Nicole Kidman doesn’t just talk the talk: she walks the walk. A couple of weeks after the actress called for Hollywood to treat women over 40 as the “potent, powerful, and viable” people they are, news has broken that Kidman will help support female screenwriters over 40. The Hollywood Reporter confirms the Oscar and Emmy winner will join Meryl Strep in funding The Writers Lab.
The Lab is a four-day script development retreat in which attendees participate in one-on-one mentorship, panel discussions, and peer groups. The 2018 edition, which is now accepting submissions, will take place at Wiawaka on Lake George, NY from September 25–29, 2018. The Writers Lab is produced by IRIS and New York Women In Film & Television (NYWIFT) in collaboration with the Writers Guild of America East.
“What a wonderful idea,” Kidman said of The Lab, “a space for women to work with one another to develop the stories they want to tell. I’m a fan already.”
“We are beyond thrilled to have Nicole Kidman join Meryl Streep in supporting The Writers Lab,” stated NYWIFT exec director Terry Lawler. “She is truly a champion of women storytellers and has particularly been an outspoken advocate for women over 40. At this critical moment for women in the industry, it is heartening to see powerhouses like Meryl and Nicole take decisive action to combat both ageism and sexism by helping to provide a platform for these voices to be heard.”
“This is how change happens,” IRIS’ Nitza Wilon added. “When extraordinary women — and Nicole Kidman is clearly an exceptional activist as well as an exceptional actor — use their power, they can shift the entire culture.”
IRIS also collaborates with The Athena Film Festival (AFF) on The Athena IRIS Screenwriting Lab, which is designed for female writers who haven’t had a feature-length fictional script produced yet.
Streep recently signed on to play Kidman’s mother-in-law in Season 2 of “Big Little Lies.” The two previously co-starred in Virginia Woolf biopic “The Hours.” Kidman has won an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and a SAG Award for portraying “BLL’s” Celeste, a woman caught in an abusive marriage. You can catch her next in “Boy Erased,” out September 28. She and Joel Edgerton star as parents who send their teenage son (Lucas Hedges) to gay conversion therapy.
The deadline to apply to the 2018 Writers Lab is Wednesday, February 28, at 11:59 pm EST. Check out the program’s FAQ page for more information.
