Eyes Wide Shut

Genre: Drama.

Studio: Warner Brothers.
Production Company: Warner Brothers.

Project Phase: In the Can.

Who's In It: Tom Cruise; Nicole Kidman; Sydney Pollack; Jennifer Jason Leigh; Vinessa Shaw; Todd Field; Leelee Sobieski; Thomas Gibson; Alan Cumming; Marie Richardson; Madision Eginton (rumored).
Who's Making It: Stanley Kubrick (Director); Frederic Raphael, Stanley Kubrick (Screenwriters); Stanley Kubrick (Producer); Larry Smith (Director of Photography).

Premise: Plot details remain sketchy, although the film has been mentioned as a story of jealousy and sexual obsession. If what we've heard is accurate, it goes something like this:

Two psychologists (who also happen to be husband and wife) have a secret life with their patients, including extramartial sex, crossdressing fetishes, shooting morphine and not paying their electic bills (ok, maybe that's a bit too far for us.)

Release Date: July 16, 1999.

Comments: The next long-awaited Kubrick project is a go -- although it isn't the much-anticipated A.I. movie. Instead, the director is developing this mysterious project.

Rumors: Whoa! According to some sources, the scenes were Cruise and Kidman's characters get high on morphine are being digitally transferred into black and white.

The film may or may not be lossely based on the book Dream Story by Arthur Schnitzler.

Scoop Feedback:

March, 1996... [Thanks to Todd Dupler for additional information!]

July 9, 1996... Robin Wright is joining the cast. As well, Cruise and Kidman both attended the London premiere of Mission: Impossible this week...and Eyes Wide Shut is set to begin filming this summer in England. [Scoop sent in by 'Sassie'.]

August 25, 1996... Rumor has it that Eyes Wide Shut is being filmed in the 65mm format. [Scoop supplied anonymously.]

September 3, 1996... "I just want to tell you that a friend of mine who works at a film sound mixing lab here in Sydney, Australia recently answered the phone and got to speak to Stanley Kubrick! My friend is working on the final mix for Jane Campion's new film. Stanley wanted to speak to Jane - he said it had something to do with John Malkovich, who is in her new film. I don't know if this info is interesting to you or not but I thought I'd tell you anyway." Hey, sounds cool enough for us. [Scoop submitted by 'Florian'.]

September 22, 1996... This scooper informant tells us that, according to their information, this film will not be filmed in England or else it won't be filmed at all. [Scoop sent in anonymously.]

October 7, 1996... "A friend of mine who is a screenwriter out here in LA told me of a friend of his who is good friends with The Kidmans (that's Tom and Nicole). They both showed up a few weeks ago, taking a break from rehearsal for Eyes Wide Shut at the Venice Film Festival (that's Venice, CA). This friend politely asked for even the slightest tidbit of info. regarding the movie. NO DICE. Apparently, Nicole just kept smiling, nodding "NO," and apologizing for not being able to talk about it. It is truly amazing how Kubrick maintains a tightly knit veil of silence over his films - especially now, the way movies are promoted a year before filming begins...(Batman, anyone?)" [Scoop info supplied by 'petern'.]

October 27, 1996... The always-impressive Jennifer Jason Leigh joins the cast. [Scoop info supplied by Christian and 'hostetl'.]

October 29, 1996... Stanley Kubrick called old friend Ridley Scott last week for a list of top talent to fill out his crew. The crew is coming together quickly as Kubrick plans to start shooting in New York next month. [Scoop provided by 'Lumiere'.]

November 25, 1996... New York's Sunday News wrote that model Stacy Ness would play in EWS. Her character is supposed to obsess over Tom Cruise. She's 23, blue-eyed and 5-feet-10-1/2. [Scoop info sent in by 'kahn'.]

December 14-17, 1996... Cruise and Kidman are married psychologists who begin torrid affairs with two of their clients (Keitel and Jason-Leigh) - also a married couple. Or so the storyline goes, according to what Los Angeles Times reporter Jeffrey Wells reported. With the cast and crew signed to keep secrecy at all costs, this would be the first major break of the supposed plotline. And even more bizarre rumors, that there's a scene where Cruise dressed in woman's garments and that the film has scenes shot in (heaven forbid!) black-and-white have created the talk of Tinseltown this holiday season. Warner Brothers has refused to comment. [Scoop sent in by 'Lumiere'; originally appeared in the Drudge Report; original story broken by the Los Angeles Times.]

January 18, 1997... Another report that Kidman's character is a heroin addict. Reportedly, several British drug experts as well as former addicts have been asked to the set to brief Kidman for her role. [Scoop furnished anonymously.]

