Writers’ strike hits Nicole Kidman’s AFI lifetime achievement tribute

Nicole Kidman’s American Film Institute (AFI) lifetime achievement award tribute has been postponed due to the ongoing Hollywood writers’ strike.

The Oscar-winning actress is due to become the 49th recipient of the award, which is the AFI’s highest honour for a career in film.

The Gala Tribute had been scheduled for June 10 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

In a statement posted online, the AFI said the event had been postponed “due to the division in our community at this time”.

It comes after a major industry strike, the first in 15 years, began last week, after 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) stopped working when their contract expired.

The union is seeking higher minimum pay, more writers per show and less exclusivity on single projects, among other demands – all conditions it says have been diminished during the content boom of the streaming era.

The strike has caused several Hollywood productions to be shut down or delayed, as well as affecting events including Sunday’s MTV Movie and TV Awards.

“AFI announced today that the 49th annual AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Nicole Kidman, scheduled for Saturday, June 10, will be postponed,” the AFI’s online statement read.

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

“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.”

The statement added that a new date for the event would be announced soon.

Kidman will be the first Australian actor to receive the accolade, and joins a star-studded roster of previous recipients including Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks and Robert De Niro.

Throughout her career, she has been nominated for Academy Awards five times, winning the best actress Oscar in 2003 for her performance in The Hours.

The actress has won a Bafta Award, two Emmys and six Golden Globes – and in 2017 was honoured with the 70th Anniversary prize at the Cannes Film Festival; becoming one of only eight people to ever receive this honour.

Aside from her distinguished acting career, Kidman has served as Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women for nearly two decades and, along with her husband, Keith Urban, has helped raise millions over the years for the Stanford Women’s Cancer Programme.