AFI postpones Nicole Kidman's Life Achievement Award function over Writers' Strike

Washington [US], May 9 : The American Film Institute (AFI) confirmed that its 49th annual AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Nicole Kidman is postponed due to Hollywood's ongoing Writers' Strike. The event was scheduled for June 10.

"For nearly half a century, the AFI Life Achievement Award has convened artists and audiences in celebration of excellence in the art form," the AFI said in a statement.

"Due to the division in our community at this time, AFI has decided to postpone this year's event with the goal to offer a celebratory environment worthy of our recipient," reported Hollywood Reporter.

The new date of the ceremony is still not decided. The last writers' strike, which began in 2007, lasted 100 days. The current strike has already affected movie and TV show productions and led to a number of cancellations, postponements and reformatting for live events.

Kidman was set to become the first Australian actor to receive the AFI honour. The Oscar-winning actress and producer, 55, has started her career back in the 1980s, and she's built a reputation as a versatile performer who has inspired visionary auteurs like Jane Campion, Sofia Coppola, Baz Luhrmann, Anthony Minghella, Sydney Pollack, Lars von Trier and Stanley Kubrick to work with her.

After receiving the honour, Kidman is set to join a long list of AFI Life Achievement Award recipients that includes Bette Davis, Alfred Hitchcock, James Stewart, Gene Kelly, Kirk Douglas, Sidney Poitier, Elizabeth Taylor, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford, Barbra Streisand, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Al Pacino, Morgan Freeman, Jane Fonda, Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, George Clooney, Denzel Washington and Julie Andrews, among many more, reported Hollywood Reporter.

Kidman's upcoming projects include 'Expats', 'Aquaman' and 'the Lost Kingdom', 'Lioness and Holland', 'Michigan'.