Kate Hudson as Stephanie Necrophuros in Nine (2009)
Rob Marshall, director of Chicago (2002), gives an another infamous musical a new breath of life- Nine, set to be released in theatres on November 25, 2009.
Nine has a list of inspirations- The story is based on an Italian play by Mario Fratti, which was inspired by Federico Fellini's autobiographical film 8 1/2- And now a full-length feature. Set in 1960's Venice, the play (ironically) focuses on film director Guido Contini facing a mid-life crisis, causing a creative mental block and a tangled web of romances.
The original Broadway production (directed by Tommy Tune) opened on May 9, 1982 and ran for a whopping 729 performances. Coincidently, all three men who played Guido in the original production passed away from cancer. The original cast included Raul Julia, Karen Akers, Anita Morris, Shelley Burch, Taina Elg, Liliane Montrevecchi, and Kathi Moss. It was later revived- like all great musicals- in 2003 and ran for 283 performances. Total, Nine has won seven Tony Awards and many others.
The film is heavy with A-listers: Daniel-Day Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Judi Dench, Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, Sophia Loren, and Grammy Award winner, Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson. Hopefully Daniel-Day Lewis will not succumb to the same fate as the other "Guido" actors.
Comments