Magic in `Moulin Rouge' | Festivals & Awards
From Baz Luhrmann, the film's director: "We develop a new cinematic language every 10 years, and today, when every kid has a digital camera and is familiar with the conventions of naturalism, it is time to return to the grander styles of the cinema's past."
From Ewan McGregor, who plays the writer: "It was important that, in the middle of the whirlwind, his character and Kidman's remain focused on the truth of their relationship."
From John Leguizamo, who plays Toulouse-Lautrec: "I walked on artificial legs that were fitted to my knees, to make me 4 feet 11 inches tall, exactly his height. Because Toulouse was born to first cousins, there were a lot of things wrong with him. His tongue was very thick, and he had a high-pitched lisp. His legs were very short. He was, however, unusually well-endowed, which is why his nickname was the Tripod."
An interview with Nicole Kidman was scheduled for after lunch. At the hotel's Eden Roc Restaurant, where Miramax's Harvey Weinstein was table-hopping, there was much talk about whether "middle America" would go for the movie. Also some gloom.
"Do they know what a musical is?" asked one studio rep.
"Do they know where Paris is?" asked another.
"Do they know what Paris is?" asked a third.
My answer to all three questions: They will not have found out from the movies you have been making for them.
After lunch, a seance with the tall and regal Nicole Kidman. "What a party that was," she said. "We partied all night."
You look fresh and relaxed, I said.
"I am an actress."
Soon I was back at my beloved Hotel Splendid. For the price of lunch at the du Cap, one can stay for a week at the Splendid, breakfast included. The hotel, alas, is not in a serene location, but located directly across the street from the beach with the giant party tents. On the stairs I ran into Ken Turan, film critic of the Los Angeles Times.
"Grumble, grumble," he said.
Are you grumbling?
"Do you know how late that 'Moulin Rouge' party lasted last night?" he asked. "I'll tell you. It lasted until 4 a.m."
You were there until the end?
"I never left my room."
It was loud, we agreed, but not as loud as three years ago, when an Austin Powers billboard was erected directly beneath our windows, and broadcast the cackles of a sneering villain 24 hours a day. It takes men of steel to cover the festival. You can't just sit around on your tripod.
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