Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron’s new Netflix romantic comedy, “A Family Affair,” wasn’t always known by its current title. In a recent interview with PEOPLE, the stars revealed that the film originally had a much more provocative name. “Originally, it had a different title,” Kidman, 57, shared. Efron, 36, added, “It was called Motherf—–.” Kidman clarified, “Beeped out. Somehow that didn’t make it onto the Netflix title.”
The eye-catching original title certainly made an impression on both actors when they first encountered the script. “That made the script stay at the top of the pile,” Efron explained. “It’s like, what on Earth could this be about?”
“A Family Affair” marks a reunion for Kidman and Efron, who first appeared together in the 2012 drama “The Paperboy,” where they also played lovers. In this new film, Efron portrays a self-absorbed movie star who falls for the writer mother (Kidman) of his personal assistant (Joey King).
Efron expressed his enthusiasm about working with Kidman again. “I jumped. I think we both kind of did. We jumped at it,” he said. “It was like, this is perfect. What better way to reconnect? And we get to have fun.”
Kidman highlighted the film’s flipped May-December romance, noting that there is a lack of such stories in cinema. “There isn’t enough of them. There’s a dearth,” she said. “We’ve had it from way back with older men and younger women, that’s just always been the norm — it’s okay, it’s completely acceptable.”
She added, “The problem is we’ve not had the equivalent from all different viewpoints, with women telling the stories. And we need game men. [Zac] came in and makes the film because he was like, ‘I’m here to have fun, to play, and to very much be a part of this and be there for you’ — for both Joey and I.”
For Efron, making another movie with Kidman a dozen years after their first collaboration was a dream come true. Filming for the rom-com also coincided with his preparation for his role in the critically acclaimed wrestling drama “The Iron Claw.”
“I’m still so enamored with Nicole,” Efron said. “There’s a part of me that pinches myself when I realize who I’m working with a lot. I think that was more pronounced during ‘The Paperboy’ because I was a lot younger. I was very nervous back then.”
In “A Family Affair,” Efron plays Hollywood star Chris Cole, who begins an unexpected romance with widow Brooke Harwood (Kidman), who happens to be the mother of his under-appreciated personal assistant Zara Ford (Joey King).
The movie comes 12 years after Kidman and Efron played romantic opposites in Lee Daniels’ 2012 crime drama “The Paperboy,” which also starred Matthew McConaughey, John Cusack, and David Oyelowo.
Efron told PEOPLE he “jumped” at the opportunity to work with Kidman again on “A Family Affair.” “I think we both kind of did. We jumped at it. It was like, this is perfect. What better way to reconnect? And we get to have fun,” he said.
“It’s really helpful when you’re doing this sort of work together that you’ve already got a history together, because it’s easy,” said Kidman. “You’re not working to create a history. So I’m not like, ‘Can I touch you?’ I feel incredibly trusting of Zac.”
Efron echoed the sentiment, adding, “We both feel safe, and we take care of each other.”
Directed by Richard La Gravenese (P.S. I Love You), the romantic comedy stars Efron as Chris Cole, a famous actor who ends up falling in love with his former assistant Zara’s (Joey King) mother, Brooke (Kidman). Efron previously told Entertainment Weekly that playing a famous actor in the film made him feel like he and the cast were shooting “our version of The Office.”
Much like that hit show, he and King were given full clearance to experiment during shooting. “We had an amazing writer, Carrie [Solomon], who wrote the most hilarious script, and Richard, our director, was so collaborative,” King said. “In terms of infusing ourselves [into our characters], they were just so wonderful about letting us improv and really bringing our own flavor to some scenes. We would follow her script for like several takes, and then we would also do some fun improv stuff with suggestions that she’d given us on the side, so that was really fun. It constantly felt like we were playing.”
Efron added, “They would always have new stuff for us to try if we ran out of ammo or ideas. It was just really safe and important to be in that collaborative kind of environment when you’re doing something like this.”
The original title for Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron’s new Netflix movie was the opposite of family-friendly. In a recent interview with PEOPLE, Kidman and her “A Family Affair” co-star Zac Efron revealed the movie’s explicit working title. “Originally, it had a different title,” Kidman said, as Efron chimed in with the original name: “It was called Motherf—–.” “Beeped out,” Kidman clarified. “Somehow that didn’t make it onto the Netflix title.”
The raunchy original title is what caught the actors’ eyes and drew them to the script. “That made the script stay at the top of the pile. It’s like, what on Earth could this be about?” Efron said.
The PG-13 film “A Family Affair,” which hit Netflix on June 28, marks Kidman and Efron’s second time playing onscreen love interests. The actors originally worked together more than a decade prior in the 2012 movie “The Paperboy.”
The “Iron Claw” star said that the enthusiasm to work together again was mutual and said they both “jumped at” the opportunity. “It was like, this is perfect,” he said. “What better way to reconnect? And we get to have fun.”
The actor also revealed that he was “still so enamored” with Kidman after all these years. “There’s a part of me that pinches myself when I realize who I’m working with a lot,” he said. “I think that was more pronounced during ‘The Paperboy’ because I was a lot younger. I was very nervous back then.”
The romantic comedy stars Kidman and Efron alongside Kathy Bates and Joey King. In the movie, Efron takes on the role of movie star Chris Cole with King portraying his personal assistant, Zara. Kidman plays Zara’s mom, Brooke, while Bates plays her grandmother, Leila.
Chris proves to be a high-maintenance boss for Zara. After cleaning up one too many of his messes, she deems him too self-centered to ever promote her and decides to quit. When he tries to get Zara to return to work with a new title, he ends up meeting Brooke. A whirlwind romance ensues, which Zara tries to personally shut down.
While Efron was excited to reunite with Kidman again, for King, working with him was a dream come true. The “Kissing Booth” star said during an interview with “Etalk” that “obsessed is an understatement” when it came to the “High School Musical” franchise. “Zac was my everything when I was younger, and you still are, Zac. There’s so many moments that are pinch me over the years and this is definitely one of them,” she said, before joking, “And I never want to work with you again. You lived up to the hype, man,” she added.
“A Family Affair” is streaming on Netflix now.
Source: PEOPLE, Entertainment Weekly
