he big question for producers Douglas Wick and Penny Marshall and director Nora Ephron wasn't whether The Hours Oscar winner Nicole Kidman could play a witch, but whether she could wiggle her nose. Kidman practiced for hours in front of a mirror and studied Elizabeth Montgomery, who played Samantha Stevens in the TV series, so she could properly handle the role in Bewitched.
Shirley MacLaine came out of semi-retirement to play the part of an actress who is playing Endora, and she wanted to reunite with her old friend Michael Caine, who plays her husband. At the Batman Begins interviews, Caine told Science Fiction Weekly that Bewitched was the most "feminine" set he had ever set foot on and that all of his scenes were with women. And then Ephron, as the director, often had the cast and crew over for huge meals to maintain a family atmosphere, and Caine quipped, "It was nice to be waited on hand and foot like that!"
Kidman's role has a lot of food references—particularly to Cool Whip. That came from Ephron and her sister Delia, who co-wrote the script. "If you notice, there's a lot of consumption of food in this film," laughs Kidman. "She's extremely nurturing, and she invites you over on a Saturday night, and she does all the cooking for over 30 people. And she directs a film during the week. She's one of the smartest writers and smartest women working today." The Bewitched story takes a unique angle on a TV series remake, with Will Ferrell as a diva-like actor who's trying to revive his career by doing this TV-to-screen revival. Also in the cast are Jason Schwartzman, Kristin Chenoweth, Heather Burns, Stephen Colbert, David Alan Grier and Steve Carell.
Science Fiction Weekly attended press conferences with both the major witches who cast their spells in Bewitched.
Nicole Kidman, did you have to work on that nose wiggle, or did that come naturally to you?
Kidman: Oh no, needed a mirror, and I needed the slow-mo on the video, on the VCR. I would put her nose in slow motion, and then I would put up the mirror and I would kind of try to mimic it. And my mum would say, "No, that wasn't very good, try again!" [Laughs.]
This is a lot lighter than some of the heavier dramatic work you've been doing lately, like Birth.
Kidman: It was, yeah. But I'd watched the series as a kid, and there seems something quite fun at the idea of having watched something as a little girl, and then being able to step into it as a woman and kind of pay homage to it.
Did that make you hesitant at all?
Kidman: I think you're always hesitant about any movie, whether it be adapting a novel or trying to do a remake of a TV series. In the strangest way, remaking a TV series has got a kind of onus on it, [rather] than trying to do Portrait of a Lady, you know? [Laughs.] But I think the lessons you've learned is that you do not try to stay within the confinements of what's been said, and that's where, I think, Nora [Ephron] kind of tackled it quite well, that even though you're doing a remake, she was able to find another way of telling a story with this film.
Were you concerned about the prior cast's views, even though most of them are dead?
Kidman: Well, Elizabeth Montgomery's husband, he's in the film, and he also directed a lot of the series, but he's an extra in one of the scenes. He would visit the set a lot. I always felt slightly uncomfortable, that, "Oh my God, he was looking at me thinking, 'She's not at all like her,'" you know.
If you could be a witch in real life, what would you use your powers for?
Kidman: Um, well, to get heavy, I do a lot of fund-raising, for women's cancer causes, so I suppose I would choose to eradicate, not just women's cancers, but all sorts of cancer. That would be a good thing.
Why do you have this thing about doing movies concerning witchcraft?
Kidman: I haven't ever sort of thought about it. I mean, this was something very separate to Practical Magic. It's not like there's some kind of thread there. It's kind of nice to be able to, if you're pissed off, walk through and blow up the cappuccino machine, and make the dog jump into your arms, and make him speak in tongues, and [laughs] you know, I think that that's sort of funny and cool. But at the same time, obviously, I think the concept is that everyone wishes they could do a little magic, and I think the overall idea of the film is that to fall in love requires a little magic.
What was it like working with Will Ferrell? That was an odd pairing.
Kidman: They always seem to say that about me. They said that Sean Penn and I were unexpected, but I suppose with Will [Ferrell] and I, really, it's kind of an odd pairing. But at the same time it was a really fun pairing. He's very generous with his talent, put it that way. And he would always be like, "Come on, Nicole, you can do it!" Coaxing me on.
