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Nicole Kidman reunites with Aussie dream-team for series

Nicole Kidman, Liane Moriarty, Reese Witherspoon and executive producer Bruna Papandrea in Hollywood in 2017.

Nicole Kidman, Liane Moriarty, Reese Witherspoon and executive producer Bruna Papandrea in Hollywood in 2017. Photo: Getty

First there was the TV mini-series Big Little Lies in 2017, then the Covid-era Nine Perfect Strangers, followed by The Last Anniversary and the film rights to Truly Madly Deeply.

Now the three Aussie’s behind these projects – actress Nicole Kidman, Sydney author Liane Moriarty and  executive producer Bruna Papandrea – have reunited for a series adaptation of her latest mystery novel, Here One Moment.

Seemingly finding Hollywood’s sweet spot on crime, love and relationships, Moriarty’s appeal in storytelling has so enthralled the two heavyweights that she’s being described as a modern-day Jane Austen.

Oscar winner Kidman is up for the lead role again, refreshed after wrapping the second series of Special Ops: Lioness, Netflix’s A Family Affair and winning best actress at the Venice Film Festival for thriller, Babygirl.

“I’m so happy for the ongoing partnership with Liane and so grateful to count her amongst my closest friends and collaborators,” Kidman told Deadline.

Papandrea, 53, is a co-producer and Kidman’s childhood friend.

Publishers Pan Macmillan Australia say Moriarty, who has clocked up nine international bestsellers to date, has sold the screen rights to all her books.

A TV series is in development for Three Wishes, Kidman and Papandrea produced The Last Anniversary (Binge) with filming completed in Sydney last November, and film rights to What Alice Forgot have been pre-empted by Sony TriStar with Jennifer Aniston to star as Alice.

Macmillan says Heather Graham (The Hangover) will star in an adaptation of The Hypnotist’s Love Story, while Apples Never Fall starring Sam Neill and Annette Bening had a successful run earlier this year.

Here One Moment, published in late August, tells the story of a “death lady”, who boards a flight from Hobart to Sydney and predicts how and when many of the passengers are going to die.

“The flight will be smooth. It will land safely. Everyone who gets on the plane will get off the plane. But almost all of them will be changed forever,” reads the official synopsis.

“Because on this ordinary flight, something extraordinary happens. ‘A lady’, unremarkable until she isn’t, predicts how and when many of the passengers are going to die. For some, death is far in the future; for others, it is very close.

“A brilliantly constructed story that looks at free will and destiny, grief and love, and the endless struggle to maintain certainty and control in an uncertain world.”

In a recent book review, USA Today said the book was “like drinking a pink cosmo [cocktail] laced with arsenic” while horror novelist Stephen King described it as “funny and scary”.

Kidman a fan of Moriarty

Papandrea first approached Kidman in 2017 about Big Little Lies, and after she read the book overnight, Kidman flew home to Australia to sit down with Moriarty to obtain the rights to the book.

She received it 48 hours later.

It’s a darkly-comedic tale of murder and mischief in the beachfront town of Monterey, California. Attentive mothers (Kidman plays Celeste), successful husbands, beautiful children and stunning homes exists in a community fuelled by rumours and divided into the haves and have-nots, exposing fractured relationships between husbands and wives, parents and children, and friends and neighbours.

In 2018, the series received 19 major nominations and won 13 awards.

Kidman dedicated her lead actress Emmy win to her two young daughters.

She said she hoped the role and accolades would shine a light on the “insidious disease”, domestic abuse.

The series ran for three seasons from 2017 (with a third season set to air next year).

nine perfect strangers

Nicole Kidman starred in Nine Perfect Strangers.

Perfect timing

Shooting a big budget series in 2020, convincing A-list stars to live in Australia for several months, and then gathering everyone in a  quarantined production hub hardly seemed possible at the time.

But that is exactly what Kidman and Co managed to do to get Nine Perfect Strangers in the can.

At the time, it was a huge financial coup for NSW, with the eight-part series based on Moriarty’ New York Times best seller filmed entirely on location in the Northern Rivers/Byron Bay region.

Kidman played the lead role of resort director Masha – who gives off a very guru vibe – and producer.

Co-star Melissa McCarthy described Kidman as a “wonderful weirdo” after they worked together on the project.

Kidman came on board as executive producer for her Blossom Films production house for The Last Anniversary and producer on Truly Madly Guilty.

As pop culture website, the AV Club, noted: “Kidman is absolutely addicted to Liane Moriarty adaptations.”

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