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Nicole Kidman Says She Was Unpaid for Viral AMC Ad in COVID-Era Pro Bono Effort

Most of the reported $25 million covered ad placement, not talent pay.

Overview

  • Kidman told The Tonight Show on March 2 that she and her collaborators took no pay for the 2021 AMC spot, describing it as done with the “purest of intentions.”
  • She said she organized the shoot during COVID, recruiting writer Billy Ray and cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth from her Being the Ricardos team by calling in favors.
  • Coverage reiterates that the campaign’s roughly $25 million cost was largely a media buy rather than compensation for talent.
  • Kidman framed the effort as a personal bid to help keep cinemas alive during the pandemic downturn in moviegoing.
  • The ad remains a pop-culture fixture with memes, parodies and drag-stage recreations, and Kidman has previously teased a possible follow-up without confirming one.