Nicole Kidman laments 'incredibly low' number of women-directed films
Despite her efforts backing and mentoring women-led projects, the number of women-made films among the highest-grossing films "is incredibly low", she said as she received a Kering Women In Motion award at the Cannes film festival.
Kidman pledged in 2017 to work with a woman director at least once every 18 months, saying then that there was "such a disparity in terms of the choices".
"You would go, 'OK, could a woman direct this?' There just wasn't a number of names that you could consider," she said.
The Oscar-winning actor confirmed that she had worked with 27 female directors since her pledge eight years ago.
Only seven of the 22 films in the main competition in Cannes this year are directed by women.
But Kidman heaped praise on an early critics' favourite, Mascha Schilinski's "The Sound of Falling", a German-language drama about multi-generational trauma among women on a farm.
"To have 'Sound of Falling' heard on the world stage, that's fantastic," she said.
Although she ruled out writing her own script, she did reveal that she frequently wakes up during the night to write.
"It's a very ripe time for things to happen because you're in that slightly removed state from reality," she said.
"I wake up and I'll write something, be it a dream, be it something that's circulating in my mind."
adp/fg/jj
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


CNET
an hour ago
- CNET
Get Ready for Football Season With NFL Retro Bowl 26 on Apple Arcade
The NFL preseason has started, which means football will occupy a lot of TVs for the next few months. To help you get in the mood for football season, Apple is planning to bring NFL Retro Bowl '26 to Apple Arcade on Sept. 4. Apple Arcade is filled with familiar and classic games, alongside exclusive titles, that you can play for $7 per month (£7, AU$10). Many of these games can be found in the App Store, but they may have paywalls and ads that hinder your gaming experience. An Apple Arcade subscription gives you access to games without paywalls and ads, a feature usually denoted by "Plus" in the name. Here are all the games Apple plans to bring to the service on Sept. 4. You can also check out the games Apple added in August, like Worms Across Worlds. NFL Retro Bowl '26 Developer: New Star Games Apple This NFL and NFLPA-licensed game brings authentic team rosters and NFL players to your mobile screen in fun retro visuals, just like last year's Retro Bowl '25. This year's game introduces a new game mode called NFL Retro Bowl Championship Leaderboard. In this mode, you can play as your favorite teams in weekly matchups that align with the 2025 season. Hopefully, my Cincinnati Bengals will return to the Super Bowl this year, but if not, I can at least take them there in this game. Jeopardy! Daily Developer: Frosty Pop Games Apple Jeopardy! Daily is a daily game that brings clues crafted by the show's writers to your screen, where you have to answer in the form of a question. In this trivia game, you can upload your score to the global leaderboards, test your knowledge in unique game modes and more. My Talking Tom Friends Plus Developer: Outfit7 Apple Join Talking Tom, Angela and other virtual pets as they go on adventures into town, play minigames and more. This interactive life-sim brings all the Talking Tom and Friends characters together in one place, so you can take care of the different pets, dress them up in fun costumes and create your own adventures. You can access these games in Apple Arcade on Sept. 4, but there are plenty of other games to play on the service, which costs $7 a month or $50 annually. You can also try Apple Arcade for free for one month with your first sign-up, or you can get a three-month free trial when you buy a new Apple device. To access Apple Arcade, open the App Store on your iOS or iPadOS device and tap the joystick in the menu bar.


Vogue
an hour ago
- Vogue
Emma Stone and Nicolas Ghesquière's Real-Life Friendship Takes Center Stage in Vogue's September Issue
What better time to try something larger than life than the September issue? For Nicolas Ghesquière, that meant creating a miniature Louis Vuitton collection of couture-like caliber, exclusively for Vogue. And who better to wear these one-of-a-kind garments than our cover star, and the designer's longtime friend, Emma Stone? 'Whatever he does is special and surprising and exquisite,' Grace Coddington, the shoot's fashion editor, says of Ghesquière, 'but this was somewhat on another level because it was couture, which is something he hasn't tried before.' While Ghesquière worked closely with Vogue to bring the looks to life for Stone's Avignon shoot, the looks came, as Coddington puts it, from 'him and a dream.' Ghesquière created six distinct, handcrafted looks for Stone's cover shoot—six different characters for her to embody. 'Who will this be?' asks Stone, dressed in a beaded, high-neck dress with draped, wing-like sleeves. 'The idea was to imagine she was a charismatic leader of a ballet academy,' Ghesquière says of the dress, aptly dubbed 'The Ballerina.' 'She is a great dancer,' he adds of Stone, 'I wanted to express that in the movement.' Also among the duo's roster of characters: 'The Driver,' a leather jumpsuit meant for boundary-breakers, which Stone wore to galivant on the roof of the Palais des Papes; 'The Innocent,' a knit jumpsuit with tiers of ruffles, represents Stone's open-hearted approach to acting, namely her Oscar-winning role as Bella in in Poor Things; 'The Host' a black playsuit with a sculptural sweetheart bust, casts the actor as the host of an imaginary cabaret, inspired by Ghesquière and Stone's real-life friendship. For the pair, the shoot is a full-circle moment, another chapter in their long history. 'The things that he's designed took me through my wedding day, took me through big moments in my life,' Stone says of her long friendship with Ghesquière. 'It feels like I always get to have a piece of him with me.' Watch on as we go behind the scenes of Emma Stone's September cover shoot. Director: Nikki Petersen Interviewer: Chioma Nnadi Directors of Photography: Louise Bernard Pallas, Fyras Slaiman Editors: Katie Wolford, Evan Allan Creative Producer: Gabrielle Reich Associate Producer: Lea Donenberg Associate Producers, On Set: Megan Sinanis, Virginie Kateeb Gaffer: Sylvain Gabayet Audio: David Amsalem Albertini Production Coordinator: Tanía Jones Production Manager: Kristen Helmick Line Producer: Natasha Soto-Albors Assistant Editor: Andy Morell Post Production Coordinator: Holly Frew Colorist: Oliver Eid Supervising Editor: Kameron Key Post Production Supervisor: Alexa Deutsch Entertainment Director: Sergio Kletnoy Executive Producer: Rahel Gebreyes Senior Director, Video: Romy van den Broeke Senior Director, Programming: Linda Gittleson VP, Video Programming: Thespena Guatieri Images Courtesy Of: Joan Marcus, Irving Penn Cover Photography By: Jamie Hawkesworth
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
MasterChef 2025 winner announced in nail-biting finale: 'So proud of myself'
This year's season of MasterChef Australia came to a dramatic end on Tuesday night with Callum Hann and Laura Sharrad going head-to-head for the title. The two finalists have had remarkably similar journeys on the show, having both finished runner-up on their original season and competed on the first 'Back To Win' in 2020. Armed with very different skill sets, the South Australian restaurateurs had to impress the judges in a two-round cook starting with an ingredient knockout challenge, followed by a pressure test set by pastry chef Michael 'Miko' Llamanzares-Aspiras. Round one saw Callum make a one-bite potato, rosemary, and oyster and receive a total of 38 points, while Laura served a samphire and potato risotto with a smoked pipi broth and also scored 38 points. For round two, they each had 4.5 hours to recreate Miko's Botanical Garden, which was an edible bouquet of flowers consisting of 149 steps. Callum was given 35 points, while Laura earned 48 points. RELATED: MasterChef's Depinder Chhibber claps back at audience criticism: 'Big variety' MasterChef's Ben Macdonald points out wild detail about this year's season MasterChef's Snezana Calic reveals unique struggle this season: 'Nervous' Who won MasterChef Australia 2025? Ultimately, Laura was crowned the 2025 champion with a total score of 80 points and was awarded $250,000. Callum received $40,000 for finishing second, and Jamie Fleming took home $10,000 for coming third. 'This is like the most surreal feeling in the whole entire world,' she said following the win. 'I'm truly so proud of myself for coming back for a third time, and completely setting myself up for heartbreak, and pulling off what I never thought I really could do, but I've wanted to for so long. 'I've dreamt of this moment since I was 13. To have my family here, to have had Florence up here today, watching me cook, has been the most truly special experience of my life.' Andy Allen's tribute to Jock Zonfrillo Laura went on to thank Callum, adding: 'Just the support that you've shown me throughout this competition both times has been so truly special. So thank you so much for everything.' Andy Allen also said that Jock Zonfrillo, who was Laura's mentor before his passing in 2023, would be incredibly proud of her. 'Laura, in this moment with you finally winning the title, it feels right to mention how proud Jock would be of you,' he remarked. 'And it's so amazing to know that he lives on through your food. So thank you.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by MasterChef Australia (@masterchefau) Little-known fact about prize money While Laura is now a quarter of a million dollars richer following her third stint on the Channel 10 show, the money likely won't hit her account for quite some time. Season nine champion Diana Chan told Yahoo Lifestyle in 2023 that she didn't receive the eye-watering amount of cash until months after filming had wrapped. 'You don't get it instantly,' she shared. 'I don't know if I'm actually meant to mention this, but I didn't get it until like five months later.' SHOP: 🥬 Alternative to Coles, Woolworths saving shoppers up at $720 a year 🏉 Rugby fan's huge airport surprise after landing in Sydney: 'Surreal' 🛒 Popular Coles product offers a 'simple switch' to up daily protein intake Diana said it was 'a funny feeling' when the money finally arrived in her bank account and admitted she had no idea what to do with it. 'To be honest, I was making a decent amount of money doing other things that I actually put it aside and invested it,' she recalled. 'I wouldn't say I have it now anymore, this is six years down the track, but you use it on different things to start your career and whatever you want to do. The money's there, and they never say, 'You have to do this with the money'. So it's entirely up to you what you want to do.'