Home grown: Nicole Kidman renews perfect partnership with Liane Moriarty for third show

The Australian superstar actor has used a talk in Sydney to reveal her third project with author Liane Moriarty, after the global success of Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers.

Nicole Kidman is bringing it home yet again.

The Australian superstar actor has backed her third project with acclaimed author Liane Moriarty, following the huge global success of small screen adaptations of her books, Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers.

Kidman and producing partner Per Saari announced the collaboration — based on Moriarty’s novel The Last Anniversary — will screen on BINGE and is being made by the pair’s Blossom Pictures and Bruna Papandrea’s Made Up Stories.

The cast of The Last Anniversary is yet to be announced, although it is understood Kidman will not appear on screen in the project. John Polson is on board to direct.

But it will be distinctly Australian.

“Australian accents, an Australian project with Australian accents for the world,” Kidman declared as she headlined an Australians In Film session at South by Southwest Sydney at ICC Sydney.

Nicole Kidman on stage during a talk on Australians in film held by SXSW Sydney on Thursday. Picture: Richard Dobson

Author Liane Moriarty. Picture: Supplied

Saari added: “This has been a long time in the making.”

Kidman has a long-time association with Sydney author Moriarty, the pair being close friends and having brought to life two of her previous books that were global hits.

Kidman starred with the likes of Reese Witherspoon, Zoe Kravitz, Alexander Skarsgard, Shailene Woodley, Meryl Streep and Laura Dern in Big Little Lies. Picture: Supplied

“She has just become a great friend,” she said.

“She is the same age, she has got kids, she has gone through similar things at different times and I think we are just sympatica.”

Of Moriarty’s books, Kidman continued: “They are very cinematic, she writes characters.”

Big Little Lies had an all-star cast that included Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Zoe Kravitz, Alexander Skarsgard, Shailene Woodley, Meryl Streep and Laura Dern.

Kidman in Nine Perfect Strangers. Picture: Vince Valitutti/Hulu

Nine Perfect Strangers was shot around Byron Bay during the Covid pandemic and starred Kidman alongside Melissa McCarthy, Michael Shannon, Luke Evans, Asher Keddie, Bobby Cannavale, Regina Hall and Samara Weaving.

Both were huge hits on BINGE.

Kidman also paid tribute to late Foxtel and BINGE TV executive Brian Walsh, who died earlier this year.

Late Foxtel executive Brian Walsh.

“And I want to just say, Brian Walsh, who greatly loved … this is his project,” she said.

“He was watching over it, he wanted it, he wanted BINGE and Foxtel to have it and he fought like crazy to get it and it is devastating that he is not here … but maybe he is.

“Brian has been a huge part of my life through my whole career and to be able to just still continue his legacy is fantastic so Brian Walsh we miss you and we love you.”

The Last Anniversary is Moriarty’s novel from 2006 that tells the story of lead character Sophie Honeywell.

“Sophie Honeywell always wondered if Thomas Gordon was the one she let get away,” the book synopsis reads. “He was the perfect boyfriend, but on the day he was to propose, she broke his heart. A year later he married his travel agent, while Sophie has been mortifyingly single ever since.”

WHERE’S KEITH?

In the wide-ranging SXSW session hosted by veteran journalist Peter Overton – a childhood friend of Kidman – the actor paid tribute to mother Janelle in the audience and explained why country music superstar husband Keith Urban was not able to attend.

“My husband would be here but he has taken the girls back to the States because they had to get back into school,” she said.

“So a shout out to Keith.”

Kidman also revealed the more “gritty” side of film and television making, regaling the packed crowd of a couple of thousand at ICC Sydney about a time she had to go to the toilet on set.

“I have peed in the bush because there was nothing around and we had very little time and we were losing light so it is like, ‘go behind the tree’,” she laughed.

“You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to get the shot.”