As well, Ed Flixman sources have also heard the same rumor regarding Kidman and the former addicts. Flixman has also heard that Kidman's character is supposed to lead a double life, concealing her addiction from everyone around her. [Scoop info sent in by Ed Flixman; go check out his site in 'Hot Sites'.]

While M.J. Packer reports to us that the British newspaper The Independent reports that clinical psychiatrist Dr. Clive Froggart provided advice to the actors on how to act like they are actually preparing and injecting heroin into their bodies. "Dr. Froggat is held in some esteem in this country for his work with drug-addicts, but two years ago admitted that he was addicted himself, having tried hard drugs to empathise with his patients more effectively - a move that went badly wrong. Kubrick, I think, would rather have someone of Dr. Froggat's standing on set than your average ex-smackhead straight out of jail and on the atonement-trip (although that might be good for the Great Sheltered-One!)" [Scoop sent in by M.J. Packer.]

May 3, 1997... Word is that Harvey Keitel has left the production of Eyes Wide Shut due to some 'tension' between him and Kubrick. Kurbick's friend Sydney Pollack will take over Keitel's character and all scenes featuring the former will have to be re-shot. The reason for Keitel's departure? No one is officially talking but it could be due to Kubrick's perfectionist approach clashing with Keitel's loose acting style. What sort of delay this will cause is unknown just yet. Tom Cruise (who denies any of the rumors about his character cross-dressing) is taking his children to the set, hoping to break up some of the tension. [Overheard by 'jobenne3', 'ermont', Diane, 'pyazdi', 'jkaminski', Todd Dupler, 'AnimalMother' August 4, 1997... A strip club in London's SoHo district, Madame Jo-Jo's, was one of the locations recently used. As well, a whole floor of the Loughborough Hotel was commandeered by Kubrick for an entire week while shooting took place. [Scoop sent anonymously.]

August 5, 1997... Security's been so ultra-tight on the set of Eyes Wide Shut that virtually no images of the sets have gotten out - until now. Our source has leaked us two pictures of the film's main street scene that show us Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman's residence in the film, apparently on a 'Benton Street'. The street in question does look very London-ish, we think, especially the second photo showing Tom and Nicole's front door. If these are legit, they're the first images of the film seen by the public. Sorry Stanley, but we had to do it. [Special thanks to a scooper who wishes to remain anonymous.]

August 9, 1997... Could the above pictures really be taken from the sets of the upcoming Paramount television series Ally McBeal and not Kubrick's ubersecret Kidman/Cruise pic? This scooper tells us just that. [Submitted anonymously.]

August 17, 1997... Another scooper tells us that the photos don't look in character to what typical British streets look like. "Street signs are not in that style over here, and the front door shot looks very American to me, they tell us. [Sent in anonymously.]

Although the New York Times reported that principal photography on Eyes Wide Shut closed early this month, Variety says it just ain't so. Shooting began last November 4 and is now into its ninth month...that makes it 280 days so far, which is close to breaking previous production records. [Scooped by 'widgett' and 'deadpool'.]

August 19, 1997... Feedback and still more feedback about the alleged pictures taken of the sets:

"The pictures you posted look nothing like London, and I live there - NO streets have 'green' road signs, for one thing..." ['Angus'.]

"Regarding your photos of EWS: the street scene doesn't look British. The giveaway to me was the street sign, and the newspaper dispenser thing. So either these shots aren't from the film, or the film is set in the US, with Kubrick refusing to travel to film (as with Full Metal Jacket)." [Mike Gambit.]

"I believe the streets are meant to look American. Kubrick has not returned to America since filming Lolita and may want to recreate an American city in London studios. Full Metal Jacket took place in both America and Vietnam, but was filmed in England." ['streiter'.]

And then there's the enigmatic Village Voice paper box that appears in one photo. Based on the feedback we're getting about it, we think that we've got the 90's equivalent of Abraham Zapruder's Kennedy assassination film. Close your eyes and you'll almost hear Kevin Costner speaking in a southern accent..."Ask yourself what would the box have to gain as motive?"

"Just to add a little more anecdotal anti-evidence to the set photos issue, the first photo features what looks a lot like a Village Voice distro box seen only in New York City, USA." [Chris.]

"Here is further evidence that the 'Benton Street' scene is NOT in London - the red box sitting on the street corner beneath the Benton Street sign is a vending box for The Village Voice, which is a New York City publication." [Trevor Wagon.]

One of the Web Kubrick sites has a picture posted of Tom Cruise handing Stanley his kid. We'd run it except that the tabloids have bought it and own copyright. (Psst! 'http://www.lehigh.edu/~pjl/kubrick.html') [Thanks to M.K.]

