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When Nicole met Dave

"This is not a rehearsal" David Letterman told Nicole Kidman. Here's a slightly awkward segment from The Late Show.

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“Did I just miss the point?” asked Nicole Kidman.

Yep.

She really didn’t click too well with David Letterman this week, failing to understand what Letterman was talking about regarding Crocodile Dundee, and missing a chance to introduce a clip to Australia.

“This is not a rehearsal,” said Dave.

Nicole, who says she thought Dave wanted her to be quiet for the clip, laughed off the embarrassed moment.

Their chat went so well Dave even had to ask, “You’re not coming back are you?”

This is a long clip but the good stuff starts around 2.30 mins.

After the interview Letterman said he felt like a dope. Like a dumb kid at the end of a bad date, “Will it be OK if I called you again?” he said.

But a charming Simon Baker came to the rescue for the country. His segment ran more smoothly. Even he had a gag at Nicole’s expense.

27 Responses

  1. I thought Kidman was very restrained and tried to be polite to a rude insincere “interviewer”. If you watch professionals at work they listen – not so Letterman. I saw Kidman interviewed on other stations and she responded to well crafted questions in a relaxed manner and was was listened to by her inteviewer.

  2. Well put steele and he’s nowhere near as prickly as he was. madonna remarked as much when she was last on saying he use to give guests a much harder time and said he had softened since he had harry.

    And tony your quite right nicole was very defensive ,she needed to relax and go with the flow. She comes across like a princess..heck if paris can join in the fun surely nicole can. She’s not the only one though,other guests have bristled at Dave’s interview technique and they went as well as nicole’s.

  4. I think Letterman’s questions were quite reasonable, but Kidman just misunderstood and was too defensive, like she thought he was setting her up or having a go.

  5. “Zambora on November 26th, 2008 11:05 pm

    David Letterman as an interviewer makes Tench seem like a genius.
    Sorry Dave but it is so easy to pick when you don’t like guests etc.
    I wish Leno was on FTA”

    Whoa… that’s what makes Letterman the best… that he has an opinion. I can’t stand “we love everything” tv host’s… I will never delete Letterman’s post jail interview with Paris Hilton from my PVR… his on going questions of “life in the slammer” and Paris looking backstage for help are classic.

  6. Sorry, but I thought it was a fantastic interview. Nicole seemed to be having fun and was very charming and held a good interview. David, in his usual way, was trying to make her uncomfortable and make a mockery of her. I think she dealt with him pretty well.

  7. Nicole was bemused and Dave wasn’t quite sure what was going on. He clearly felt that the interview had gone belly up, hence the “You’re not coming back, are you?” comment at the end (i.e. I’ve blown it, you’re never going to come on the show again, are you?). Still, it was very interesting to watch! As for the “shrimp on the barbie” reference, the confusion was probably caused by the fact that it wasn’t actually Crocodile Dundee who made that ad (she was clearly genuinely confused!).

    Simon Baker was having a go at Dave rather than Nicole – he’s hardly likely to bag out the godmother of his son on international TV :-).

  8. David Letterman as an interviewer makes Tench seem like a genius.
    Sorry Dave but it is so easy to pick when you don’t like guests etc.
    I wish Leno was on FTA

  10. here was me expecting some kind of Michael Parkinson/Meg Ryan “you dont wanna watch but cant look away” interview…with her being as cold as ice, she struggled with Daves humour a bit but it wasnt that bad, Simon Baker was great though, very natural, I remember him well from his days on E-Street…good times!

  11. Can somebody from the movie distributers pull Nicole aside and explain the concept of marketing.
    Letterman was trying in vain to draw a parralel between Australia the movie and tourism,similar to the alliance forged by Crocodile Dundee and “Put Another Shrimp on the Bar Bie” Hogan TV ad campaign in the 80’s.
    The interview I found amusing but from a PR perspective it did nothing to sell movie tickets and the footage shown as a teaser hardly impressed upon the movies supposed “grandeur”.
    Kidman missed a real opportunity to spruik the movie and for her not be be clued up on a “cross promotion” with tourism Australia reflects poorly the people charged with delivering results both at the cinema and increasing visitor numbers down under.

  12. Craig, I agree – her hair has looked awful for a long time now. I know she has curls, but with the blonde, it just looks like straw. She needs to return to her glory days as a redhead.

  13. I can somewhat see where she was coming from. Dave, as always, was politely insincere. The only thing you can do is play along with it, and I thought she made him out to be the fool.

  14. I think Nicole was fine.. its David Letterman.. he rambles alot in his interviews and lacks direction .. and doesnt bother to listen to his guests and what they’re saying.. esp when nicole was talking about how close all australians are..

  15. This was a great interview I watch Letterman religiously and it was just so much fun to watch. I think they were both awkward with each other which added to the fun, Dave was like a love struck kid. Nicole was great and handled Dave well and giggled and laughed with Dave, the audience seemed to love her. I think the questions about Keith Urban caught her of guard but she lit up when he mentioned her daughter. Nicole is a true Hollywood star and a huge asset to Australia we should be proud to be represented by her, she is incredibly beautiful, and I think this is a perfect case of an incredible woman falling victim to tall poppy syndrome, that’s Australia for ya! Funnily enough I found Simon Baker quite dull each to their own right!!

  16. Dave was spot on with his questioning, and was right to mock Kidman… what kind of Australian ambassador has not heard of Paul Hogan’s famous “shrimp on the barbie” advertising campaign???????

  17. This second part of the interview is nothing compared to the first part. Nicole becomes quite agitated with Dave’s questions about hubby Keith and she’s stumped when he asks about Keith’s early career downunder!

  18. She was similar the previous time. she either doesn’t get Dave’s personality or refuses to thus coming across like an air headed diva. Dave always goes OT and the smarter guests usually go along for the ride rather then acting like a twit. And yes Simon was awesome thank goodness.

  22. Funnily enough, I didn’t mind this interview. I generally despise Nicole… haven’t thought she has done anything good (bar The Hours – even with the nose)… But Dave’s more left of centre and awkward interviews with people he genuinely has an affinity for are quite watchable. I thought she was a bit stupid, but Dave is always brilliant.

  24. I have to say, I used to really enjoy Nicole’s work but lately she just seems a bit off in these interviews. Perhaps she really doesn’t enjoy being in these situations but it’s so horribly awkward to watch you wish she’s just do really short clips instead of longer sit down chats, to stem the flow of humiliation. Thank goodness for Simon on Letterman, and Hugh on Oprah, bringing some comfort to the situation.

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