Stanley Kubrick’s daughter Vivian Kubrick rejected conspiracy theories that have circulated for years about the director’s final film, Eyes Wide Shut, which was released in 1999. In a statement on X, she addressed claims that the original cut was 20 minutes longer, that in an alternate ending Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman’s characters sacrificed their daughter to a sex cult allegedly operating as a child abuse ring, and that Warner Bros. altered the film after Kubrick’s death. The claim that Kubrick was aware of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes had also resurfaced in 2024, when Roger Avary said on Joe Rogan’s podcast that he had heard similar rumors. Editor Nigel Galt had previously said that the film released in theaters was largely identical to the final cut Kubrick completed. Vivian Kubrick stated that she had seen no information or material confirming the “missing 20 minutes.” She said the only change she had heard about was that some nudity in the ritual scene had been covered up using CGI at Warner Bros.’s request because of the age rating. She said that, in the absence of concrete evidence, she would regard the claim as an ordinary conspiracy theory.
Why it matters
Vivian Kubrick’s statement shows that the controversy surrounding Eyes Wide Shut is based less on interpretations of the film than on claims about the director’s final cut and interventions in the production after his death. For this reason, the issue is directly related to the question of the extent to which the film’s form as known today reflects Stanley Kubrick’s creative decisions. Editor Nigel Galt’s earlier assessment provides independent support for the view that the theatrical version largely adhered to the cut Kubrick completed. On the other hand, the statement that the imagery in the ritual scene was altered because of the age rating highlights the difference between the documented change and the claims of an extensive recut that have been repeated for years. The Epstein connection does not constitute verified information, as no concrete evidence has been presented.