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Monday January 7, 2008

Nicole Kidman has dropped out of a new movie after denying she is pregnant, it has been reported.

The Oscar-winning star was due to start work on post-World War II drama, The Reader, later this month.

But now sources on set say the actress has quit the film to protect her baby.

An insider told a US newspaper: “[She] is so concerned about the welfare of her unborn child that she’s taking a break from her film career and has dropped out of the film.”

A spokeswoman for Kidman, 40, last week dismissed reports she and country music star husband Keith Urban were to be parents as “unreliable gossip”.

The source continued: “Of course, everyone knows she’s pregnant and lying about it.”

Sources say producers of the Stephen Daldry directed film are now looking for a replacement leading lady to join Ralph Fiennes and Bruno Ganz and the largely German cast.

The film is based on Bernhard Schlink’s award-wining book about a man who carries a longtime sexual obsession for an older woman who’s later prosecuted for war crimes after it emerges she was a member of the SS and a guard at Auschwitz.

Matthew Frankel, a spokesman for the Weinstein Company, which is producing the film, told a US newspaper: “I am being told that the status on ‘The Reader’ has not changed.”

A spokeswoman for Kidman was unavailable for comment.

Meanwhile, a source at Vanity Fair also fuelled the pregnancy rumours after being overheard talking about re-scheduling the US magazine’s annual Hollywood issue. It features Tinseltown’s biggest stars dressed up for a lavish photo shoot.

According to the New York Post, the source said: “It’s because the costumes she’s set to wear won’t fit her much longer.”

Kidman fueled speculation she and Urban were planning to start a family together when the acrtress announced she was hoping to “wind down” her film commitments next year. She also recently expressed her desire to have a baby with the singer.

The Golden Compass star already has two adopted children, Isabella, 14, and Conor, 12, with ex-husband Tom Cruise.

Critics say it would be the perfect time for Kidman to take a break from Hollywood after her last three movies failed to generate much interest at the box office.

Sci-fi flick The Invasion, which cost $80 million USD, earned just $15 million USD in North America, while drama Margot at the Wedding took just over $1.8 million USD.

The Golden Compass, which cost $180 million USD, has earned just $59 million USD so far in North America.