Scooper Mike Gambit follows up on the 8/4 entry. "I believe that Madame JoJo's in Soho is a transvestite bar rather than simply a strip club. Which may shed some light on the Tom Cruise cross-dressing rumour. Or then again, it may not." [Supplied by Mike Gambit.]

Speaking of release dates, the first person heard Summer 1998. The second scooper also heard it straight from the lips of Entertainment Tonight's Mary Hart. [Courtesy of 'st7i9' and 'sultan'; additional info by 'hostetl'.]

Another reports that the film is based on the book Dream Story by Arthur Schnitzler. In Schnitzler's work, a married couple are jealous of each other´s attentions. Then again, it also sounds just like a brief plot overview of any Jackie Collins' book. [Sent in anonymously.]

"Ok, so this is classic friend-of-a-friend, but a guy I know pretty well works as a part-time editor, and one of his collegues works at the studio complex where EWS is being produced. And according to him, editing has already begun, although it's not quite clear if this actually refers to hands-on editing by Kubrick himself or just putting together a rough cut or a couple dailies in sequence. Anyhow, it seems as though production is nearing a finish line...although Stan The Man could call em all back for re-shoots, who knows." [Thanks go out to Norman.]

Straight from the Disney Jungle2Jungle web site, Leelee Sobieski will reportedly have a role in the pic. [Brought to out attention by 'thew'.]

"Supposedly, Harvey Keitel left the film after six months of shooting because he had previously committed to another project, The Road to Graceland, and no one had imagined the shoot would take so long. Keitel has been replaced with director and sometimes-actor Sydney Pollack." [Sent anonymously.]

Uh oh. Another one of those potential mega-rumors has arrived - here goes. Apparently the film is dangerously close to obtaining an NC-17 rating. To merit that, there is supposed full-frontal nudity of both Tom and Nicole. [But was 'betan002' naked when they sent us the email?]

Friends of friends who may be very important people on the set have told us that not only is there a scene where Tom crossdresses, but there is also a scene where Nicole and the character initially played by Harvey both crossdress. However in the re-shoots only Nicole crossdresses; apparently Sydney Pollack couldn't bring himself to do it. [Thanks to Gary.]

Finally, Hollywood is having so much fun guessing the wrapping date that another studio has created a betting pool. One guesser is going for longs odds, predicting the film will wrap sometime during April '98. E!'s gossip columnist Ted Casablanca tried to call WB for confirmation that the shoot was still ongoing - and they hung up on him. Jeesh! [Submitted by 'widgett' and 'petern'; as appeared in The Drudge Report.]

August 29, 1997... Our anonymous sender of the two pictures from the August 5th entry has returned...this time with twelve pictures said to be taken from the EWS sets at Pinewood Studios, England. The scooper's intent is to try and provide more evidence that these photos are indeed taken from Kubrick's film sets and are legitimate. Additionally, our source reports that the film's locale is in the United States, which would answer the many questions other readers have had about the American looking street signs and paper boxes.

If the photos aren't from the film then they are from some production (the Ally McBeal television show as one scooper claims, perhaps?); if they are from EWS then they were taken at a time when no visible cast or crew members were around. In any case, we present the photographs and their headings each were labeled with below...

So are they indeed pics from the set of Eyes Wide Shut or from another production? The scooper swears by their authenticity; but with no pictures of any of the main actors or confirming set pieces, the photos may only add to the growing controversy. (Of course, it would be rather difficult we imagine to snap a quick photo of Tom Cruise while in costume. "Just one second Mr. Cruise...can I take a photograph of you in those heels?" [Thanks again to an anonymous source for providing the photos.]

October 7, 1997... Promoting her recent release The Peacemaker on The Late Show with David Letterman, Nicole Kidman describing an incident that happened while filming Eyes Wide Shut. She mentioned her makeup was in the style of women from the 1930s, and that it was "dark and weird." [Sent to us by 'HellFace' and 'betan002'.]

" Last year I was working at the American Embassy in London. In May we received a call from Warner Brothers that they needed some American extras for 'Tom Cruise's newest film.' Three of us met Leon Vitali at Warner Brothers. Vitali has been Kubric's inside man since The Shining. He informed us that they had recreated a section of New York City at Pinewood Studies (just outside of London) for the shooting of Eyes Wide Shut. Apparantly, the movie is mostly shot in Greenich Village/Soho and Kubrick does not like to travel to the U.S. And in case you're curious, the scene I was to be in involved Tom Cruise bumping into a bunch of slightly tipsy drunken college students who taunt him about his sexuality. Unfortuantely, I was never able to particpate in the shooting of the film. The original shooting date of May 22 kept getting pushed back and I eventually had to return to the U.S." [Scoop provided anonymously.]

