She might be an A-list actress and he might be a country music superstar, but Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban are just normal parents. The Australian couple took their two little girls out for a play date Hollywood's indoor playground Romp today. The 44-year-old Moulin Rouge star looked comfortable, casual and miles away from her glamorous red carpet self as she doted on her daughters.

She wore a utilitarian ankle-length grey skirt, a boxy grey sweater and flats. Her hair was not blown out into a perfect man, but scraped back in a messy ponytail. Her only accessories were a rust-coloured scarf and a pair of sunglasses. Musician Urban, also 44, was similarly low-key in a simple jeans and red T-shirt ensemble. Their little girls, however, looked absolutely precious. Three-year-old Sunday Rose wore a darling lavender striped dress, grey tights and Ugg boots.
 
Her sister, Faith Margaret, is just thirteen months old. The newest addition to the Kidman-Urban family was born via surrogate in Nashville in December of 2010. Both little ones held tight to their mother as they set out on their Hollywood adventure.

When she's not busy with mothering duties, the beautiful redhead has been shooting the drama The Paperboy. The film is based on Pete Dexter's novel of the same name and is being directed by Precious' Lee Daniels. Zac Efron and Matthew McConaughey co-star.

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On Friday night, a private room at Los Angeles' Soho House was transformed into a second Sydney for The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts inaugural AACTA International Awards. The country's biggest stars, including Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban, Russell Crowe, and Geoffrey Rush, came out to fete this year's top achievements in films.

Despite the Aussie-heavy crowd, the evening's honorees proved a delightful, international mix. From an American playing a famous Brit (Meryl Streep) to a Frenchman's cinematic love letter to Los Angeles (The Artist), the room was packed with award season's golden children.

Besides Kidman and Urban, the power couple of the evening (and of the year) was The Artist director Michael Hazanavicius and Berenice Bejo, his wife and the film's female lead. The glittering duo were in a celebratory mood, sipping cocktails and chatting with friends old and new. Tom Hooper, last year's darling for his film The King's Speech, sought out Hazanivicius for a quick chat.

Though the couple is excited about the attention their film is getting, Hazanivicius (the man to beat for Best Director) told PARADE that one drawback of awards season is being away from their children, who are at home in France with their grandparents. However, he admits there have been some terrific bonuses to being the toast of the town including chats with Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese and a steady stream of scripts to sort through. Despite the deluge of materials, Hazanivicius says he is taking his time to find the right project. As for working with his wife? He would do it in a heartbeat and called their collaborations (they've worked together twice) seamless.

Kidman, who was on hand to present Meryl Streep the Best Actress award, beamed as she arrived hand-in-hand with Urban. Calling Streep "an icon," Kidman kissed her fellow Oscar winner before handing over the statuette.

The Iron Lady star happily accepted the gesture and laughed that the best times of her career were playing the most hated woman in Australia (Lindy Chamberlain in 1988's Evil Angels) and the most hated woman in England (Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady). Garnering laughs, Streep was soon outdone in the comedy department by a jovial Russell Crowe, who handed out the Best Actor award to The Artist's Jean Dujardin. After Kidman introduced Crowe to the stage as his "good friend," Crowe downplayed the affectionate title and joked that the evening's script called for a "natural moment."

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Oscar-winning-actress Nicole Kidman says she and her husband Keith Urban don`t see eye-to-eye when it comes to family planning. Kidman, 44, who had adopted two kids with former husband Tom Cruise, says she would love to have a third child with country singer Urban but she`s not entirely sure he`s up for it, Showbizspy online reported.

"I never say never, so you never know. If you ask Keith the same question he would probably say no! I have to be realistic though ? I am at an age where it is very hard to have a child, so we just don`t know," she said.

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Nicole Kidman admits she's "boring".  The Oscar-winning actress says not many people think she's that fun because she no longer drinks alcohol and stays on the soft drinks when she goes out. Speaking at the Golden Globes last night (15.01.12), the mother-of-four - whose husband Keith Urban has a history of alcohol abuse - said: "I don't drink alcohol. See how boring I am? I'll have sparking water tonight."

While many may think she's boring, Nicole was probably being sensible as she has two young daughters - Sunday Rose, three, and 13-month-old Faith Margaret - to look after. The 44-year-old beauty - who also has adopted children, Isabella, 19, and 16-year-old Connor with ex-husband Tom Cruise - recently said she can't stop kissing Faith, who was born in December 2010 via a gestational carrier. She said: "She's divine, she's growing and an absolute little bundle of yumminess. I can't stop kissing her!"Nicole also said she thinks her life has got richer since she became a mother. She said: "I love every stage, I just love raising children. They bring so much to your life!"

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Among the latest to be named to the night's presenter list, Nicole Kidman was on-hand for the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles, California. Held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, the "Paperboy" actress looked stunning as she made a flawless entrance into the event alongside her country singer hubby Keith Urban.