I always have doubts on everything. [Laughs.] I think that that's something that motivates, you in a sense. I think it's always better to [think] "I'm not sure, and teach me, and I'm willing to listen, and I'm willing to learn."
Now I'm kind of on the rollercoaster, and that means I'll be kind of brave and throw myself into it and not worry if I fall flat on my face. And I think a lot of that is the first few days of shooting, or the first few days of rehearsal, whenever it happens. [It's] when you're kind of hoping that you do fall flat on your face, because then you're frightened of making a fool of yourself. Because so much of your trepidation is just going [gasps], "I don't want to make a fool of myself," particularly if your nature is a little kind of reticent and shy to begin with.
That scene is hysterical, with Will making his demands to his agent. Have you ever seen something like that happen in real life with a celebrity?
Kidman: I've tended to work with huge stars, and I've never really seen that, to be honest. They say that that usually happens with people that are in fear, so a lot of the people that I work with tend not to do that. Therefore they tend to be really hard workers, and really passionate about what they do, and willing to do things for very little money to make a good film.
Do you think this film will give you a younger audience?
Kidman: It's strange, because Moulin Rouge was the last film that I made that really appealed to young girls, and it's really lovely making a film that you get stopped in the street by a 14-year-old and they say, "Oh, I loved that film!"
I was at the theater in New York last Sunday at a matinee, and these girls came up to me and were like maybe 13, 14 and [gasps], "We can't wait to see Bewitched!" And I thought, "Oh, that's nice, it's really nice having that generation of girls respond to you."
Did you ever feel magic on a set?
Kidman: Yeah, there're times when I would walk on to the studio lot and there is something magical. I can remember the first time I came to America and I walked onto the Paramount lot, and I went, "So this is like what it is!" And it inspires awe, it just does, because of the history, the people that have walked the same steps you've walked. Especially in the evening, when you're walking through those places and there's that kind of beautiful twilight, and you're just going home, and you can kind of feel the ghosts, and it's lovely.
How difficult is it to strike a ladylike pose on a broomstick?
Kidman: They had a harness. Truly! You get harnessed on them, and you're like flying, and you cross your legs! So it's a little difficult, flying on a broomstick.
How was singing in the animated film Happy Feet?
Kidman: I got to sing a little bit. I hope I'm a cute penguin. [Laughs.] I just did some pieces. I'm a very small role. I'm a big penguin, but a small role. From Bewitched to a penguin.
Shirley MacLaine, why did you do this movie?
MacLaine: Well, I wanted to play a witch. I love the idea of working with Nora [Ephron]. I loved getting together again with Michael Caine, and I think Nicole [Kidman] is brilliant. That was why. I wasn't much of a fan of the TV series. I saw it twice.
Does it take a lot to get you to do a movie?
MacLaine: I live in New Mexico. I live on a ranch and I have my house in Santa Fe. I have 13 dogs and four horses, and I've got my own huge vegetable garden, and I'm self-sustaining. I have a life. And actually, there are not that many good scripts. You can see what's happening.
I don't find too much daunting, not even death. I don't believe in it. So it's more of an adventure for me. When you've been around as long as I have and you look at the cycles and the arcs of public opinion, and public perception, you can't think about that stuff, it's stupid to, anyway. So to me, the important thing is to be who you are, but make sure you know a little bit more about that than you did last year.
If you had a special power, what would you use it for?
MacLaine: Uh, to get out of Iraq. Um. If there was some way to cast a spell of not so much rancor, and oppositionary polarization in this country, and to understand what the person's opposite point of view is.
Can Hollywood still make magic on screen?
MacLaine: Well, what's the definition of magic? Because God knows these special effects, I mean is there anything better than what [George] Lucas has just done, and it's also a metaphor for this administration, I might add, that's interesting to look at. I think the magic is now more in the visual innovations, whereas I believe the magic is in the human heart. And where is the money in the mining of that magic of the human heart?
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Also in this issue:
The cast and crew of Land of the Dead