Another scooper reports of a possible sighting of the set...on a public street in London!

" Kubrick has been shooting his new film near where I work in London. The streets in question are Worship Street and Paul Street, EC2. The streets are now displaying American streetsigns and trash cans, although as far as I know no sightings of Mr Cruise or Ms Kidman have yet been made. I will try and verify whether the pictures of the street on your site are the two sites named above, although at a first glance they don't appear to be... [Sent in by Phil Hornsey.]

And the weirdness continues...

" A relative of mine works in the British film industry – I'd rather not give any more details, anyway he was working near a rehearsal for Eyes Wide Shut recently. Apparenlty a group of dancers were rehearsing a routine in which the men pulled long back capes off the women to reveal that they were naked, and then bent down to their necks like vampires..." [Sent in anonymously.]

This reader has a theory that the film is based on a book by novelist Arthur Schnitzler...

"All of this things should be taken to the conditional, but my sources are extremly sures.

"In a french book about Kub, a 1972 interview lets Stanley talk about his desire to adapt to screen Arthur Schnitzler book, Traumnovelle. The subject is interesting. Here are the director's words: 'And at last, there is Arthur Schnitzler's book that I always intended to adapt. The theme is about people who have a desire of stability, secutity, repetition and order in their lives, and at the same time who want to escape from them, to make new adventures, and be destructives. The book opposates the real adventures of a husband, and the fantasy adventures of his wife, and asks the question: is there a serious difference between dream a sexual adventure and to have one?'

"Could it not be Eyes Wide Shut???

"The author of the book tells the story a bit more precisely: 'Schnitzler story talks about the link between what real and what is fantasy, through the story of the father of a 7 years old girl, who has lived a night in Vienne where imaginary melts with reality...'

"I do think that the title Eyes Wide Shut could mean a mix between reality and fantasy. And, of course, there is a couple in the book, sexual fantasies, and, as we know that some sequences are shot in black and white. Could they not be the dream sequences???" [Interesting theory sent in by 'tdiouf'.]

When you type in the address 'www.eyeswideshut.com', it transports you to the Warner Brothers homepage...proof that WB will be maintaining a site for the film when it gets released. [Found out by 'Patrique' and 'streiter'.]

November 22, 1997... One of the extras used for the film shoot tells us that they can add their voice to the other reports of dozens of re-shot scenes. Originally hired for just two weeks worth of filming for scenes during a semi-secret shoot in the neighborhood of East Anglia, the scooper worked for five weeks getting the scene just right for director Stanley Kubrick. They also report that of the material we've printed concerning the film's storyline, they've heard or seen nothing confirming nude scenes in the film. But would an extra know about those scenes? [Lovingly sent to us by 'Bouncer']

Although the scooper reminds us this piece of gossip is just that -- gossip -- we'll throw it up anyways. In addition to the cross-dressing scenes supposedly in the picture, Tom's character also has a scene were he sings in drag. The rumored digitally-created black and white scenes where we get to see the world through his character's drug trip will seem tame in comparison if this one turns out to be true! [Anonymous.]

Now, after the appetizers here is the main course. Here's some speculation on the possible connection to the Schnitzner novel Dream Story and how the screenwriter for the film, Frederic Raphael, may have written a novel based on an earlier attempt to adapt the Schnitzner work to screen back in the early '70s!

"I tracked down copies of Schnitzler's Dream Novel and the published novelization of Frederick Rafael's Who Were You With Last Night (1972), which apparently was the novelization of Kubrick and Rafael's original attempt to adapt Schnitzler's story. If you haven't read them, neither sound exactly like what the others have been describing on your page, but it seems that EWS is much closer to the Schnitzler story then the 1972 adaptation.

"One other thing, the previous synopsis of the Schnitzler story seem way off. The version I've read concerns a doctor wrapped up in a Poe-like, 'Cask of Amontillado'-esqe nocturnal adventure that involve him with a secret society and 'floating' sex parties. His primary motivation being an irrational dislike of his wife that leads to involvment with this secret society and, finally, an obsessive love for a dead woman who rescues him after violating the secret society's strict confidentiallity rules." Weeeird! [Submitted anonymously.]

"FYI, 'Traumnovelle', 'Rhapsody: A Dream Novel' and 'Dream Story' by Arthur Schnitzler are one and the same book. The latter two are titles of the English translation, which I have read. Many of the scoops sent in thus far are consistent with this book, others are not. For example, the book takes place in Vienna in the 19th century, concentrates mainly on the escapades of the lead male character, who resents his wife (the wife doesn't do much of anything in the book) and doesn't involve cross-dresssing or drug use. These are inconsistent with reports coming in. However, the book does involve a doctor who attends a ball with his wife, does involve a wig store and a party where everybody's naked. All in all, I'd wager Eyes Wide Shut is indeed based on this novel, but with Kubrick's own spin. Incidentally, the book is a fairly easy and quick read. I'd recommend it to anybody looking forward to Eyes Wide Shut." [The word from the man, 'Sultan'.]

December 24, 1997... Last Sunday's London Times reported the confirmation that Stanley Kubrick's still-going (like the Energizer bunny, I suppose) Eyes Wide Shut production is indeed based on the 1926 Arthur Schnitzler novel Traumnovelle. Also mentioned was the fact that filming did indeed take place in Madame JoJo's in SoHo (supposedly a pretty good transvestite bar...but don't ask me how we know, ok?). That's great news for CA -- we've been reporting just those very things for months now. February 5, 1998... January 31st was the final day of shooting for one Mr. Tom Cruise. To celebrate this event, people working on Eyes Wide Shut started talking about the movie's planned-for year end release date. But what about the dreaded word...re-shoots??? ['Josh the Sandman', 'kholdren', Tom Adams, 'malick97', 'cpa' and others.]

March 17, 1998... Yesterday's The New York Post reported a small but interesting snippet from EWS co-star Alan Cumming. The actor revealed a little about his role in the film, telling the Post that it took Kubrick five days to shoot one scene. In it, Cumming's character, a flamboyant hotel clerk, flirts with Tom Cruise's character. Still, Cumming wasn't complaining about working with the legendary director. [Anonymous.]

We've been also informed about the film's musical score. Apparently Kubrick never settled on a composer for the film before preproduction, and is only now weighing his audio options. A frontrunner, who bolted for London last week for a private audience with the director is drum and bass master Goldie. But to date, there's been no decision made just yet, and no "deal memo" has been drawn up.

The scooper also tells us "on good authority" the budget for the film is $55 million.

Finally, they revealed to us a sneaky plan WB had for a secret screening of the films rough cut for its key department heads. In the week of May 10th, the WB heads will be travelling to Cannes to attend a screening of The Avengers, scheduled for the 15th of May. In the WB corporate travel office memo (which the scooper called "practically a coded message"), the Avengers screening was mentioned, then followed by an "afterthought" mentioning a 48 hour London stopover. The scooper tells us this is when the rough cut of Eyes Wide Shut will be screened for the attending execs. The scooper had this to say about the matter: "Since the screening is meant to prep department heads for the Dec 18th, 1998 opening, trouble looms -- the company lacks a marketing head."

March 30, 1998... Our source in England who furnished us with the on set EWS photos last year, the 'London Spy', is back. They report that last month Kubrick commissioned three new sets to be constructed. This would mean that re-shoots with Cruise and Kidman could be happening quite soon. Rumors are flying around that Kubrick is already deciding on his next picture, using the working title of 'K9' for the project. That would dismiss reports that A.I. is next on his schedule after EWS. [Thanks to our 'London Spy'.]

April 11, 1998... Le Film Francais, a French film magazine, reports that Kubrick has asked Jennifer Jason Leigh to return to London to reshoot all of her scenes. Reportedly the director felt that her acting just wasn't up to his high level of standards. If that report is true, EWS may not make its December opening date. We've re-classified the film as 'greenlighted'. [Thanks to John G.]

Another 'London Spy' report! Now that word of our Spy's March 30th scoop has been confirmed by other media, the Spy returns to tell us a little bit more. Tom Cruise is the only other person scheduled to return; Nicole Kidman isn't. As well, one of the new sets being constructed is a gothic period piece. [Thanks to our relative of James Bond and Mrs. Peel, the 'London Spy'.]

April 19, 1998... The rumor that Jennifer Jason Leigh is returning to London for reshoots is just that -- a rumor. The actress is shooting eXistenZ right now. [Robin Shortt and anonymous contributed.]

Are these the new sets for the film? Three pictures of sets being constructed in Pinewood Studios have been sent to CA. Our source who sent the photos, the 'London Spy', tells us that these sets are being constructed on stage M of the studios and are known as 'Hall and Lobby area'. They are the new sets Kubrick has asked for.

[Courtesy of the 'London Spy'.]

