Babygirl director reveals how Nicole Kidman secured the rights for classic INXS song to be used in erotic thriller

Nicole Kidman has a deep love for Aussie rock music. 

The Australian actress, 57, used her star power to secure the rights to use a classic track by iconic Australian band INXS for use in her latest film, Babygirl.

Director Halina Reijn shared on the ReelBlend podcast that Nicole was 'instrumental' in ensuring that the band's 1980s power ballad Never Tear Us Apart was included in the erotic thriller. 

She also explained that after she and editor Matthew Hannam played the song over a montage scene during editing, they realised it was the perfect fit for their film.

'I almost cried,' Halina said. 'My editor and I were screaming at each other.

The following day, Halina approached the film's distributor, A24, about using the INXS hit in the film, only to be told 'no.' 

'I called A24 and said, "We need to get the rights to this song. Like, there's no way... you're not going to tell me we don't have the money",' she said.

'They said, "We'll try to get it". We tried it and it was a hard no.'

Halina expressed her disappointment, stating that she couldn't sleep for a week because she couldn't find a song suitable for the montage.

That's when Nicole Kidman entered the picture. 

'I called Nicole because we had become very close, and I said, "I am so depressed." She replied, "Give me a couple of days",' Halina recalled. 

'And she did it! She got the rights. She got to the real people and she did it for us. Amazing.'

Released as a single in 1988, Never Tear Us Apart features lyrics inspired by frontman Michael Hutchence's then-girlfriend, Australian film and television producer Michele Bennett.

The song is part of the band's iconic 1987 album, Kick. It reached number seven on the US Billboard chart and number 24 on the UK Singles Chart.

In Australia, it peaked at 14 and was nominated for four ARIAs, winning two. 

Babygirl, meanwhile, sees Nicole take on the role of Romy, a business executive who is balancing her career with trying to find fulfilment in her marriage to a theatre director, played by Antonio Banderas.

Cracks in their marriage appear when new intern Samuel (Harris Dickinson) makes his attraction to Romy clear and they begin to explore a 'forbidden sexual dynamic.'

Nicole's turn in the saucy thriller has earned high praise from critics, as well as a Golden Globe nomination.

Halina recently defended Nicole and her 28-year-old co-star's 29-year age gap. 

Discussing the topic of age gaps in newer films with W Magazine, Halina stated, 'If we see a movie where the male actor is the same age as the female actor, we find that odd.' 

'Which is insane. It should completely be normalised that the age gaps switch and that women have different relationships.' 

Halina continued, 'We're not trapped in a box anymore. We internalise the male gaze, we internalise patriarchy, and we need to free ourselves from it. It's really hard.'

She further reflected on how she ended up casting Kidman in Babygirl, revealing the actress had reached out to her after seeing her 2019 film Instinct. 

Halina explained Nicole eventually 'read a very early draft of Babygirl and immediately said, "I want to play that character." She also said she wanted to surrender to it and not change a thing.'

'That was important to me, because I knew I wrote something controversial and, at least for me, surrounded by shame. I needed someone to be as courageous as the script tries to be.'

She admitted that once Kidman 'was on board, I woke up totally panicked. We had one of the best actors in the world.'

'It's impossible to find a young man who's not only as good as her, but can dominate her. But then I saw Harris in Triangle Of Sadness. 

'He's so vulnerable, yet so masculine and macho. He's kind of an ideal man, because he has all of these layers.'

Back in August, Babygirl first premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival - and Kidman won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress.