Nine Casting- Page 2

[robbiej]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 11:15am

God...I'm having a menopause moment as to specifics...but I remember from the revival that it was established early on that Guido's scenes with his mother are 'from the grave' as it were. I wish I could remember the exact bit of text that establishes this. At least, that's what I thought when watching it.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 11:36am

I didn't see the revival, so I'm going on a 25-year-old memory of the original.

...speaking of menoupause moments.

But that helps!

Now that I think about it, if she's his dead mommy in flashbacks with the little Guido, a 73-year-old Loren with her nine-year-old kid is gonna be... a tad awkward.

I thought she was 40-year-old Guido's "living mom."

Now, I'm creeped out... and I need to go away and think about other things.

*sings*

"You be eighty and I'll be... nine."

[robbiej]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 11:52am

Well...or course, you get away with a lot more on stage. Mary Beth Piel didn't seem the least bit wrong for the role...and, if I'm remebering correctly, her first interaction was with adult Guido...and it was in that interaction that it was established that she was dead. So it didn't seem to be too creepy to have 'Grams' from Dawson's Creek sing NINE to the little boy.

[ahmelie]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 12:57pm

Oooh, I adore Loren, she'll be fantastic.

And Marion Cotillard is one of the most interesting and dynamic actresses I've ever seen.

Though I'm not too familiar with this show, I rather like everyone who's involved. I'm very excited.

[devonian.t]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 1:03pm

This is a hot cast!

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 1:10pm

As others have said, thats a great cast but perhaps not in the right roles.

Penelope Cruz really is the perfect Claudia. And I still think CZJ would be most interesting playing against type as Saraghina.

Marion Cotillard is a probable Oscar nominee this year. She is VERY french which would mean the role of Luisa is probably going to have to be turned into a french character, which I suppose is fine. She did not do her own singing as Edith Piaf, but according to biographies on the net has done some singing.

Bardem is a great choice, though I still don't quite understand why they wouldn't have gone for the equally good (and more recognizable) Antonio Banderas.

Guido's Mother is definitely dead in the original film 8 1/2. Loren is a good choice.

I like the mostly European aesthetic of the cast so far - thats the feel, I believe NINE should have on film.
Updated On: 8/21/07 at 01:10 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 1:30pm

I just love Sophia Loren.

I honestly wouldn't care even if she played Guido as a young boy.

I'm SO there.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 1:34pm

The only good thing I like about the cast is that they are no longer going with a young Claudia. As much as I wanted to see Annie Hathaway in this, I always thought of Claudia as a more seasoned actress, not a young innocent girl.
I wonder when this change took place because they indeed auditioned Hathaway, Benanti, and Katie Holmes...
Catherine Zeta Jones would actually be interesting as Saraghina but we know she's not going to play that role, too small. I still don't see why she wouldn't play Luisa, wasn't she anything but secured for the role?
I have to agree with MichaelBennett, Antonio Banderas has proven himself in the role and is indeed more recognizable than Bardem. I assume either Banderas wasn't available (or maybe he refused to audition?) or perhaps they are going for a low-key actor like Bardem (yes, he is an Oscar nominee--and a brilliant actor at that who is perfect for Guido--but all of three people know who he is) and fill up all the female role with big stars which oddly enough is the opposite of the Original Broadway production where many of the main women were making their Broadway debut.
Why isn't Toni Collette's name anywhere in these early reports? Even before she announced her pregnancy her name wasn't being thrown out for any of the roles.
The only thing I liked about this report is that Renee Zellweger's name wasn't mentioned.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 1:42pm

I like Bardem over Banderas, but I never thought in a million years they would cast him from a "bankable" perspective as the lead.

But Bardem seems more like a charismatic film director to me. He's a better fit for Guido. Banderas looks too much like the charismatic movie star that he is.

If Guido Contini was a famous actor instead of a famous director, it would be a different story.