April 24, 1998... We're starting to wonder if Warner Bros. execs fifty years in the future may decide to make a film about the making of this film. Today director Stanley Kubrick issued a press release confirming that additional reshoots involving Jennifer Jason Leigh and Tom Cruise will be required. This is the exact wording Kubrick used:

This confirms a lot of recent scoops we've posted recently on this page. First, the April 11th reshoot story Le Film Francais broke was accurate in that Leigh was asked to return to London for additional filming. Second, our April 19th scoopers also said Leigh wasn't returning -- but they didn't say Richardson would be inheriting her role (which sounds damn strange to us.) Third, 'London Spy' only heard that Cruise would be returning. While Kubrick doesn't outright say Cruise is coming back for the reshoots in his statement, we're assuming that he will be needed for Richardson's additional scenes.

What hasn't been touched on were the reports 'London Spy' gave to CA that Cruise would be filming new scenes. Ah, the mystery deepens... [Thanks to fast-moving Joe Hanna for keeping us informed!]

May 12, 1998... "Certain scenes were shot just down the road from me, at Elveden Hall in Suffolk, England. Security was INCREDIBLY tight - people were chased away from the main gate which is 2 and a half miles or so from the house. They were mostly filming nights - I heard that severel hotels asked the crew to move as their hours were disturbing other guests. This was in late October 1997. A friend of mine was an extra but was kept totally in the dark as to what they were doing, other than it was a 'ballroom' scene. They were supposed to be there a week and stayed a month.

"Kubrick, apparantly, insisted on being driven from hertfordshire every day at 35mph!!! That's a LONG drive. Cruise got a helicopter."

[Submitted by James Oliver.]

June 17, 1998... Let us be the first in the world to say that, as of two days ago, all the sets for Eyes Wide Shut have been struck, packed and placed into storage.

No, really. We don't think Stanley's pulling Tom's leg again this time.

According to our source (who's provided us with all our photos of the sets as well as breaking the news about the re-shoots first) all of the new scenes Kubrick asked for have been shot. There are, however, the matter of additional pick-ups and inserts to be filmed but these are minor chores.

It's starting to look like - after a year and a half of filming - that Eyes Wide Shut is about to lose its grasp on its cast members and you're one of the first ones to hear about it. [Thanks to our 'London Spy' for hiding under those catering tables for all those long months.]

June 29, 1998... "The buzz from the bees is that the recent number of reshoots going on for Eyes Wide Shut is because Kubrick is reportedly unsatisfied with certain pivotal scenes containing Mr. Cruise," our scooper tells us. Well that would just about do it for all the main cast members that've irritated Stanley now, wouldn't it?

But why has actor Thomas Gibson (from TV's Dharma and Greg) been suddenly cast in the movie for Cruise's reshoots? Answer below:

"From what I hear, Kubrick saw Thomas Gibson in 'Tales from the City' by Maupin, and had him play the gay love (or lust) interest opposite Cruise in a scene that takes place in the shrink's office, or was it the bar where he gets teased by a bunch of other gay men - they didn't specify. Apparently there is a lot of sexual experimentation for the 2 main characters, even though they are married both on screen and off."

Hmm. But c'mon, there can't be too much in the way of adult-themes and gay situations in this picture, right? It is a big-budget Hollywood movie after all, right?

Er, right mystery scooper??

"I hear - though I find it hard to believe - that a kiss was filmed between the two!"

[Thanks to 'Shang' for the deep-cover dish.]

August 25, 1998... Yowza! We can't give this the same seal of legitimacy that we could for the 'London Spy' scoops but if it is real, expect to see one helluva a trailer for this picture before the end of the year!

Read our scooper's email to us and see for yourself:

" A trailer for EWS have been screened for the bosses at Warner Bros. It's a still of Nicole Kidman's breasts,with her name across one nipple,and Tom Cruise´s name across the other. Then after 30 seconds, the title Eyes Wide Shut is shown. No word of sound or music though." [Sent in by 'Dim'.]

OK, so what are the chances Kubrick could get away with a trailer like this? we wonder aloud...

September 11, 1998... Warner Bros. officially announces a new release date: July 16, 1999. With principal photography completed, it's starting to look like Kubrick's film has a good chance of meeting that new commitment -- barring anymore eleventh hour re-shoots, we figure. WB is hoping that the film will continue to build audience anticipation as time progresses and thus gross a bigger box office take during Hollywood's profitable summer season. We're guessing that the studio will try and use (a) the rumors surrounding the film's mysterious plotline, (b) the supposed scenes showing frontal nudity of the principal cast members, and, perhaps most important of all, (c) the fact that it's nothing short of being Kubrick latest film to (=) generate boffo hype. Hey, just ask James Cameron about any press being good press: look at how his film Titanic went from being a overbudgeted, studio-toppling behemoth (with a 'meglamaniacal' director behind the camera lens, if you read the set coverage) to becoming the world's best-received, highest grossing film of all time (with Cameron netting a Best Director Oscar, natch, and all his past outbursts on the set all-but forgotten about.) Can Stanley do the same with his film?

