Nicole Kidman Quits Movie to Protect Baby

The Nicole Kidman pregnancy rumors are kicking into high gear. Now there is news that despite a $15 million pay check, Nicole has dropped out of filming The Reader due to concern the role may harm her unborn baby. A reporter for Daily Telegraph in Sydney, Australia, asked Kidman point-blank whether she was in the family way. Nicole "refused to answer," the paper said. A source said "Of course, everyone knows she’s pregnant and lying about it." Another source said Vanity Fair editor was recently overheard talking about pushing up Nicole’s photo shoot for the magazine’s annual Hollywood issue saying, "It’s because the costumes she’s set to wear won’t fit her much longer."

Kidman needs to take a break, she’s had a rough year at the box office with three movies in a row striking out. Her sci-fi stinker "The Invasion," which cost $80 million, earned a pathetic $15 million in North America; her queasy drama "Margot at the Wedding," tanked with a haul of just over $1.8 million; and her holiday blockbuster hopeful, "The Golden Compass," which cost a whopping $180 million, has earned just $59 million domestically so far.

In a few months we’ll see if Nicole has a baby bump, and a picture that shows it.