Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (also known simply as Fur) is a 2006 film starring Nicole Kidman as iconic American photographer Diane Arbus, who was known for her strange, disturbing images. She committed suicide in 1971.
For the film, director Steven Shainberg, best known for his kinky indie Secretary, reunited with its screenwriter, Erin Cressida Wilson, who used Patricia Bosworth's book Diane Arbus: A Biography as a source. As its name implies, the film is a fictional account rather than an accurate biography. The cinematic Arbus is torn between a bizarre relationship with a neighbor suffering from hypertrichosis, Lionel (Robert Downey, Jr.), and a conventional life with her husband Allan (Ty Burrell), a photographer. A clogged drain leads her into a netherworld populated by transvestites, dwarves and others living on the fringes of society.
Samantha Morton was originally cast as Diane Arbus.
MGM optioned the biography upon which this film is based ("Arbus") in 1984 as a possible starring vehicle for Diane Keaton.
Director Steven Shainberg's uncle, Lawrence, was a close friend of Diane Arbus.
Robert Downey, Jr. has a previous connection to the Arbus family. His father, filmmaker Robert Downey made "Greasers Palace" starring Diane Arbus' ex-husband Allan.
