Nicole Kidman in the action-thriller "The Peacemaker" (1997) as White House nuclear expert Dr. Julia Kelly, opposite George Clooney. The film grossed $110,000,000 worldwide. In 1998, she co-starred with Sandra Bullock in the poorly received fantasy "Practical Magic" as a modern-day witch. Kidman returned to her work on stage the same year in the David Hare play "The Blue Room", which opened in London. In 1999, Kidman reunited with then husband, Tom Cruise, to portray a married couple in "Eyes Wide Shut", the final film of director Stanley Kubrick. The film was subject to censorship controversies due to the explicit nature of
Stanley Kubrick had his own approach to film-making. He wanted to see the actor's faces. He didn't want cameras always in a wide shot twenty-five feet away, he wanted close-ups, he wanted to keep the camera moving. That was his style." Similarly, Malcolm McDowell recalls the long discussions he had with Kubrick to help him develop his character in "A Clockwork Orange", noting that on set he felt entirely uninhibited and free, which is what made Kubrick "such a great director". Kubrick also allowed actors at times to improvise and to "break the rules", particularly with Peter Sellers in "Lolita", which became