The log jam of book adaptations featuring Nicole Kidman is beginning to break up.

Of the several awaiting release, the first to hit theaters, Railway Man, just announced for April 11, may not be the one that people are most looking forward to. Reviews have been mixed (it has already appeared in the U.K.), with The Hollywood Reporter calling it “plodding” but The Independent saying co-star “Colin Firth gives one of his best performaces in this muted but very touching adaptation.”

The 1996 memoir fared better with reviewers. Firth himself says he is “overwhelmed by the story” of British POW Eric Lomax, who, during WW II, was forced into hard labor in Thailand by the Japanese on what was called the “Death Railway.”  His book is still in print in trade paperback, (Norton). UPDATE: We just got word from Norton that a tie-in is due to be released shortly; ISBN 978-0393344073. Thanks, Golda!

In December, Kidman appears as an evil taxidermist, again co-starring with Colin Firth, in the family movie, Paddington.

We’re still waiting to hear about the release of another adaptation co-starring Kidman and Firth, Before I Go to Sleep, about an amnesiac facing the terrifying prospect that she cannot trust those around her. Based on the domestic thriller by S.J. Watson, it is completed and has the potential of going head-to-head with the adaptation of another title in that genre, Gone Girl, coming October 3.

Also awaiting a U.S. release date, but this time not co-starring Firth, is a bio-pic about Princess Grace, based on Grace of Monaco by Jeffrey Robinson (Perseus/Da Capo; Audio, Dreamscape). Originally announced for a March release date and then inexplicably pulled, Grace of Monaco will open the Cannes film festival in May. A new trailer was just released, but no word on a theatrical release.

Also in the works is an adaptation of Kevin Wilson’s quirky The Family Fang, (HarperCollins/Ecco, 2011), which Kidman is producing and plans to star in. Jason Bateman (star of the cult TV show, Arrested Development) has signed to direct as well as co-star and has said he will begin working on it after he finishes directing another adaptation, This Is Where I Leave You, based on the book by Jonathan Tropper. Refreshingly, the latter has a release date of Sept. 12.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 7th, 2014 at 8:53 am and is filed under Books & Movies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.