Nicole Kidman had everyone “bewitched” on the set of the early aughts Nora Ephron comedy.
Will Ferrell and Stephen Colbert marked the 20th anniversary of “Bewitched,” which premiered in June 2005, during a recent episode of “The Late Show.”
The actors reminisced about the movie, including their experiences working alongside Kidman. In the film, Ferrell portrayed the narcissistic actor Jack Wyatt and Kidman played Isabel Bigelow, a witch who wished for a normal life, while Colbert played a writer.
During the interview, Colbert recalled the “meet cute” scene between Ferrell and Kidman’s characters while they are portraying Darrin and Samantha Stephens in the fictional remake of the classic television show.
“Nicole Kidman’s over there across the studio, and me and all the other people playing the writers are at video village watching the first scene,” Colbert explained. ‘And you, Will Ferrell, go to play Darrin to go be in the scene with Nicole and when the scene’s over, do you remember what you came and said to us?”
Ferrell said that he “had no idea” what he had previously said, so Colbert filled in some of the gaps as he continued to recall the moment.
“You came over to us because when the scene started, and when Nora (Ephron) called action, we saw why Nicole Kidman was a movie star,” Colbert explained. “Because the moment (Ephron) called ‘action,’ (Kidman) flipped some switch. She became the most alluring and beautiful woman — she’s a beautiful woman, but something preternatural happened — and we did the scene, and all of us are in a fever of desire for the character that she’s playing.”
Colbert said that the group of actors could “barely breathe” before sharing Ferrell’s own reaction to the moment.
“And you walked over and you went, ‘What the f— just happened out there?’” Colbert said. “And we all went, ‘I don’t know.’ And you went, ‘I couldn’t even remember any of my lines! I couldn’t get out of her eyes! What the f— just happened?’”
Ferrell said it was as if “an alien being had come and told us everything’s going to be OK.”
“It was extraordinary,” Colbert said. “She literally glowed from the inside.”
Despite the stacked cast, “Bewitched” was not well received, with a current 23% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The movie also received several Razzie Award nominations, including worst actor, worst remake or sequel, worst director and worst screenplay, with Ferrell and Kidman taking home the award for worst screen couple.
Ferrell and Colbert poked fun at the movie’s quality from the get-go, including when they were met with complete silence from the audience after announcing the film’s milestone anniversary.