September 22, 1998... The official site has opened (http://www.eyeswideshut.com/). Simply the word Eyes Wide Shut on a white background. [Scoop provided by 'bjudd', 'dauermann', 'Jack Lint', 'arbyday'. Thanks you all for reporting in...]

October 11, 1998... Finally some news from WB's publicity department: "We here in the publicity department (finally popping the champagne bottles after getting the go-ahead to do SOMETHING with eyeswideshut.com!) have heard more and more recently about Kubrick's 1999 project. Although most of the things I hear around here are usually true (including Marcus Nispel's firing from his directing job on END OF DAYS), you can take this however lightly or heavily you'd like:

"It seems the brass here at WB have approached Kubrick (whom they've left along after principal shooting wrapped) about when exactly to expect his rough cut of the film. They're hoping for February 99 (a healthy margin for K), and he's agreed.

"But here's the interesting stuff: word is that Kubrick gave them a few ideas about that cut. First it will be between 145 and 160 minutes in length. Secondly, it will be quite sexually graphic (it seems the quote Kubrick made after CLOCKWORK regarding how interesting it would be to see mainstream, 'pretty' actors in a sexually explicit movie) and he will not back away from that content. This is sketchy, but word is there is a very, very graphic sex scene between Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise, of several minutes duration, including full-frontal nudity for both, with Pollack and Richardson 'watching.' We were told that an NC-17 rating is likely."

This already sounds like the most controversial movie in history. Could it get any bigger? [Scoop provided by our pal, 'Mr WB'.]

October 20, 1998... October 20, 1998... Some news concerning the credits for this project has been picked up by the Cinescape Insider. CI reported a story that ran in The London Observer last week that Eyes Wide Shut screenwriter Frederick Raphael is disputing the film's writing screen credit. According to Raphael, who gave an interview to the Observer, the Writer's Guild will arbitrate the matter. Kubrick reportedly re-wrote Raphael's script. [Scoop sent in by 'Masque', first reported online by the Cinescape Insider; first appeared in The London Observer.]

And some more publicity news has been sent our way. "Tom Cruise's 'adviser team' that was created after the build up of the gossip on Eyes Wide Shut has negotiated with Warner Brothers on a control over the publicity on film. This could bring discontent on Kubrick' side." [Anonymous.]

October 24, 1998... Some cool report on Stanley: "Thomas Gibson was on CBS and The Late, Late Show tonight. Though he was there to promote an NBC miniseries and ABC's 'Dharma and Greg', and though host Tom Snyder hadn't mentioned a word of it, the first caller had the gumption and foresight to ask him about what it was like to work with Stanley Kubrick. Mr. Gibson did say that, considering the number of rumors about the guy, he expected something different than a Bronx-accented gentleman who offered him coffee on their first visit, and that (of course) it was an immense pleasure to see him work and to get to work with him. Beyond that, he wasn't willing to divulge any details about the movie except to say that it was Stan's decision, as well as his right, to keep the air of secrecy and mystery about the movie." [Scoop sent in by 'gurghi']

Already some religious controversy: "The Scienthology Church has announced that the Priest by the name of Josh Gerlach is asking for the film Eyes Wide Shut be completely shut from it's distribution after personally meeting with Tom Cruise the past week in a 'love without limits' Scientologist week retreat in Florida in a very personal matter Josh believes that Tom is exposing his personal religious organization and life experimentation to the popular public and putting in play the integrity of the Scientology force and his personal sexual interest. Stating that: 'Stanley Kubrick has completely used and swept on the integrity of my beloved friend Tom and Hollywood', I will fight till the end for Warner Brothers to not distribute it!" [Scoop sent in Anonymously]

November 9, 1998... We've been told that in the last week of October Stanley Kubrick may have handed in a 2 hour, 48 minute rough (!) cut of Eyes Wide Shut to high-level Warner Bros. executives. We've heard it described as nothing but dailies that've been strung together in a rough order...but if that were the case, wouldn't it even be longer since Kubrick shot so damn much material? Or has Kubrick decided on which takes he wants in the film?? Any WB people want to fill in the blanks here? (Well, it was worth a shot in the dark, at least...) ['Wong Fei Hung', strike a pose.]

