Come What May! There Was A ‘Moulin Rouge!’ Reunion

Moulin Rouge!, Baz Luhrmann's extraordinary follow-up to 1996's Romeo + Juliet, is a trip, to say the least. Its inventive spin on the star-crossed lovers fighting the forces that want them apart story is unparalleled. It's whimsy, poetic, ostentatious, and devastating all at once. Now, 16 years after it twirled into theaters, its two main stars, Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, have reunited for a little chat about their time spent in Paris' most notorious dance hall.

Variety brought the two together for its Variety Studio: Actors on Actors series presented by Shutterstock. It's the first time the two have sat down to properly discuss their experience on the film since making it, which, all in all, took a year. "Did you realize what we were making when we were making it?" Kidman asks. "I think I did, yeah!" McGregor says, citing Luhrmann's success with the aforementioned Shakespeare reimagining as a reason. They go on to talk about the intensive workshops they used to prepare, the ad-libbing that wound up being written into the script, and the parties they had outside of the partying on set. "I remember absinthe being passed out at one point and me going, 'Is this safe?'" Kidman says, miming taking a shot. "I suppose it is!" No word as to whether the Green Fairy made an appearance.