I seriously dislike musicals and didn’t like Fellini’s 8 1/2 much, either. But Nine, the musical version of that Italian film coming out this November, is one of the movies I’m most eagerly anticipating this year. Why? First off, Daniel Day-Lewis is in it. That man can do anything and he’ll apparently be singing and dancing here. Can’t wait to see that.
As extra incentive, Nicole Kidman, Sophia Loren, Penelope Cruz, Dame Judi Dench, Marion Cotillard, Kate Hudson and Fergie, er, Stacy Ferguson also show up to display their jazz hands. The title of the movie might as well stand for how many Oscar winners are in the cast.
And they’re all being directed by Rob Marshall, which excites me because I really enjoyed Chicago despite my aforementioned lack of love for the musical. This man turned the usually wooden Richard Gere into a dashing musical performer—imagine what he can do with Day-Lewis—and got Catherine Zeta-Jones an Oscar. Since most cast members this time are already Oscar-winners, how high can they go?
From what I hazily remember about the original, the story is about a director who’s experiencing a creative block while directing his ninth film (8 1/2 because he only co-directed one of the films). Compounding this problem are personal issues he has with the many women in his lives, some in the present and some in the past. And there were a bunch of confusing dream sequences.
Anyway, check out the trailer below and tell me what you think. Fergie’s doing the singing, Kidman’s doing the kissing, Hudson’s doing the booty-shaking and Cruz is doing that really flexible thing with her leg. (UPDATE: See new trailer and hear Kate Hudson & Marion Cotillard sing here.)