Cast of NINE on Oprah right now- Page 2

[ljay889]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 1:32am

I think Nicole sounded just fine. I don't think any Hollywood actress would have been able to handle the song in the original key. Not even Catherine Zeta-Jones, who was originally going to play the role. She probably would have had the same key as Nicole, and she's a far more experienced singer. The song in the original key is just not an easy sing.

Updated On: 11/19/09 at 01:32 AM

[iamchanging9]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 1:58am

this film is going to be epic. everyone looks outstanding and so on top of their game.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 2:10am

Everything about it seems delicious so far. But how HOT/adorable is Kate Hudson??

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 2:13am

I saw the film tonight at the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles and loved it. It finds ways to pay homage to the original film 8 1/2, the Broadway staging, the Broadway revival and is still all at once VERY much its own original take on the material.

The opening and closing of the film left me absolutely breathless.

Another real treat was a talk back afterwards featuring Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Judi Dench, Penelope Cruz, Kate Hudson, and Daniel Day Lewis. Seeing all these actors on one stage together was surreal.

Kidman mentioned in the talk back that the song UNUSUAL WAY was recorded in the original key and they day before filming they decided to have her do it down the octave because they thought it would resonate better.

Hudson (who we already know sounds great in the film) said she would love to do a musical on Broadway.
Updated On: 11/19/09 at 02:13 AM

[ljay889]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 2:22am

Wow, that sounds amazing.

The film opens with Overture Delle Donne, right? How was that? No one seems to be mentioning it.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 2:28am

Yes, it opens with the overture - LA LA LAs intact. Its exquisite. And the ending is perfect. Totally different than the stage version but captures the feel of the ending brilliantly.

[ljay889]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 2:33am

Fantastic to hear. I remember at one point there was talk that the overture was going to be instrumental. So glad it's sung!

Does Lewis sing in UNUSUAL WAY? Or is it just Kidman's solo now?
Updated On: 11/19/09 at 02:33 AM

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 2:39am

Its Kidman's solo. Intercut as fantasy with reality (as all the numbers are) with a really beautifully written scene dealing with the relationship artist and muse

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 2:47am

How was Cruz? She was the one that got me really excited when I first heard the news of the movie.

[chrisampm2]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 2:56am

Cruz is sensational in it. Everything one could hope for. She's even better in this than she is in the next Almadovar, Broken Embraces, and she's pretty great in that. A banner year for her.

[ljay889]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 2:58am

Do you guys think Cruz will get an Oscar nomination for this?

[jewishboy]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 3:02am

From the clip on Oprah, I am very pleased at her acting/interpretation of the song.

Michael Bennett, what was your opinion of Kidman's singing? Did the fact that she couldn't sing it in the original key make any difference? Thanks...

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 3:11am

Chris and MB, thanks for the comments on the film?
What do you guys think are the Oscars prospects of the film? What was everyone's reaction to it?
Also, do you think it'll do well money-wise? I have no doubt it's a great film but I really want it to do good.

Those clips on Oprah were fantastic. I really loved all the scenes they showed. I truly loved Penelope Cruz' voice in "A Call from the Vatican" and Marion Cotillard's number looks brilliant! Was also surprised by how nice a different "Unusual Way" sounds. However, I think Kate Hudson is going to be a scene-stealer in this one. "Cinema Italiano" is a great song and she's having a blast on that stage!

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 3:13am

I watched the whole Oprah cast interview on youtube starting with the link that BWNUT provided thanks to jannaclaire, and I had to feel bad for Nicole. It's as if she's being proactive and trying to defend herself by playing herself down before she hears criticism. I mean, yeah Kidman's singing is not as good as Shelly Burch or Laura Benanti or even how she personally felt the song should have been sung, but I think I like her version of "Unusual Way" much more than anything she sang on Moulin Rouge from the bit that I heard. She looks stunning as Claudia.

[chrisampm2]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 3:44am

I think the movie will be nominated up the wazoo. In any year, it'd get tech nominations and, though it ain't deep or emotional, in such a bad year with so many Best Pic slots, it's a shoo-in for one of those, and possibly in the acting categories.

Cruz' character may be seen as too close to the one in Vicky Christina Barcelona and she may compete w herself for a nom, given Broken Embraces (in the Best Actress category). Maybe Cotillard will get one. I don't think anyone will care that Kidman's no Benanti or Burch. But she doesn't have all that much to do and her face still registers as unnatural (which they deal with in the film in a smart way), so I doubt she'll get the love that's probably coming to many of the other ladies.