Bardem is the better purely from a casting POV. He even reminds me a bit of Raul Julia from the original.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 1:45pm

My totally unsubstantiated hunch is that Antonio Banderas was never seriously considered for the film and the main reason being, Rob Marshall wants to create his own vision of the work and wasn't much interested in recreating performances from the Broadway revival. I totally expect Banderas to appear on Access Hollywood saying that his agent's phone calls were never returned or that Marshall met him for a ten minute coffee at Dean and Deluca.

I actually don't think that Zeta Jones would have a problem playing a small role (and by "uglifying" herself, she'd probably get that obligatory Oscar nomination!) but I don't think the studio would dare offer it to her.

I think Toni Collette might be great for Carla if the role were to interpreted in the horsey, coarse, vulger way she is in 8 1/2, but I honestly don't see her in any of the other roles.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 1:50pm

"I totally expect Banderas to appear on Access Hollywood saying that his agent's phone calls were never returned or that Marshall met him for a ten minute coffee at Dean and Deluca."



Oh dear GOD, MB... Are we going to see him turn up on an E! red carpet show for the Oscars belting out "The Bells of St. Sebastian?"

Say it ain't so.

[robbiej]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 1:51pm

Down a fourth.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 1:52pm

Same as JHol these days.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 2:01pm

Oh dear GOD, MB... Are we going to see him turn up on an E! red carpet show for the Oscars belting out "The Bells of St. Sebastian?"
Besty, I laughed SO hard when I read that!
MichaelBennett, I guess that does make sense, but still. As a Banderas fan I thought this film could give his career a good boost, I can't think of many American films he has done lately that truly exploit his potential (why hasn't he done any more Almodovar films? His work with Almodovar has always been superb). If Marshall isn't always a great director in terms of putting together a solid compelling story (I found MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA to be a mess in terms of the way he told the story), he repeatedly manages to get great performances in the three films of his that I've seen from ANNIE to CHICAGO to MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA.
If Banderas isn't the one, then Bardem is an equally good option. Just no Ewan McGregor please, he's great but he ain't Guido.
I thought Toni Collette was perfect for Luisa, Marissa Tomei or Salma Hayek would've made great Carlas, and Penelope Cruz for Claudia.
Is Judi Dench still being considered for LaFleur?
I wish they got a Broadway-name actress for Stephanie Necrophorus.

[robbiej]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 2:01pm

Precisely, best.

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 2:05pm

Damn, that's a sexy cast.

All in all, this looks every last bit of great (even Penelope: she can be a great fit for Carla if she really acts it).

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 4:48pm

I'm just thrilled that Katie Holmes and the equally boring (though leagues more talented) Anne Hathaway aren't going to be Claudia. I had pictured Catherine as more of a Luisa, but she's infinitely more suited than the other actresses mentioned. I, too, am excited to see that they're definitely going for a more European feel as far as the cast goes.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 6:38pm

My biggest problem with Catherine Zeta-Jones as Luisa is who the hell can overshadow her beauty? She's way too voluptuous to be "the forgotten wife at home." It wouldn't be good casting for that reason.

And I don't think we need to see her try hard to "uglify" with horn-rimmed glasses, a unibrow, Travolta's borrowed fat suit, or a blacked-out tooth to try to "pass" for passed-over.

She'll be great as Claudia. I'm looking forward to her singing "A Very Unusual Way."

*sigh*

[NYC4Life]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 7:10pm

I love this cast, it sounds exciting. I don't know why people think that Zeta-Jones would have to be completly de-glamed. Women that look like her get cheated on and pushed to the side all the time. Look at Uma Thurman, Halle Berry, and Sienna Miller.

"(even Penelope: she can be a great fit for Carla if she really acts it)"
Penelope Cruz can play all of those women, she is an incredible actress! Watch Volver, Abre los ojos, Non ti muovere, The Girl of Your Dreams, or All About My Mother. She takes risk and she is never safe(in the hands of the right director that is).

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 8:00pm

I agree that Cruz in the hands of the right director is a wonderful actress. Thing is most Hollywood actors have no idea what to do with her. This musical seems like a perfect choice for her talents. I don't see her as Carla at all, I even see her more as a Luisa though Claudia is the role she's meant to play. However, she's a much bolder choice than Zellweger whose as much of a sexual goddess as Zeta Jones is a forgotten housewife.
In a way I agree with Besty, who in his right mind would neglect Catherine Z. Jones? Someone mentioned in one of the NINE threads that the original cast worked so well because Karen Akers made herself so unattractive that it was no wonder Guido went for the sexual explosion that the brilliant Anita Morris was and the beautiful Shelly Burch (though Guido's cheating problems go beyond Luisa being beautiful or not).
Honestly, no cast is going to satisfy everyone, at least until we get to see the final product. Even if I disagree with the people they are pursuing for certain roles (as MichaelBennett said, right cast, wrong roles), I'm just glad they are going for actors who have the right essence for NINE to work. Both Leveraux and Tune hired great women (and men) for their productions, glad to see Marshall is continuing that tradition.

[FranzRelax]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 8:44pm

How is Zeta-Jones going to sing UNUSUAL WAY? I'm assuming it will have to be lowered a lot for to fit in her range. It's not her fault though, she's just not a soprano.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 8:48pm

Well, the press release announcing the movie mentioned that the show would be changed to fit the talents of the people cast. I assume they'll either lower the song or replace it if Jones indeed ends up playing Claudia. I don't think her persona lends to the ethereal quality the role (and the song) calls for, but one way or the other, I couldn't be more excited about this film. Between SWEENEY TODD, MAMMA MIA, and NINE I am going to be on a permanent movie musical high for the next year or so.

[NYC4Life]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 9:33pm

I get what everyone is saying about Luisa being the unattractive housewife but I can't see Guido getting married to a woman that was not beautiful. I think Zellwegger could have worked as Carla, in the sense she would have had so much fun with it. Even going into silly, trashy and trying too hard type. At the same time I can see her as pure sex like Ms. Cruz.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 9:48pm

Wait... Luisa's not FOSCA from Passion.

She's definitely an attractive woman and Guido's wife, but she's been brushed aside for more desirable "flashier" women (at least in Guido's roving eyes).

But they don't come much more beautiful, exotic and desirable than Catherine Zeta-Jones these days. It wouldn't make sense to have her play "the forgotten" Luisa. It would be like Elizabeth Taylor, Jean Harlow or Raquel Welch (in their heydays) playing that part.

And as far as Zeta-Jones being an alto and singing "A Very Unusual Way" I'm all for it! Why not? She'll do a great job with the song and the part, I'm sure. Give it a new tailored orchestration, more mellow (I'm hearing oboes now! and plenty of cellos and violas!)... she's clean up with it.

Same thing with Cruz. She's not going to hit a high Q above Z and "vibrate like a string" like Anita Morris (neither did Krakaowski though), but she'll definitely heat up the screen as sexy, horny Carla... and I'm sure they'll be adding comic touches to her number as well.

It's good casting. I'm looking forward to hearing Bardem sing. He must have been good enough for them to pass on using Banderas.

[NYC4Life]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 10:23pm

"She's definitely an attractive woman and Guido's wife, but she's been brushed aside for more desirable "flashier" women (at least in Guido's roving eyes)."

Yeah, but even Zeta-Jones could be cheated on for a flashier woman. If Carla is a slut, and younger that makes perfect sense. An affair is so much more than about looks. Everytime a woman gets cheated on in Hollywood, I always say "why would he leave her for her!?" or "Who would cheat on halle berry or uma thurman?!". I mean take off Zeta-Jones make up, dont do anything with hair and if she plays the melancholy and yearning correctly it will work. I love where they are going with the cast but I really wanted to see Catherine Zeta-Jones as his wife. Her "my husband makes movies" would be to die for. a beautiful but older wife with pain could be rich with sub-text.