The American Film Insitute (AFI) recently bestowed a Life Achievement Award on Oscar-winner Nicole Kidman. However, the spotlight soon turned from decades’ worth of stellar performances to her often lampooned AMC ad.
This time it was fellow Oscar-winner Morgan Freeman doing the spoofing.
The Campain
After COVID-19 restrictions began to relax, AMC sought a way to bring viewers back to theaters. So, they launched a schmaltzy campaign with Kidman talking about the emotional journey of seeing a film on the big screen. The ad ran before feature films at AMC theaters and quickly went viral.
While Kidman did the spot for a genuine love of film, it was really her “desire to keep cinemas alive.” “I’ve had the best experiences in cinema. I’d pretend I was going to school; I’d forge a note, and I’d go and sit in a movie theater. That’s a safe haven for me, so the idea of those not existing—that’s just not part of the equation in my lifetime.”
The ad’s melodramatic tone soon made it ripe for parody from long-established shows like “Saturday Night Live.” To a TikTok trend when creators recited the dialog over comedically ill-fitting soundtracks. And now Freeman during a night set aside to honor Kidman’s cinematic achievements.
Freeman’s Version
This parody has Freeman sitting in a theater recreating Kidman’s AMC ad. He recites slightly modified dialog while watching footage from her films projected onto the screen. Just in case anyone somehow thought this was done with malice, Freeman later referred to 2001’s “Moulin Rouge” his favorite film. He even went so far as to sing a few bars in her honor.
Kidman has maintained a sense of humor about her ad becoming a meme. She even wants to do her own parody with a drag queen. “My dream will be to be onstage doing it with a drag queen,” she said in an interview. “I’ve got to be able to do that at some point.”
You can check out Freeman’s version of the ad and his “Moulin Rouge” tribute below:
