I have been sent this article by the author of this interview with Steven Shainberg. Many thanks to Shmuel Reuven.
I am not sure if we are allowed to repeat the interview here or if he just wanted us to see it so I will repeat only a part of it here.

Also note. Sylvia will be our Fur reporter here for the "rest" period so any breaking news she will post, and if you have news then PM her. thanks Sylvia for you offer.

Steven Shainberg Is Covered In Fur: The Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus
Source: Shmuel Reuven
http://jewreview.net/article.php?id=883

Part of the article referring to Nicole.

"Funny enough, Nicole Kidman was not the first choice for the role of Diane Arbus; Samantha Morton was cast, but “due to a variety of reasons, we lost her,” Steven notes. “I was totally devastated, completely unhinged to lose the person I’d been working with and see the film with. The film was designed for winter, so we weren’t going to shoot it till the following winter. The producers came to me and asked who I’d like; I said, ‘Let’s go to Nicole Kidman; we’ll never get her, but let’s try.’ She had seen Secretary, and really loved it and had wanted to work with me. She loved this script, and wasn’t available; a week before she was supposed to shoot this film with Russell Crowe, production fell through, and she was able to shoot Fur. So this movie that I had entirely designed for the winter was going to be shot in the summer. So the producers said, ‘You gotta fly to Sydney tomorrow to have dinner with her.’ By the time I got on that plane, it was a summer movie. She jumped in and off we went. I had talked to a few directors who had worked with her before, and they all said the same thing. ‘You just can’t believe how she comes to the set;’ her fundamental question is ‘what do you want?’ So if you don’t get a consistent performance and a good performance, it’s your fault. Because her capacities are so enormous, and once she makes the choice to make the decision to work with a director, she is going to trust that person; she’s going to offer up everything she can.” "

Interesting that his first choice was Samantha Morton - she was brilliant in "MINORITY REPORT" ..... but I think Nicole really needed a truly "involved" dramatic Role at this time, and the right selection has been made - Samantha would have been good,but with NK's total dedication to immersing herself in her characters, Diane Arbus will surely 'come alive'.....

Thanx 4 da article Foxy

~Viviana~