It's a big production which will help it land awards and get audiences. Its focus on the creative process may hurt it with the masses but it's stylish and fun. Marshall may get the award since he didn't for Chicago, but while before he was competing with the memory of Fosse now it's Fellini and kinda Fosse, whose All That Jazz was also very 8 1/2.

All in all, I don't think we have to worry too much about its prospects. It'll do well.

[camncal]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 3:45am

if you've seen Nicole in most of her interviews, she's always very critical of herself. she said she never really watches her performances because it makes her cringe watching herself. that's just the way she is. she walked out of the premiere of "The Others" saying she was horrified by her performance, and yet she received a Golden Globes nomm and many others for that. She also hated seeing herself in "Australia" as well and that she usually never watches her movies but did it because Baz Luhrmann asked her to.

Updated On: 11/19/09 at 03:45 AM

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 9:26am

That's funny because I felt she was much better in The Others than she was in The Hours.

[iamchanging9]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 11:30am

I think Nicole is a brilliant actress and her performance in this film is bound to be great.

I have a feeling that Marion is gonna be the actor that get's most praise.


Did anyone else find it funny it funny how at the end Oprah had them all onstage and was saying how they all won oscars except for Kate, then tried to nurture Kate by saying that 'maybe it's your year'?

wow that was quite the run on sentence.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 11:52am

Oh I think it will get a number of Oscar nominations - and in the year of the 10 Best Picture line up - a Best Picture nod seems easily attainable.

I thought the whole cast was wonderful. I will be completely honest and say that the singing across the board takes a back seat to the story telling. Those of you looking for the most glorious vocal recording of the songs will do better with your various Broadway and concert cast recordings.

Lewis, Kidman, Cruz and Cotillard do wonderful work - but none of them is going to VOCALLY surpass for you what others have done with the material.

Its hard to say about the Oscar nominations for the performances - its such an ensemble piece. The three stand outs are probably Cotillard (who's MY HUSBAND MAKES MOVIES is brilliantly filmed) , Cruz who is hilarious and heartbreaking, and of course Dench, who plays, well Dame Judi, but fabulously.

I'd say it will definitely get nods for Picture, Art Direction, Costumes, Song, and will be a strong contender for Cinematography, Editing, Director and perhaps 2-3 acting noms.

[BroadwayBenny]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 11:55am

I personally know I won't have a problem with Kidman's singing. I wasn't bothered by Madonna's lower keys for Evita (I WAS bothered by the not great acting and super slow tempos though), so I know this won't be a big deal to me. But working at a theatre, I never hear the end of how "awful" film actors are in famous musical roles like this.

Granted, most of it comes from people who have low self esteem and just want to pretend they live in a world where they are better then everyone else, so little things like a key being changed just gives them more ammunition.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 12:00pm

I think again you have to understand why sometimes the keys are lowered for films. Its not always about the actor not being able to sing the material in the original keys (as I said above, at the talk back last night, Kidman said that she recorded the song in the original key and they decided last minute to have her do it down the octave)

A lot of times its done for pure understandability of the lyrics. "A Very Unusual Way" has always been a little difficult to understand in the original key ("How could I ever forget you once you have touched my...what?").

What matters is that the scene is powerful in the film and that Kidman is able to parlay the idea of a conflicted muse perfectly. Marshall was spot on right in casting her - she IS Claudia, the somewhat aloof, mysterious, international movie star/goddess. The film needed her presence.

[ljay889]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 12:04pm

I don't get why Kidman said on Oprah she wasn't able to sing it in the high soprano. But she actually recorded it in the original key?

[nealb1]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 12:22pm

I taped "Oprah" at 1am this morning, so I'll watch it when I get home tonight from work. Can't wait to see it! It looks and sounds great!

[TheBoyDownstairs]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 1:05pm

I loved watching that...loved seeing portions of the musical numbers, but I'm bummed out that we've yet to see/hear any of "My Husband Makes Movies" yet (unless I've just missed it somehow) as its definitely my favorite song in the show.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 1:47pm

"My Husband Makes Movies" was definitely for me one of the highlights of the film. I just loved the way it was structured for camera, and Cotillard's vulnerability was terrific.