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Nicole Kidman swipes at Martin Scorsese’s pattern of making films that are only about men

During press for "Babygirl," Kidman worked in a dig at Scorsese for his avoidance of giving strong roles to women

Senior Culture Editor

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Nicole Kidman attends the Spellbound Premiere on November 11, 2024 in New York City. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Netflix)
Nicole Kidman attends the Spellbound Premiere on November 11, 2024 in New York City. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Netflix)

Nicole Kidman has been making the rounds to promote her latest film, "Babygirl," directed by Halina Reijn and scheduled for release on Christmas day, and as there are still a number of weeks between now and then, her interviews have relied on a mixed bag of talking points to build momentum.

In a recent chat with Vanity Fair, Kidman veered away from details pertaining to her role in the A24 erotic thriller to discuss her wish list of directors and producers she has yet to work with but would like to. When she got around to naming Martin Scorsese, she landed at the perfect opportunity to call out his preference for making films that center primarily on men.

"I’ve always said I want to work with [Martin] Scorsese, if he does a film with women," Kidman said in her quick but perfectly pointed swipe.

As IndieWire points out, Scorsese has worked with a number of women in the past (Sharon Stone, Lorraine Bracco, Juliette Lewis, Margot Robbie, etc.) but his overall history of leaning on men to carry his projects was highlighted during the release of “The Irishman” in 2019, in which Anna Paquin delivered only seven words of dialogue.

When challenged by a reporter at the time to explain his lack of female characters, he offered only, “If the story doesn’t call for it… it’s a waste of everybody’s time." 

By Kelly McClure

Kelly McClure is Salon's Senior Culture Editor, where she helps further coverage of TV, film, music, books and culture trends from a unique and thoughtful angle. Her work has also appeared in Vulture, Vanity Fair, Vice and many other outlets that don't start with the letter V. She is the author of one sad book called "Something Is Always Happening Somewhere." Follow her on Bluesky: @WolfieVibes

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