Sure to make for a star-studded evening, Nicole will dole out one of the night's trophies alongside A-listers such as Robert Downey Jr., Jimmy Fallon, Ashton Kutcher and Madonna, among others. Hosted by funnyman Ricky Gervais, this year's Golden Globe Awards will be broadcast live on NBC beginning at 8PM ET/PT.

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Nicole Kidman takes on the role of gender groundbreaking real-life war correspondent Martha Gellhorn in the upcoming HBO film “Hemingway and Gellhorn,” but she has no interest in ever having a movie made about her own life. “No, please no,” she said on Friday during HBO’s portion of the Television Critics Association Winter Session, when asked how she’d feel about having her own life chronicled by a film in 50 years’ time.

Kidman said she prefers to keep her life private so she can get into character better. “Part of the reason of being an actor is you like playing other people’s lives and exploring all the psychologies in that and the emotions,” the actress, who stars opposite Clive Owen (Ernest Hemingway) in the historically based film about the famed writers’ relationship, added. “I think having my life be as private and quiet as possible is a way in which then I can go and play characters. I like the privacy of my life and I protect it quite vigilantly.”

In “Hemingway and Gellhorn,” which premieres in May on HBO, Owen said taking on the bigger than life personalities of two people, whose relationship spanned the 30s and 40s, and crossed through various global conflicts and wars, was an immense task.

“When I took this on, it was a huge challenge,” Owen said, noting he took off a lot of time before shooting began to “immerse” himself into preparing to play the iconic writer, whose works included “The Sun Also Rises” and “The Old Man and the Sea.”Kidman said she was able to dig into the meat of Gellhorn as a true “trailblazer.”

“She was the first female, really, war correspondent ... and she wrote with such direct truth ... and that is so hard to do," Kidman said. “She’s not Hemingway, she doesn’t want to write novels, she wants to be a correspondent and I love that she was the first woman to do that ... She was a trailblazer.”

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While not nominated in any categories, the Rabbit Hole star will be among the Hollywood A-list dishing out the gongs on Sunday in Los Angeles. Other presenters at the 69th Golden Globes will include Reese Witherspoon, Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ashton Kutcher and Robert Downey Jr - all potential targets for barbed put-downs of compere Ricky Gervais.

Kidman, whose films To Die For, Moulin Rouge! and The Hours won her awards, is not the only Australian in the limelight. Guy Pearce is nominated for best supporting actor in a series, mini series or motion picture made for TV for his turn in Mildred Pierce. The black-and-white silent film The Artist leads contenders with six nominations, among them best musical or comedy, directing and writing honours for Michel Havanavicius and acting slots for Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo.

Though still playing in narrow release, the film has found enthusiastic audiences and has been a critical darling since premiering at last May's Cannes Film Festival, positioning it as the first silent movie with serious awards prospects since the first years of the Oscars in the late 1920s.

In an age of elaborate computer effects and digital 3-D projection, The Artist is such a throwback to early cinema that it comes off as something entirely fresh. ``It's very relaxing for people to actually go to this movie,'' said Dujardin, nominated for best actor in a musical or comedy for his role as a silent era star whose career implodes when talkies take over. ``It's a new visual and emotional experience for people. ... It's really strange and rare to not hear anything in the theatre.''

Tied for second place at the Globes with five nominations each are George Clooney's family tale The Descendants and the literary adaptation The Help, both competing for best drama. Also in the running for best drama: Martin Scorsese's family adventure Hugo; Clooney's political thriller The Ides of March; Brad Pitt's sports tale Moneyball; and Steven Spielberg's World War I epic War Horse.

For best musical or comedy, The Artist is up against: Joseph Gordon-Levitt's cancer story 50/50; Kristen Wiig's wedding romp Bridesmaids; Woody Allen's romantic fantasy Midnight in Paris; and Michelle Williams' Marilyn Monroe tale My Week with Marilyn.

Along with honours from trade groups such as the directors, actors and writers guilds, the Globes help sort out key contenders for the Oscars, whose nominations balloting closes on Friday, with nominees announced on January 24.

A win on Sunday can firm up a film's prospects to triumph at the Oscars, though the Globes have had a bad track record predicting eventual best-picture winners in recent years. Over the past seven years, only one Globe best-picture winner - 2008's Slumdog Millionaire - has gone on to claim the top honour at the Oscars. Before that stretch, the Globes had been on an eight-year streak in which one of its two best-picture recipients went on to become the Oscar champ.

Last year, The Social Network won best drama at the Globes and looked like the early Oscar favourite. But momentum later swung to eventual Oscar best picture winner The King's Speech. The Globes generally do a better job predicting who might take home the acting Oscars. A year ago, all four actors who won Oscars earned Globes first - lead players Colin Firth for The King's Speech and Natalie Portman for Black Swan and The Fighter supporting stars Christian Bale and Melissa Leo.

Along with Clooney, Pitt and Williams, other established stars nominated for Globes include Meryl Streep in the Margaret Thatcher tale The Iron Lady, Leonardo DiCaprio in the J Edgar Hoover saga J. Edgar, Glenn Close in the Irish drama Albert Nobbs and Kate Winslet in the stage adaptation Carnage.

