Nicole Kidman: I want a cougar script

Nicole Kidman definitely seems to have had fun playing a cougar in The Paperboy. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied

The Daily Telegraph reports

Nicole Kidman is reportedly looking to star in a movie about a "hot cougar".

The 45-year-old star has become increasingly comfortable with her body over the last few years. She appeared in risqué movie The Paperboy alongside Zac Efron and it has apparently got her thinking about her future career choices.

“She feels like she’s finally on top,” a source told National Enquirer. “She is searching for a hot cougar script.”

The star appears scantily clad on the cover of the fall Travel issue of V magazine. Although she wasn’t sure about stripping off to begin with, those close to her convinced her it would look tasteful and sexy.

Nicole is now delighted she went through with the shoot.

“She found it incredibly liberating,” the pal added. “She was thrilled with how the pictures turned out. But Nicole is more self-assured now than ever before. Her marriage to Keith Urban has given her a huge amount of strength.”

Nicole Kidman and family in town for wee visit

Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman. Credit: Kevork Djansezian/AP

Annette Sharp, The Daily Telegraph, reports

Fresh from Cannes and all the controversy that followed her being required to pee on her co-star in her latest film, Nicole Kidman flew home to Sydney on Thursday with husband Keith Urban and two pretty young daughters Sunday and Faith.

Looking summery in a floral and cream boho sundress following a week in the south of France, Kidman and her family will settle back into Sydney life for the next three weeks while Urban records The Voice.

Devoted father Urban has been happy enough to remain in his wife's shadow while she promoted The Paperboy with co-stars Zac Efron and Matthew McConaughey at Cannes, but yesterday as the pair pulled open the shutters at their Lavender Bay apartment, sources said Kidman was equally delighted to take a back seat now that Keith is enjoying unprecedented fame in Australia.

Kidman heads to Thailand later this month to shoot Death Railway alongside Colin Firth.

Firth plays real-life British Army officer Eric Lomax who was sent to a Japanese POW camp in 1942 and was sent to work on the construction of the Burma Railway.

Kidman plays his wife Patti in the film.

Trampy turn gives Nicole edge

''Booty'' call … Kidman in The Paperboy.

Ed Gibbs, The Sydney Morning Herald, reports

Bouncing back from a string of disappointing films, Nicole Kidman credits her natural instincts - and a willingness to pile on the kilos - for her return to form in The Paperboy.

The 44-year-old actress - who stars opposite John Cusack, Zac Efron and Matthew McConaughey, as a trailer-trash bombshell trying to extricate herself from an erratic convicted felon - also admits to being puzzled by talk of a comeback. In a career that has seen all-time highs (an Oscar win, for The Hours) and, last year, an almighty low, with her film Trespass going straight to DVD, strategy did not, she insists, play any part in her taking on the offbeat noir melodrama.

"I don't think in terms of my career," she told The Sun-Herald in Cannes last week, prior to the film's world premiere at the festival. "I don't have a premeditated [agenda], that's just not my nature in life. Both husbands that I've been married to [ex, Tom Cruise, and current, Keith Urban] I married within three, four months. That's just who I am. I choose roles that way, too."

Kidman's performance includes a scene in which she urinates on a fawning Zac Efron, his body mangled by jellyfish. Prior to that, she re-imagines a certain interrogation sequence from Basic Instinct, in which Sharon Stone famously flashed to camera. Critics have been unanimous in their praise of Kidman's risque turn. The Hollywood Reporter's Todd McCarthy saluted the star for "tramping it up", while The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw hailed Kidman as "terrifically good … funny, sexy, poignantly vulnerable".

Lee Daniels, who spent 13 years bringing Peter Dexter's swamp thriller to the big screen, admits he pushed Kidman hard. Kidman, who capitulated to her director's demands to add "more booty" to her slender frame, says: "I don't over think things - I live and die on that. It's spontaneous. Lee [Daniels] knows these people - he toughened me up, he put me on the street.

I met with women that have relationships with men in prison. They told me their stories, and I didn't judge.''

The Paperboy is running in the festival's official competition for the top prize, the Palme D'Or.

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban happy and in love at the Cannes Film Festival

The Lavin gown showed off Nicole Kidman's body to perfection. Picture: AP

The Daily Mail reports

The Cannes Film Festival has certainly brought out the romantic side between happily married Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban.

The country music star and judge on The Voice came out to support his Hollywood actress wife for the premiere of her new movie, The Paperboy.

Proud Keith embraced the 44-year-old actress several times, showering her with kisses and cuddles.

The doting singer even carried his wife's clutch bag as they shared their amorous public display of affection.

Keith let his wife have her time in the spotlight as she walked the red carpet.

The pair then partied together at popular hotspot Beach Club.

Kidman arrived at the premiere in a rose coloured draped Lavin dress that cutaway to reveal her toned upper body.

Kidman's co-star Zac Efron, 24, looked decidedly dapper in a tuxedo as did fellow stars John Cusack and Matthew McConaughey.

The Paperboy is set in the 1960s, with Efron playing an aspiring writer helping his journalist brother, played by McConaughey, investigate a possible miscarriage of justice.

In the film, Efron's Jack falls for Kidman's sparky but sultry femme fatale, who is in turn obsessed with a death row inmate, played by Cusack.

The cast also includes singer Macy Gray as Jack's family maid and surrogate mother, and British actor David Oyelowo as an ambitious big-city journalist.

Kidman worked hard to create Charlotte Bless, interviewing women who were in love with convicts and putting together the character's bold look.

"I'd been looking as an actor for something raw and something dangerous," Kidman said.

"I may be uncomfortable watching the movie. But that's my job - it's my job to give over to something, not to censor it, not to put my own judgments of how I feel as Nicole playing the character. I am there to portray a truth.

"I don't want to be pigeonholed.

"I'm willing to fail because of that. I just want to try."

Efron, who spends much of the film in his underpants, said he felt uncomfortable filming - but that's the way he wanted it.

"I don't think I was supposed to feel comfortable," the former High School Musical star told Cannes.

"It's like life. This character is supposed to be learning the ways of the world, and that can be very uncomfortable. But it's also exciting."

The Paperboy has drawn mixed response in Cannes, where it is one of 22 films up for the Palme d'Or, to be awarded Sunday.

But the actors seem to have adored the experience.

Efron said working with Kidman had been a dream.

"I've been in love with her for a long time - since Moulin Rouge," Efron said.

"It was the loveliest time in the world for me."

Director Lee's last film, Precious, was a surprise hit that won two Academy Awards in 2010.

His next will be The Butler, the story of a long-serving White House staffer in which McConaughey plays John F. Kennedy and Cusack is Richard Nixon.

Zac Efron film The Lucky One debuts at No.1 at Australian box office

Zac Efron in Australia promoting his new film The Lucky One. Picture: Adam Ward /

Neala Johnson, The Herald Sun, reports

The Australian box office was down 25 per cent overall on the weekend, the second consecutive drop after an Easter high.

Zac Efron’s The Lucky One was the only new entry to dent the Top 10.

Streetdance 2 landed at No.12 and the Aung San Suu Kyi biopic The Lady (showing on 23 screens) came in at No.15.

TOP 10 FILMS AT THE AUSSIE BOX OFFICE:

1. THE LUCKY ONE (M)

$2,280,613

Zac Efron promo trip leads to a bigger opening than fellow Nicholas Sparks adaptations Dear John ($1.7 million), The Notebook ($1.6 million) and Nights in Rodanthe ($1.4 million). The Lucky One enters at No.2 in the US with $21.8 million, the second best debut there for a Sparks movie behind Dear John.

2. BATTLESHIP (M)

$2,159,005

Barmy blockbuster drops 45 per cent on second weekend, but still does decent figures. Total up to $7.6 million; $125.7 million worldwide. Opens in the US on May 18.

3. AMERICAN PIE: REUNION (MA15+)

$1,516,242

About to pass $50 million in US. Here, is heading towards $13 million – by far the film’s best territory outside the US. Russia is next with $9.3 million.

4. THE HUNGER GAMES (M)

$1,469,485

Aussie gross is $28.4 million after five weeks; that’s $1.2 million ahead of the most recent Twilight film at the same stage of release. Worldwide total sits at $555 million.

5. DR SEUSS’ THE LORAX (G)

$1,448,939

Holiday hit lost 94 screens once the kids went back to school. Next big animations coming our way include a 3D do-over of Beauty and the Beast on May 3 and Pixar’s Brave on June 21.

6. THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL (PG)

$1,174,892

A small 23 per cent drop (compared to the 30 and 40 per cent falls elsewhere in the Top 10). Comparable title Salmon Fishing in the Yemen drops 21 per cent – but that much smaller release (93 screens compared to 263 for Best Exotic) has slipped out of the Top 10 after three weeks.

7. TITANIC 3D (M)

$976,260

Re-release took a staggering $65 million in its first week in China.

8. PIRATES! BAND OF MISFITS (G)

$844,318

A long seven years after their last stop-motion animation film Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were Rabbit, Aardman still prove a big draw. Pirates! doesn’t have the built-in audience of Wallace & Gromit. After three weeks in 2005, that film had taken $7.4 million. Pirates! is up to $5.6 million.

9. MIRROR MIRROR (PG)

$595,308

Julia Roberts’ last “big” film Eat Pray Love grossed just under $12 million in late 2010. Mirror Mirror is on its way out with $5.7 million.

10. 21 JUMP STREET (MA15+)

$417,840

Sony Pictures in Australia deliver big figures ($14.4 million) for another mid-range title. They’ve also done well with The Vow and Friends with Benefits in recent times.

Zac Efron said filimg sex sessions with Nicole Kidman in movie Paperboy was highlight of his life

Teenage obsession: Zac Efron said playing sex scenes with Nicole Kidman in Paperboy is his life's highlight. Source: Getty Images

The Daily Telegraph reports

Zac Efron believes filming sex scenes with Nicole Kidman for forthcoming movie "Paperboy" was the highlight of his life so far.

The 24-year-old former High School Musical heartthrob gets down and dirty with the 44-year-old married mother-of-four in the new sexual thriller, and admits it was a dream come true because he has always had a crush on her.

"Nicole is so gorgeous," Zac, who is starring in movie Lucky One, told UK television show Daybreak.

"It was everything you dreamed of. She was such a lovely person. I pinched myself every day, especially after doing love scenes with Nicole Kidman.

"It was the highlight of my life."

And it isn't just the Rabbit Hole star's looks he admires. Speaking about their time on set, he continued: "Nicole was something else and was always in character. She didn't get weird method, like some actors do, but I have never seen anyone so centred."

But with Nicole already spoken for, Zac - who previously dated Vanessa Hudgens and was recently linked to Mirror Mirror star Lily Collins - has a good idea about the kind of woman he would like to settle down with one day.

"[My wife will have] a sense of ambition and a sense of freedom, which is a careful mix. You have to balance those two. I haven't exactly found it yet," he said.

Crowds on the money, be it a Zac or a Schilling

Actor Zac Efron at the premiere of the film 'The Lucky One' in Sydney. Picture: Adam Ward

The Herald Sun reports

High School Musical heart-throb Zac Efron charmed the crowds at Crown yesterday as he stepped out for the premiere of his latest film, The Lucky One.

The handsome actor and his co-star, Taylor Schilling, happily posed for pictures with fans as he stepped out at Village Cinemas.

Efron has had a busy schedule Down Under to promote the film, but has found time to see some sights, and visit Young Talent Time judge and HSM choreographer Chucky Klapow.

Other stars at last night's premiere included Isabel Lucas, Caitlin Stasey and Brendan and Alex Fevola.

Shining stars light up Sydney during their Australian visits

Red carpet ... Zac Efron at The Lucky One premiere at Westfield Bondi Junction / Pic: Adam Ward Source: The Daily Telegraph

Kathy McCabe, The Daily Telegraph, reports

What is a superstar to do in Sydney with all that down time between red carpet appearances and chatfests?

If you are One Direction and just got off a plane this morning, you hope your hotel room windows are double-glazed to block out the teenagers screaming your name from the street below.

The British boy band will be talking up their smash hit debut album Up All Night and performing non-stop for the next week, so they are catching up on beauty sleep today.

But an old hand who has weathered his share of adoring female fans - Zac Efron - knows how to fill a holiday weekend in Sydney when he is not meeting and greeting.

Efron covered up in cashmere for the golf course after treating onlookers to a full frontal view of that sensational six-pack on the balcony of his luxury hotel.

Fellow Park Hyatt guest Tony Bennett, an acclaimed painter when he is not exercising those golden tonsils, chose to capture the glory of Sydney Harbour on canvas.

Acting singer Rihanna struck fierce poses when she ventured out on her balcony, while her Battleship co-star Brooklyn Decker soaked up Sydney's Indian summer.

