Nicole Kidman’s 2021 commercial for AMC Theatres has become an iconic cultural moment for the actress’s fans and theatergoers alike. While speaking on illusionist Criss Angel’s “Talking Junkies” podcast, her husband and country music star Keith Urban explained the two “never in a million years” thought the commercial would be such a hit.
“She did it because we love movies, she loves movies, and it was hard times for the theaters,” Urban said.
At the time, many theaters were struggling to bounce back from COVID-19-related closures.
“AMC asked her if she’d do an AMC commercial and it was a no-brainer for her to be a part of that,” Urban added, “never in a million years expecting that to be this cultural thing.”
Watch Keith Urban’s interview with Criss Angel here:
In January 2022, Kidman told The Playlist that she only knew how popular the commercial was because the head of AMC, Adam Aron, would send her thank you messages about it.
“Because [cinematographer] Jeff Cronenweth shot it, he and his brother, and he shot [‘Being the Ricardos’]. And the reason he shot it was because I was doing Lucy, and then I said, ‘Listen, I’ve been asked to support AMC, would you be willing?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah.’”
She added, “And then [screenwriter] Billy Ray, a friend of mine, I was like, ‘Billy, will you be able to do something, write something for us? Should we do this to support AMC?’ And Billy’s like, ‘Hell yes.’ So that was how that all came about, basically. And then I was like, ‘Gosh, I mean…’ But I’ve never seen it in the theater or anything.”
Of the oft-celebrated line, “Somehow heartbreak feels good in a place like this,” Kidman said, “I mean, talk about not feeling alone, sitting in a cinema with a broken heart, and then watching something that breaks your heart again, and you go, ‘I’m not alone.’ Please. This must not go away. We have to have cinema.”
