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January 8, 2008 (from United Press International)

Winslet takes over Kidman's 'Reader' role

British film star Kate Winslet is taking over Nicole Kidman's role in "The Reader" after the pregnant Australian actress dropped out of the production.

"Kate was offered it first before Nicole, but couldn't do it (because) the dates clashed with commitments to 'Revolutionary Road,'" an insider told People.com. "So the dates changed, Nicole then got pregnant and now it has come back to Kate. ... Actually, everyone is happy now -- Nicole as she has a baby on the way, Kate because she has this great role she originally wanted to do, and the filmmakers are too."

Kidman's publicist confirmed Monday the actress is expecting her first child with husband Keith Urban.

Kidman was reportedly slated to begin working on "The Reader," based on Bernhard Schlink's post World War II-set novel, in October, placing her at Germany's Studio Babelsberg at the same time her ex-husband Tom Cruise was finishing up his World War II movie "Valkyrie" there.

Scenes with Ralph Fiennes were shot for "The Reader" then, while Kidman was expected to report to the set this month.

"The Reader" is being helmed by Stephen Daldry, the filmmaker who directed Kidman to Oscar glory in "The Hours."

August 18, 2007 (from The Hollywood Reporter)

Kidman, Fiennes paged for 'Reader'

Nicole Kidman and Ralph Fiennes have signed on to star in the Weinstein Co.'s "The Reader," directed by Stephen Daldry. The film will reteam Kidman and Daldry, who worked together on "The Hours," which netted Kidman a best actress Oscar.

Based on Bernhard Schlink's international best-selling novel, the story is set in postwar Germany and centers on Michael Berg, who is 15 years old when he begins a long, obsessive affair with Hanna, an enigmatic older woman. He never learns much about her, and when she disappears one day, he expects never to see her again. But to his horror, he discovers that she is a defendant in a Nazi war crimes trial, and it soon becomes clear that she is guilty of an unspeakable crime.

David Hare, who adapted the Oscar-nominated screenplay for "The Hours," penned "The Reader."

Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack are producing the long-gestating project, which originally was set up at Miramax, alongside "The Hours" producer Scott Rudin. Shooting is scheduled to begin next month in Germany.

Kidman, who appears onscreen in the thriller "The Invasion," next stars in "Margot at the Wedding," "The Golden Compass" and "Australia." She is repped by CAA and attorney Alan Wertheimer.


Fiennes, who most recently played Lord Voldemort in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," has been nominated for two Academy Awards for his roles in "Schindler's List" and Minghella's "The English Patient." He is repped by CAA, Simon Beresford in the U.K. and attorney Mike Adler.