Welcome to the celebrity playground of Sydney, where the world's most famous actors and musicians don't mind singing for their supper in between a spot of hard-earned rest and recreation.

It was back to work last night for Hollywood hearth-throb Efron, with the High School Musical survivor getting up close and personal with fans at the Bondi Junction premiere for his latest flick The Lucky One.

The actor's tween followers have remained loyal as they hit their teens and 20s but Efron has a long way to go before he matches the staying power of Bennett, who at 85 remains at the top of his game. After spending the morning painting with his wife Susan by his side, Bennett opened his three-night stand at the Sydney Opera House last night, reprising the standards from a career which spans six decades.

While Rihanna is wearing her acting hat alongside co-stars Brooklyn Decker and Taylor Kitsch on the Battleship red carpet at Luna Park tonight, she may return to her day job later this week to sing with controversial ex-boyfriend Chris Brown, who heads up Supafest.

From the moment Niall, Liam, Harry, Zayn and Louis venture out of their city hotel, One Direction will own the hearts of Sydney's teens, whether they are being grilled by TV or radio personalities or attempting to hear themselves over the hysterical wailing at their two sold-out Hordern Pavilion concerts on Friday.

Fearing scenes reminiscent of Bieber fever, a huge police and security force will be at Martin Place tomorrow when 1D rock up to the Sunrise stage. They have urged parents to accompany their daughters - and sons - to any of the group's appearances to keep them calm.

Suite timing for Rihanna and Zac Efron in Sydney

Zac Efron eating breakfast on his balcony at Sydney's Park Hyatt. Picture: Matrix Source: Supplied

Amy Harris, The Daily Telegraph, reports

Two mega-stars, one hotel.

Zac Efron, who will attend tonight's premiere of his new romance flick The Lucky One at Bondi Junction, did as any movie star would do after a long-haul flight from Los Angeles - he squeezed in a workout before enjoying a leisurely breakfast on his balcony ... sans clothes.

The High School Musical star even carried his own breakfast tray and hung out his used bath towels. So who says celebrities aren't just like us?

In town for the Australian premiere of her new flick Battleship tomorrow night, Rihanna, 24, landed on Saturday and announced her arrival, tweeting: "Hellooooo Australia!!!'

Later, she shared her Harbourfront views with her 15 million-plus Twitter followers, writing: "Happy Easter all the way from Sydney."

It's not known if the pair, who are reportedly friends, were aware of each other's presence.

The stars lead a wave of big-name international visitors in Sydney over the next two weeks.

Brit music sensations One Direction are scheduled to arrive in Sydney tomorrow morning, with the boy-band to make several appearances prior to their two concerts at the Hordern Pavilion on Friday.

And a swathe of the world's biggest hip-hop and R&B stars are due to begin arriving on Wednesday for Sunday's SupaFest at ANZ Stadium, including P Diddy and singer Chris Brown.

Efron wants to move to Australia

Zac Efron.

The Age reports

Surfing and love scenes with Nicole Kidman have convinced Zac Efron he wants a home down under.

It should come as no surprise that Zac Efron will fly to Australia next month for the premiere of one of his new films.

Australia has become Efron's second home, with the 24-year-old Californian born and bred heart-throb taking up any opportunity to fly Down Under for work or, if he has time off, a secret surfing vacation with Aussie mates.

"It is easy to keep a low profile," Efron, sitting in his trailer on the Universal Studios movie lot, told AAP about his unannounced, stealth trips.

"We jump into a little bus and my Aussie friends know all of the best surfing spots.

"We surf every day and barbecue every afternoon.

"Then we get to bed early, wake up, surf and do it all over again.

"I love Australia.

"I have been spoiled by how much I have been to Australia and have surfed all over.

"What I love about Australia, which is what we don't have in California, is there are so many wide open beaches where no-one is at."

On this recent afternoon Efron is on the Universal lot to promote his new big budget animated film, Dr Seuss' The Lorax, based on the 1971 children's book, which includes a voice cast of Danny DeVito, Taylor Swift, Betty White and Ed Helms.

Efron voices 12-year-old Ted, a resident of the walled city of Thneed-Ville, where environmental destruction has resulted in everything, including the oxygen residents breathe, being manufactured.