The lineup also features many newcomers to the awards scene, among them Wiig for Bridesmaids, Gordon-Levitt for 50/50, Michael Fassbender for the sex-addict drama Shame, Rooney Mara for the thriller The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Brendan Gleeson for the Irish crime tale The Guard.

The Help picked up three acting nominations: Viola Davis for dramatic actress and Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain for supporting actress. Adapted from Kathryn Stockett's best-seller about black maids speaking out about their white employers during the civil-rights movement, the hit drama has been a career-maker for many of its collaborators, including first-time director Tate Taylor, a childhood friend of Stockett, and producer Brunson Green.

``It's a testament to pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and not taking no for an answer,'' said Spencer, a longtime friend of Tate who had been toiling in small parts before The Help. ``Kathryn was an underdog, and Tate and I and Brunson. ... They'd only done independent films and shorts, and now they're in the big leagues.''

The Globes are presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of about 85 entertainment reporters for overseas outlets. The ceremony, carried live on US network NBC, is a more laid-back affair than the Oscars, with Globe guests sharing dinner and drinks that can loosen up stars' tongues when it comes to presenting or accepting awards.

Ricky Gervais returns as host for the third straight year, despite uneasy moments a year ago when he took sharp swipes at celebrities and Golden Globe organisers themselves. It paid off with a boost in TV ratings for the show, though, so the Globes invited Gervais back.

Behind the scenes, the HFPA and the Globes' longtime producers, dick clark productions, continue to fight in federal court over which entity has the authority to negotiate multi-million dollar broadcast rights to future shows. Although this year's telecast was never in serious jeopardy, the HFPA is anxious to try to negotiate a better deal with other networks.

While Hollywood will be in party mode right through to the February 26 Oscars, not every nominee will join the fun. Midnight in Paris director Allen, a notorious no-show at awards ceremonies, said he does not believe in competition among films.

``Who's to say Steven Spielberg's film is better than Martin Scorsese's or better than Francis Coppola's? These guys are all wonderful filmmakers, and everybody does his best,'' Allen said. ``Who's to say what's best? You can say that's your favourite, and that's fine. ... But to say it's better than another film, it's a very subjective judgment. Someone else may feel, 'No, I think this is the better film.' It's unquantifiable.''

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Additional presenters have been announced for the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards. As previously reported, the prizes will be awarded in a ceremony to be held on Sunday, January 15 in Los Angeles and aired live on NBC. Ricky Gervais will host.

Among the artists who will take part in the event are Jessica Biel, Robert Downey Jr., Jimmy Fallon, Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, Adam Levine, Rob Lowe, Katharine McPhee, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mark Wahlberg, and Reese Witherspoon. As previously announced Antonio Banderas, Jake Gyllenhaal, Salma Hayek, Nicole Kidman, Melissa McCarthy, Clive Owen, Freida Pinto, and Natalie Portman will also be presenters.

Among this year's Golden Globe Award nominees are Alec Baldwin, Claire Danes, Peter Dinklage, David Duchovny, Mireile Enos, Johnny Galecki, Romola Garai, Paul Giamatti, Kelsey Grammer, William Hurt, Diane Lane, Jessica Lange, Laura Linney, Julianna Margulies, Bill Nighy, Tim Robbins, Maggie Smith, Meryl Streep, Sofia Vergara, and Dominic West.

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The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has announced the first batch of presenters for the January 15 ceremony. Included in the list are: Nicole Kidman, Freida Pinto, Salma Hayek, Melissa McCarthy, Clive Owen, Antonio Banderas and Jake Gyllenhaal.

THE 69th ANNUAl GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS will be hosted by Ricky Gervais on Sunday, January 15, 2012. This year's show will again be broadcast live coast-to-coast from 5-8 p.m. (PT) and 8-11 p.m. (ET) from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.

Last year's (2011) GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS earned the event's biggest overall audience (17.003 million) since 2007. With a 5.2 rating, 14 share in adults 18-49,

"The 68th AnnuAl Golden Globe Awards" earned NBC's highest 18-49 rating in the time period, excluding sports, since the prior year's Golden Globes.

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Nicole Kidman has been “brought to her knees” by tales of abuse from some women. The actress is a UN Goodwill Ambassador who has done a lot of work with females. She is determined to do all she can to help victims of abuse.

“I’ve been to Haiti and Kosovo and to shelters all over the world. The things I’ve seen and the stories I’ve heard just bring me to my knees,” she told the February edition of UK magazine InStyle. “We are working to pass new laws and to make it OK for women to step forward and speak about abuses, knowing they will have protection if they do so.”

The star is keen to raise awareness of the work UN Women does in the world. She’s always been interested in women’s issues, explaining she was raised to believe the world should be fair to both sexes.

“I grew up in a family of mostly women and I was raised by a feminist mother, who educated me at an early age about the atrocities committed against women,” she explained. “This organisation focuses on eradicating that violence and it’s a perfect fit for me, because I strongly believe that by helping women, we’re helping families.”

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