Here are some photos of the Scarpetta premiere in New York last night. Nicole Kidman plays Kay Scarpetta, based on the popular book series written by Patricia Cornwall. Kidman plays a medical examiner investigating (what else) a serial killer. Jamie Lee Curtis, Bobby Cannavale, Simon Baker and Ariana DeBose also star. A quick sidenote about Simon Baker – that man has been fine for over 30 years, and he looks SO good at 56.
The premiere fashion was interesting, I guess. I believe this is Nicole’s first big premiere since her marriage to Keith Urban fell apart last year. She looks fine – happy, relaxed. She’s a Chanel ambassador now, and her ensemble here is Chanel. It’s very “business up top, emu party below.” She’s back to straight hair after briefly going back to her natural curls.
Years ago, I tried to get into Patricia Cornwell’s books but I’m just not built that way – I love a detective story or cop procedural, but the grisly medical/autopsy stuff is not my style at all. People have talked about adapting the Scarpetta books for many years though, and I think it’s cool that Nicole is taking on this role which is iconic for many fans. It feels like Nicole really wants this to work into a regular gig. Like, she totally envisions many more seasons. I’m including the trailer below.
Photos courtesy of Getty Images.
How did I miss that Simon Baker is in this too. Alright, I am all in. Maybe this will move me on from my Heated Rivalry fugue state.
LOL. I hear you Christine. I’m not into gore but I’m thinking the show may be less graphic than the book? Anyways, I really respect how Nicole Kidman is out there just working on a real mix of things.
For some reason I thought that those books had already been made into live action – I will see this as I did read a lot of her books years ago.
Are you thinking of Bones? It was based on the forensic anthropologist series by Kathy Reichs.
I love the books, and I like Nicole, but I don’t think she is right for this part; I think Edie Falco would have been perfect for it…Bobby Cannavale is playing Pete Marino!!! I don’t know how I feel about that…
The problem for me is Nicole is always Nicole to me. I can still enjoy it, but she doesn’t seem right for the part to me. I was hoping it was Jamie Lee, bc her I could see for the role.
I read a lot of the Scarpetta books way back in my 20s, and my memory agrees with you. Jamie Lee Curtis is far more true to the written Scarpetta!
It’s hard to see anybody in a role that got started in your head as you visualized the character. It’s especially hard for me with Nicole because she has SUCH a unique look, it just reminds me “I am watching a movie” (or whatever) whenever I see her.
Had to Google if Simon Baker is still married because I immediately thought him & Nicole would be hot together (now *he’s* a sexy Aussie that she could have some fun with, never understood KU’s appeal). Anyway, apparently he’s been separated from his wife since 2020. The universe needs to make sure his happen.
Ooh, they would be really pretty together.
I’ve read quite a few, but I stopped because they became too grisly for me. My reaction to Nicole’s Chanel is What is that?!
So well written! But I decided after binge reading that it was damaging to my psyche.
The Jack the Ripper one (non-fiction) was horrifying and mesmerizing.
I agree that Jamie Lee would be a better fit for the look of the books, but I will suspend judgement for now. Will Trent is another book based series and most of the main characters are the exact opposite of how they appear in the book and the show is much lighter. (I had to stop reading those books too).
I like the Sue Grafton alphabet (Kinsey Millhone) series a lot better than the Cornwell Scarpetta series. The Scarpetta series wallows in darkness and gore. The alphabet series isn’t a comedy series like the Evanovich books, but has humor and warmth. It is well plotted and not redundant like most mystery series. Being set in the 80s before the internet and cell phones gives it a retro appeal while featuring a modern feminist heroine. Grafton worked as a television writer and was so burned by the experience that she refused to allow the series to be adapted. We will never get to see it adapted. Natasha Lyonne would make a wonderful Kinsey Millhone. This looks blah. Boycott Amazon.
i love that series, too, @TN Democrat. i hate that grafton died before she was able to finish the alphabet. what i really love about that series is that is started as contemporary fiction in the 80s and turned into historical fiction as the series went on. i love that grafton didn’t adjust the time period to fit the time she was writing in, and kept a cohesive timeline throughout the series. as an old, i really enjoy reading older detective fiction and seeing how they operate without all the digital technology and cell phones, etc.
Oh, I’m so here for this. I really enjoyed the early Scarpetta novels. I always pictured Kim Basinger as Kaye Scarpetta but Nicole is a good choice. I’m really excited to see her opposite Jamie Lee Curtis. I saw a lovely video where Nicole received an award shortly after the death of her mother. She got very choked up during her acceptance speech and JLC was nearby and reached out and comforted her. It was a very sweet moment and I thought they had nice chemistry that I bet will translate well on screen.
I don’t see her as Kay Scarpetta anymore then I saw Katherine Heigl as Stephanie Plum.