Nicole Kidman is deep into production on Baz Luhrmann's epic "Australia" in her native land, but she took some time to answer questions by e-mail about her new thriller, "The Invasion." Here's a look at what she had to say.

Hollywood Hitlist: What piqued your interest most in making this movie?

Nicole Kidman: It read like a roller coaster and I loved the primal aspect of the mother protecting her child.

There have been a lot of rumors as to why reshoots were needed on "Invasion." Did you feel they were necessary and helped the movie overall?

When you act in a film that's what you do. You act in it so your overall vision for the project is distorted. I wasn't allowed to see the initial cut of the film. I was just told that we needed to reshoot and thus it was necessary for me to show up for the 3.5 weeks. Apparently it really helped to reshape it. The primary reason was just to make it scarier.

You broke two ribs in the middle of an action scene during the reshoots. How long did it take to heal, and is it true you didn't realize it had happened during the stunt?

When I hurt myself I was still in shock for a good few hours after it. It took about six weeks for my ribs to heal. They were on the side and it's very, very hard to sneeze and breathe with two broken ribs! But, I pride myself on having a high pain tolerance so ... I was kind of proud of the injury.

How is "Australia" going? Do you feel any added pressure making a movie that's been tagged the "Gone With the Wind" of Australian history?

I was unaware that it was tagged "Gone With the Wind." I think it's very, very different to that film. I love working with Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin (his wife), and this film has been a part of my desire creatively since I was a little girl. Not the actual story, but the idea of making a film that uses my country as a backdrop to deal with core emotions such as love, loss, survival, in a simple and pure way.

Do you know what your next movie will be after "Australia"?

I'm certainly not booking myself. I've started negotiations on a very, very small film called "The Reader," which Stephen Daldry will direct. He directed me in "The Hours" and really, I'm only interested in working now if the material is bold and unusual.

Musicals have sort of made a comeback since you starred in "Moulin Rouge." You had a chance to sing in last year's "Happy Feet," but is there any chance we'll see you again in a live-action musical?

I have no offers to sing on-screen. It's not something I feel that comfortable with so it would have to be an extraordinary piece of work to lure me to do that again. I'm quite shy and therefore the idea of having to sing with a very limited vocal range scares me.

"The Invasion" is now playing nationwide.

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