The Tale of the Kidman/Cruise/McGregor Placenta: Sex, Lies and 'Skanky Pants'
We thought yesterday's news of Nicole Kidman allegedly hanging on to placenta deriven from her 2001 miscarriage was juicy (er, bad word choice?) enough, but it took a little research into the blob's backstory to turn Andrew Morton's claim into a full-fledged screenplay-worthy scandal. As you'll recall, back then we still relied on greasy newspapers for our gossip as The Internets were still years away from taking off as a veritable information highway. And man, was there ever a lot of gossip circling around the set of Moulin Rouge around the time little Placenta came on to the scene. We did some research on Lexis Nexis this morning and, after the jump, we present the complete history of some of the gorier deets surrounding the Cruise/Kidman divorce, co-starring Ewan McGregor, Stanley Kubrick, and Penelope Cruz.
1998: Eight years into their marriage, Nicole and Tom sign up to co-star in Stanley Kubrick's final film, Eyes Wide Shut. At an early meeting with Kubrick, Cruise and Kidman held hands and Kubrick told his screenwriter, "It was sweet. . . . They're a truly married couple. It was kinda touching."
1999: Nicole and Tom reportedly tense on the set of Stanley Kubrick's final film, Eyes Wide Shut. London's Daily Mail paper quotes Nicole as yelling at Tom, "This isn't worth it! You have two very unhappy people, who spend too much time apart and have hurt each other too much." Months later, she begins filming Moulin Rouge.
March 2000: Nicole admits to having "a crush" on Ewan while filming; the international press jumps on the story, filing reports of an on-set fling almost weekly.
May 2000: Rouge wraps production in Sydney; Nicole fails to attend the Surry Hills restaurant wrap party. Later that month, she shows upat the Sydney premiere of Tom's Mission Impossible 2, but the pair walks the red carpet separately.
February 2001: Kidman and Cruise officially split, after Nicole receives a letter from Tom's lawyer. Tom is repeatedly quoted as saying, "Ask Nicole. She knows," when asked why.
March 2001: Five weeks later, reports surface that Kidman suffers a miscarriage. According to The Mirror, she was three months pregnant. The Herald Sun claims Nicole "was really shocked to learn she was pregnant. Finally, she manages [to conceive], just as the marriage is coming to an end."
April 2001: Ewan tells The Detroit Free Press, "I didn't have an affair with Nicole Kidman. It was nothing to do with me. I had no idea anything was wrong with the marriage. No idea. And I haven't spoken to her since, so I don't know anything about it."
May 2001: Moulin Rouge premieres at Cannes. The Daily Mail spots Nicole and Ewan sharing cigarettes at a press conference, and later holding hands on he Croisette. High on positive buzz during the festival, Ewan tells the paper, "I call Nicole skanky pants. Don't ask me why. She is so beautiful and gorgeous that I just associate it with her - Nicole, knickers, skanky pants!"
July 2001: Cruise's publicist confirms to the press that he is involved in a relationship with "girlfriend" Penelope Cruz, with whom he was filming Vanilla Sky during their divorce.
June 2003: Ewan tells The Daily Star, "She was one of thoes actresses I was nervous about meeting. After the initial nerves, we got on great. The rumors of a relationship were crazy. We were good mates, nothing more."