November 19, 1998... We've been scooped that there's a new name to the cast list: Madision Eginton. According to our scooper the actress spent 10 months in London filming EWS. She's apparently not talking about her role due to her signing a confidentiality agreement -- yup, guess that would do it. Anyone out there care to confirm Ms. Eginton's involvement with the pic? [Scooped anonymously.]

December 14, 1998... This interesting scooper sent his two cents to us concerning this project. Get ready for your Kubrick lesson kiddies; this scooper knows their stuff:

"Even the definitive IMDB web site doesn't mention that the cinematographer on EWS is Larry Smith, who has worked in gaffer and cam asst capacities with Kubrick in the past. (Pic of Kubrick w/Smith at geocities web site.) The long-held 'Net story about Keitel 'going Presidential' on Jennifer Jason Leigh during the shoot is nonsense, according to informed sources. Keitel had been waiting to shoot his scenes, but the wait proved too long for his schedule. Simply, Keitel had to leave and was replaced by Sydney Pollack. Kubrick's daughter Vivian Kubrick, nee Abigail Mead (see FMJ) is a key production asst on EWS--she made only film showing Kubrick at work (BBC's 'Making The Shining') and played little girl on TV phone screen in 2001. Also, a source from EWS production reports that we should not only consider Arthur Schnitzler's novel, 'Traumnovel,' AKA 'Rhapsody,' AKA 'Dream Novel', as the film's mainspring, but also Ovid's opus on love, 'Metamorphosis.' Source suggests that many of Ovid's themes are incorporated into the film's updated-from-Vienna Greenwich Village-set narrative. The much puzzled-over title clearly suggests at somnambulism, which was all the rage in Schnitzler's Vienna. More Schnitzler: Why has no one, even in the London press, made any explicit connection between Nicole Kidman in EWS (late Schnitzler) and David Hare's 'The Blue Room' which she's currently opening on Broadway (based on prime Schnitzler, 'La Ronde')? It seems obvious that Kidman was interested in working with Hare and his take on Schnitzler after investing a remarkable amount of time with Kubrick's Schnitzler. It's no accident that one of Kubrick's favorite films is Max Ophuls' La Ronde. 'The Blue Room' has been long in preparation, since even before Kidman was out of production on EWS The connection between projects is possibly THE most interesting angle on the new show, yet has gone unmentioned. Her stage performance may even be thought of as a kind of preview of her EWS performance, albeit without the multi-character dimension of the play.

"Finally, some informed predictions: Expect Kubrick to fine-tune the film long into 1999, with possible reel to show at upcoming Showest in Vegas; expect him to also deliver an NC-17 rated film, which Warners will in no way demand him to trim for an R (Kubrick has the longest running director-executive relationship in the business with himself and WB's Terry Semel and Bob Daly, who consider SK their absolute crown jewel. Remember, his first movie for Warner's was A Clockwork Orange, which went out with the X rating); expect trailers to appear probably no sooner than spring, and they will reveal nothing, as in the tradition of Shining and FMJ (though the 'Nicole's breast' trailer is most likely Internet myth); expect many to claim that they have an authentic script of EWS, and expect all claims to be frauds (the only possible leak of this ultra-top-secret script may happen if writer Frederic Raphael goes to arbitration with the Writers Guild in his apparent dispute over script credit, and a guild member gets their paws on a copy); expect the soundtrack to be a blend of hip-hop (some of FMJ's score was also hip-hop) and Kubrick's pre-selected music; expect the film to open in L.A. at the Chinese Theatre, long a flagship house for Warners' first-run movies, and also at the Village--these depend, however, on Kubrick's personal staff vetting them for projection and sound quality; expect the release to be limited, then widen, even though only major title opening against it at this date is Disney's Inspector Gadget; expect reviews to be extremely divided, as is always the case when a Kubrick film first opens; expect the Academy to ensure that Kubrick gets some kind of Oscar, or even for the film to dominate nominations, since this may be Academy's last chance to honor Kubrick (at 70, and averaging a film per decade--do the math)--this even though the film's evidently radical subject matter and potentially daring exploits by two major Hollywood darlings would seem to make it Oscar poison--EWS is likely to transcend the usual Oscar prediction formulae.

"These are many predictions, I know, but they are all based on solid research, history and patterns. Also, make note that not only will EWS hold the Guinness record for longest film production shoot, but it will be the first NC-17 film shot in 65mm (Tom and Nicole's previous 65mm film, Far and Away, was PG-13). Finally, your EWS page is by any measure easily the most comprehensive on the Web."

*whew*. Well, when we get scoops like that, we can't help but have the page be essential reading material in Kubrick 101.

[Information provided by 'Spargo'.]

Official Website: http://www.eyeswideshut.com/



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