Cannes 70 is in the books and this year’s Palmarés included a Special Prize for Nicole Kidman, to go with her 11 Golden Globe nominations, three Globe wins and all her other accolades. It was almost inevitable given that the undisputed queen of the Croisette appeared  in a record four films: John Cameron Mitchell’s How to Talk to Girls at Parties, Sophia Coppola’s The Beguiled, Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Killing of a Sacred Deer and Jane Campion’s Top of the Lake 2: China Girl.  

All that and the Aussie still found time to stop by the HFPA lounge with Killing of a Sacred Deer co-stars Colin Farrell and Barry Keoghan.

Inevitably the question came up about her monopolizing the festival which Colin Farrell ribbed as “pure unadulterated greed.”

“I won’t have another film coming out now for about five years,’  laughed the actress, “because they have all been here. I was like ‘they are all in the Cannes Film Festival?’”

Some of the roles were starring, like in Deer, other pieces were really ensemble work (Beguiled). Ever eclectic, Kidman appeared as a punked-out alien in Girls and went grey in Top of the Lake – a wonderful performance which she singled out as special to her, if nothing else because of working in her home town (Sydney) with director Jane Campion, who to this day is the only woman to ever win a Palme D’Or (although Coppola did win a Best Director this year.)

‘I mean, to go and work with Jane again, and where she wrote me a supporting role in something, and she said just come back to Australia and play.  And I went yeah, that’s right it is play.  And I like being able to be like that. (…) I mean, this…walking through the streets and photos and red carpets are quite astounding and last night, those are moments that go in and you go oh I will remember this forever. “

Top of the Lake also broke historic ground as the first TV series to grace a screen in Cannes in its 70 year history. A milestone and – of course – cause for controversy. We asked Nicole about that  – specially since we just also saw her in  HBO’s Big Little Lies.

“I mean I work in both, in everything, but I am always still going to want to go and get lost in the dark watching a film with a group of people.  I will fight for that until the bitter end.”  (laughs)

Thank you Nicole for having us at your festival.