' and it only made a million dollars. I rest my case."
PENELOPE CRUZ
All lenses were trained on Penelope Cruz as she climbed the red-carpeted steps, glamorous in black Dior couture and gobs of jade, for the premiere of her new film, "Fanfan la Tulipe," on the opening night of the Cannes Film Festival. Cruz gave the paparazzi a taste of their own medicine, snapping a quick shot of the scene before disappearing into the Palais des Festivals. NEWSWEEK's Dana Thomas caught up with her later to discuss the glare of celebrity.
When you first came to Cannes four years ago for Almodovar's "All About My Mother," you were unknown outside Spain. How is it to return and be the star on opening night?
I always compare Cannes to a Fellini movie.
Do you feel that you've lost your privacy?
I do have my privacy. You have to fight for it, but you can have it. I don't read gossip; I'm not part of that game. To me, what's important is my family and things outside of my job. Where would I be without them?
Where's Tom?
He couldn't make it. He's working. [Cruise is in New Zealand filming "The Last Samurai."]
What's it like to see all those screaming fans?
I want to be the person observing, not only the one being observed. I like to see what's happening, too! That's why I photographed the crowd.
What do you do with your pictures?
For seven years I've been taking pictures. Some of them have been published for the first time in Interview magazine, of Salma Hayek. I had a lot of fun photographing her because we are both very bossy. But I had to give the orders: "Today you have to do what I say."
How else are you bossy?
I'm very stubborn. I was born like that. I was born upside down with the cord around my neck. Protesting, you know? My mother always tells me about that. I have very strong opinions about everything. I'm a Taurus. It's one of my qualities, and sometimes it can become my worst enemy.
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