Ted is besotted by a neighbour (Swift) and to win her heart takes the advice of his grandmother (White) and sneaks outside the walls of Thneed-Ville to speak to the mysterious Once-Ler (Helms), who tells the story of the Lorax (DeVito), a grumpy, orange-coloured creature and guardian of the land.

"There's a powerful message," Efron said of the environmental message underlining the film.

"It is definitely what drew me to the movie.

"I also fell in love with it when they first showed me the rough animation of the Lorax with Danny's voice.

"It was one of the most charming and funny things I have seen in my life."

Efron rocketed to stardom and become the imaginary boyfriend of almost every teenage girl on the planet when the Disney movie, High School Musical, first aired in 2006. Two sequels confirmed his status, but in recent years Efron has been seeking more mature roles, including the 2010 drama Charlie St Cloud and the recent New Year's Eve.

The Lorax is a U-turn, with Efron voicing Ted.

"I had to go back up to get his high pitch and high energy," Efron joked about trying to voice a 12-year-old.

"But, I loved doing this movie.

"When I was a kid my parents read the Dr Seuss books to me so they have a special place in my heart. Throw in the environmental message, it was something I definitely wanted to do."

Efron fans will see the actor in plenty of different roles in coming months and, not surprisingly, they have significant Australian links.

Next month he will fly to Australia for the premiere of The Lucky One, a drama directed by Oscar-nominated Australian Scott Hicks, with Efron playing a US Marine and Iraq war veteran who returns to North Carolina to find a woman he has only seen in a photograph.

Efron and Nicole Kidman also just completed filming The Paperboy, a thriller shot in New Orleans and based on the award-winning novel by American author Pete Dexter.

Asked if Kidman plays his mother in the movie, Efron raises his eyebrows and breaks into a smile.

"Mother? No, she's my love interest," he laughed.

The actor is usually tight-lipped with the media about anything personal, but while talking about Kidman, and the love scenes they shot, he can't contain his excitement.

"Nicole is so gorgeous," Efron, looking like the cat that ate the canary, said.

"It was everything you dreamed of. She was such a lovely person.

"I pinch myself every day, especially after doing love scenes with Nicole Kidman.

"It was the highlight of my life.

"Nicole was something else and was always in character.

"She didn't get weird method, like some actors do, but I have never seen anyone so centered."

With regular trips to Australia and so many close relationships with Aussies, Efron said he would not mind buying a house in Australia and maybe even becoming a dual US-Australian citizen.

"God, I would love to," he said.

"I'd love to get a nice house down there. It would be a dream to do that.

"I'll do it when I get that big movie and can afford it."

There only appears to be one sticking point preventing Efron from becoming a true blue Aussie.

It could be a deal breaker.

"I love the seafood in Australia," he said.

"I love meat pies. I love Tim Tams.

"Vegemite is the only thing I can't do. I'm adventurous and it's not like I will never taste it again, but I just can't quite get the Vegemite thing."

Dr Seuss' The Lorax opens in Australia on March 29.

AAP

Zac Efron returning to Sydney and Melbourne in April for world premiere of The Lucky One

 The Lucky One ... Zac Efron is returning to Australia in April. Source: Getty Images

The Daily Telegraph reports

Block your ears - Hollywood pin-up Zac Efron will be in Sydney within weeks for the world premiere of his latest film The Lucky One.

Efron, 24, stars in the Scott Hicks-directed romantic drama alongside Taylor Schilling and Blythe Danner, playing a US Marine sergeant in search of his mystery lover.

The Lucky One world premiere will be held in Melbourne in April, with Efron and Schilling also set to walk the red carpet in Sydney. The film is released on april 19.

Efron visited Sydney in 2007, 2008 with Vanessa Hudgens and 2010 to promote various films, with each visit resulting in hundreds of screaming teenage girls flocking to see the handsome young heart-throb.

Thanks to his starring role in the hugely popular High School Musical film franchise, Efron has become one of Hollywood's most in demand young actors with a massive, loyal fan base.

In recent years he has graduated successfully to more adult roles, appearing in films such as 17 Again, Charlie St. Cloud, and New Year's Eve.

Hicks directed the movie from a Will Fetters screenplay, which was adapted from the bestselling novel of the same name by Nicholas Sparks.

Hicks, whose family moved to Adelaide when he was 14, is best known as the Academy Award-nominated director of Shine. His other directorial ventures include Snow Falling on Cedars, No Reservations and The Boys are Back.