Nine Movie to Star Javier Bardem

Suddenly I've become a whole lot more excited about director Rob Marshall's upcoming movie version of Maury Yeston's Nine. Reportedly, Javier Bardem has been offered the starring role of Guido Contini.

Readers may recall Javier Bardem from his breakout movie role in "Before Night Falls," a terrific film, otherwise notable for Johnny Depp's dual role as a sadistic prison guard and a drag queen. Bardem is not only one hell of an actor, but he's also easy on the eyes. Extremely easy on the eyes. (See poster below) Can he sing? I really don't know, but Raul Julia wasn't all that much of a singer, quite consistently going flat on the original Broadway cast recording.

There's been quite a lot of cyber-chatter about who could be playing the female roles in the movie, including the following possibilities:

Sophia Loren...Guido's mother
Penelope Cruz...Carla
Marion Cotillard...Luisa (Del Forno) Contini
Catherine Zeta-Jones...Claudia

Some very intriguing choices, the age-defying Sophia Loren most of all. Loren isn't known for her musical roles, although she did infamously play Aldonza in the wretchedly, painfully, horribly bad movie version of "Man of La Mancha." Catherine Zeta-Jones, of course, won an Oscar for her overrated turn in Rob Marshall's "Chicago." The Claudia role is significantly more subdued than that of Velma Kelly, and Zeta-Jones will have her work cut out for her making the part memorable.

I must confess that, although I'm familiar with Penelope Cruz by name, I can't recall ever seeing a movie she was in. Carla is a very demanding role, and I'd be interested in hearing whether any readers out there think Cruz can pull it off. I had never heard of Marion Cotillard before reading that she was attached to this movie, but I understand she's making quite a splash as Edith Piaf in the new movie "La Môme."

The movie will apparently start shooting in the spring with a planned release of late 2008.