Nicole Kidman Toasts to ‘All Babygirls’ on ‘Wicked’ Night at National Board of Review Awards 2025 Gala
Just two days after the Golden Globes in Beverly Hills, stars of predicted Oscar contenders gathered at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York for the National Board of Review award gala on Tuesday night.
Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig and Jon M. Chu received the best actress, best supporting actor and best director awards, respectively. “Wicked” won best film, while its costars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were awarded the Spotlight Award for their creative collaboration, which also served as a birthday gift for Erivo, who turns 38 on Wednesday.
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“I’m a birthday person, so to be able to celebrate it with this happening is really special,” Erivo told WWD on the red carpet. While accepting their award, Erivo and Grande praised their “honest, egoless” partnership. Both wore custom Loewe.
“You’ll [Erivo] be with me like a handprint on my heart. And also, you’re welcome! I truly think you would have murdered anyone else,” Grande said.
Mikey Madison arrived in a custom Louis Vuitton dress to celebrate her breakthrough performance in “Anora.” “I never thought that this would be something that would happen for me, and so it’s beautiful,” she told WWD.
Unlike other award ceremonies, the NBR awards is untelevised and the winners are announced beforehand.
“The very strange part of award season is sometimes I hear that I lost an award that I didn’t know existed,” Jesse Eisenberg told WWD before presenting Kieran Culkin the best supporting actor accolade. Culkin’s acceptance speech took an unexpected turn, with the actor using most of his time onstage to protest against “bathroom attendants” at the Cipriani jokingly. “That shouldn’t exist anymore,” he said. “I gave him money, which is the worst thing to do in a bathroom.”
Drew Starkey, Sofia Coppola, Liz Garbus, Luca Gaudagnino, Carol Kane, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Robert Pattinson and Liev Schrieber also shared duties as presenters.
“Nicole Kidman and I have been what I would call family friends for the past 15 years, which is to say she has been and is a dear and loyal friend to my ex [Naomi Watts],” Schrieber said.
Wearing a backless Jean Paul Gaultier dress with pearl details, Kidman celebrated her partnership with director Halina Reijn in “Babygirl.” “I put myself in the hands of the director, and she was so confident in her voice and what she wanted to do. It was so beautifully written as a screenplay,” said Kidman on the red carpet. Onstage, Kidman honored her character by chugging a glass of milk. “I’m going to raise a glass to all of the babygirls in the room.”
Coppola made a heartfelt speech about her relationship with Elle Fanning, who was honored as best supporting actress.
The gala event was also the last opportunity for campaigning before the beginning of Oscars voting on Wednesday. And honorees didn’t forget to include motivational messages in their speeches.
Craig dedicated his award “to the dreamers in the room.” “We need you now more than ever,” he said. Chu followed the lead with his speech. “We’ve become so consumed with finding someone to blame that we’ve forgotten how to dream,” the “Wicked” director said.
“Pessimism and cynicism are easy. You don’t have to do anything but sit back and comment, but to fight for your space, to hope, actively share joy with others, to overcome all the bullies that want to say it’s not valid unless it’s angry, that is an act of optimism… It’s the greatest movie musicals that have always been a subversive hope,” Chu said.
The night ended with Ryan Reynolds bringing the “Wicked” ensemble back to the stage for the final award, but not before sharing his honest review of the film. “If Gene Wilder were alive today, I think he would be in awe of you [Grande],” he said. “[Erivo is] singing, dancing and broomsticking so well, it makes Harry Potter look like a lazy, fluffy a…,” he said.
National Board of Review Awards 2025 Red Carpet Arrivals Photos, Live Updates: Nicole Kidman, Ariana Grande and More Celebrity Style
Launch Gallery: National Board of Review Awards 2025 Red Carpet Arrivals Photos, Live Updates: Nicole Kidman, Ariana Grande and More Celebrity Style
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