Despite all the sort-of bump pictures and the breathy gossip columns citing “multiple insiders,” I still don’t believe that Nicole Kidman is pregnant this time around. There have been too many close calls with her, and she often wears loose clothing and looks like she could be in the early stages of pregnancy. Page Six and the British papers are really pushing the pregnancy, but the trashy ones that are often right, Star and The National Enquirer, didn’t say anything about Kidman this week. My pregnancy-dar isn’t always accurate, but it’s just not going off for Kidman. I hope I’m wrong though, because she has said so many times that she wants a baby.

Page Six claims that Kidman has quit an upcoming film to make time for her much-anticipated arrival. It couldn’t be over the writer’s strike or creative differences or anything like that, because they have “extremely well-placed sources:”

Page Six has heard from extremely well-placed sources that the Oscar-winning Aussie – who’s suffered miscarriages in the past – not only has a bun in the oven but is so concerned about the welfare of her unborn child that she’s taking a break from her film career and has dropped out of director Stephen Daldry’s post-World War II Germany drama “The Reader,” which she was supposed to start shooting this month…

Kidman’s rep, Catherine Olim, didn’t return our calls or e-mail. Weinstein flack Matthew Frankel said: “I am being told that the status on ‘The Reader’ has not changed.” He declined to be more specific.

On Friday, a reporter for Daily Telegraph in Sydney, Australia, asked Kidman point blank whether she was in the family way. She “refused to answer,” the paper said. But our insider said: “Of course, everyone knows she’s pregnant and lying about it.”

Another source told us a Vanity Fair editor was recently overheard talking about pushing up Kidman’s photo shoot for the magazine’s annual Hollywood issue. “It’s because the costumes she’s set to wear won’t fit her much longer,” the spy said.

[From Page Six]

IMDB lists The Reader as being in “filming” status, so presumably it’s already written and won’t suffer too much from the writer’s strike, but maybe the script isn’t complete or needs edits and Kidman isn’t willing to work under those circumstances. It’s also very interesting that the setting of the film, Nazi Germany, is similar to Kidman’s ex Tom Cruise’s upcoming film, Valkyrie. Valkyrie has a release date of October 3, 2008, while The Reader is listed with a release date of December 12, 2008. Maybe Kidman wasn’t willing to make a film that was similar to another high-profile movie starring her ex and coming out two months ahead of hers. Or maybe she’s pregnant like everyone is saying. It just seems like there are plenty of other reasons for her to back out of that film other than a pregnancy.

Nicole Kidman is shown out having brunch with girlfriends on 1/6/07 in Sydney, Australia. There are no pictures of her standing up that I can find, so those billowy dress photos that came out a few days ago can’t be verified or disproved. Thanks to WENN for these photos.