Nine Nabs Four Oscar Nominations

The Academy Award nominations were announced this morning, and despite a lukewarm reception from both audiences and critics, the Rob Marshall-directed film version of the Broadway musical Nine earned four Academy Award nods. These include a Best Supporting Actress nom for Penelope Cruz, a Best Original Song ("Take It All") nomination for Nine composer/lyricist Maury Yeston, Best Art Direction for John Myhre, and a Best Costume Design nod for Colleen Atwood. The winners will be awarded on March 7.

Antonio Banderas Reportedly To Star In Zorba on Broadway

The New York Post is reporting that Antonio Banderas is going to be playing the title role in a forthcoming Broadway production of the John Kander & Fred Ebb musical Zorba, to be directed by Gary Griffin (The Color Purple) and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys). Banderas made a splash in his Broadway debut, playing the role of Guido in the recent Broadway revival of Nine, and theater fans have anxiously been awaiting his return to the New York stage ever since.

Film Musical Nine Barely Makes the Box Office Top Ten

The latest Hollywood movie musical, Nine, opened to wide release on Christmas Day, and as usual the Broadway wags have all been keeping a close eye on it and its public reception. Theater fans are a notoriously difficult group to please, and the word of mouth has skewed negative on this film, helmed by Rob Marshall, the director of the Oscar-winning movie musical version of Chicago. Unfortunately Nine has not managed to get either the critical or public acclaim that Chicago received. Based on the Broadway stage musical of the same name (which recently had a successful Broadway revival starring Antonio Banderas), Nine stars Daniel Day-Lewis as a troubled Italian filmmaker alongside a slew of famous actresses (Penelope Cruz, Judi Dench, Kate Hudson, Fergie, Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Sophia Loren) who play the many women in his life. All of that star power didn't translate into big box office receipts, though, as Nine only came in at Number 8 during its opening weekend. With so little positive buzz and continued competition from blockbusters like Avatar and Sherlock Holmes, there seems to be little hope that the movie's fortunes will improve during New Year's weekend. Even if Nine does better internationally, which seems likely given its cast of international stars, the movie will still likely be regarded as a flop in the U.S., which is never a good sign for other film musicals in development. Of course, even the string of previous Broadway-turned-movie-musical failures (such as The Producers and The Phantom of the Opera) has not stopped the production of further film musicals which has amounted to a musical Renaissance in Hollywood. As long as there is an occasional success (Hairspray and Mamma Mia were recent box office favorites), hopefully Hollywood will continue looking to Broadway for inspiration.

Soundtrack To Film Musical Nine Now Available For Digital Download

The original motion picture soundtrack to Rob Marshall's film adaptation of the musical Nine is now available to be purchased and downloaded online. The actual CD will be released in stores on December 22. The 16-track recording features several songs from the original Broadway score, including "Guido's Song" (sung by Daniel Day-Lewis), "A Call From the Vatican" (Penelope Cruz), "Be Italian" (Fergie), "My Husband Makes Movies" (Marion Cotillard), "Cinema Italiano" (Kate Hudson), and "Unusual Way" (Nicole Kidman). There are also a couple new songs that composer/lyricist Maury Yeston wrote specifically for the movie, as well as four bonus tracks. The film Nine, starring Daniel Day-Lewis as a troubled Italian movie director, opens nationwide on December 25.

Maury Yeston Has Written Three New Songs For Nine Film

The forthcoming film version of the Broadway musical Nine will contain three brand new songs, written by the musical's composer, Maury Yeston. Variety has reported that one of them, "Guarda la Luna," is sung by Sophia Loren; the second, "Cinema Italiano," will be sung by Kate Hudson; and the third, "Take It All," is performed by Marion Cotillard. Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Nine is about an Italian filmmaker and the many women in his life, including his mother, wife, and mistress. Also starring in the film, to be released in theaters this November, is Nicole Kidman and Penelope Cruz.

Maury Yeston To Write New Songs For Upcoming Film Version Of Broadway Musical Nine

Maury Yeston, the composer/lyricist of the Broadway musical Nine, is writing additional songs to be included in the new Rob Marshall-helmed movie version of the musical. Although Antonio Banderas created a sensation on Broadway a few years ago when he starred as Guido Contini in the first Broadway revival of Nine, it was Javier Bardem that initially nabbed the role for the movie version. However, Bardem recently dropped out and it is now Daniel Day-Lewis who will be taking on the part of the Italian filmmaker. Nicole Kidman and Penelope Cruz are also on board to co-star.

Casting For Nine Film Confirmed

The movie version of the musical Nine, to be directed by Rob Marshall (Chicago), now has its international star-studded cast intact. Javier Bardem will star as Guido, and the various women in his life will be played by Penelope Cruz, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Marion Cotillard, and Sophia Loren. The Maury Yeston/Arthur Kopit musical, based on Federico Fellini's film 8 1/2, had a glorious Broadway revival in 2003 starring Antonio Banderas and featuring the feminine talents of Jane Krakowski, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Chita Rivera. The original 1982 Broadway production starred Raul Julia in the lead role.