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Nine
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Rob Marshall
Produced by	Rob Marshall Marc Platt Harvey Weinstein John DeLuca Maury Yeston
Written by	Anthony Minghella Michael Tolkin
Starring	Daniel Day-Lewis Marion Cotillard Penélope Cruz Judi Dench Fergie Kate Hudson Nicole Kidman Sophia Loren
Music by	Score: Andrea Guerra Songs: Maury Yeston
Cinematography	Dion Beebe
Editing by	Claire Simpson Wyatt Smith
Studio	Relativity Media Lucamar Productions
Distributed by	The Weinstein Company
Release date(s)	December 3, 2009 (2009-12-03) (London premiere) December 18, 2009 (2009-12-18) (United States) January 15, 2010 (2010-01-15) (Italy)
Running time	118 minutes
Country	United States Italy
Language	English
Budget	$80 million[1]
Gross revenue	$40,000,000[1]

Nine is a 2009 musical-romantic film directed and produced by Rob Marshall. The screenplay, by Michael Tolkin and Anthony Minghella,^[2] is based on Arthur Kopit's book for the 1982 musical of the same name, which was itself suggested by Federico Fellini's semi-autobiographical film 8½. Maury Yeston composed the music and wrote the lyrics for the songs.

The film premiered in London and was released in the United States on December 18, 2009, in New York City and Los Angeles, with a wide release on December 25, 2009.^[3]

The principal cast consists of Academy Award winners Daniel Day-Lewis, Judi Dench, Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Penélope Cruz, Sophia Loren, Kate Hudson, and Grammy Award winner Fergie.

The film was nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actress (Penélope Cruz), Best Art Direction (John Myhre (AD), Gordon Sim (SD)), Best Costume Design (Colleen Atwood) and Best Original Song ("Take It All" Music and Lyrics by Maury Yeston).

Plot

Approaching the age of fifty, film director Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis) is facing a midlife crisis that is stifling his creativity and leading him into a variety of complicated romantic involvements. As he struggles to write the script for his latest film, Italia, he's forced to balance the numerous formative women in his life, including his wife, Luisa (Marion Cotillard); his mistress, Carla Albanese (Penélope Cruz); his film star muse, Claudia Jenssen (Nicole Kidman); his confidante and costume designer, Lilli La Fleur (Judi Dench); an American fashion journalist, Stephanie (Kate Hudson); a prostitute from his youth, Saraghina (Fergie); and the spirit of his deceased mother, Mamma (Sophia Loren).

Throughout the film, it is slowly revealed that Guido has been traumatized by his strict Catholic childhood, and it is implied he was beaten in boarding school. In present-day, he frequently has visions of his mother, and their love for each other. Guido has not written a word for Italia, although the press, the public, and his crew believe it is complete. Things are further complicated when Guido gets away to a spa retreat, whereupon Carla follows him and they secretly lead a life of love in the musty train station town. Soon, Luisa discovers truths, Claudia admits details, Lilli listens, Saraghina haunts, and Stephanie attempts to woo Guido with her charm.

Cast

• Daniel Day-Lewis as Guido Contini
• Marion Cotillard as Luisa Contini
• Penélope Cruz as Carla Albanese
• Judi Dench as Lilli La Fleur
• Nicole Kidman as Claudia Jenssen
• Kate Hudson as Stephanie
• Fergie as Saraghina
• Sophia Loren as Mamma Contini
• Andy Pessoa as Italian boy

Production

Premise

On April 12, 2007, Variety announced Rob Marshall would direct a feature film adaptation of Nine for The Weinstein Company. Marshall had previously directed Chicago for the Weinsteins while they were still at Miramax. The film was co-produced by Marshall's own production company, Lucamar Productions.

In 2008, a short "teaser" for this film was featured in an episode of the Food Network show Barefoot Contessa, with the host, Ina Garten, making breakfast and lunch for her friend producers John DeLuca and Rob Marshall as they edited their new movie, at the end being a "preview" of their movie for the host to see in appreciation.

In December 2009, the film contracted the soap operas One Life to Live and General Hospital for advertising purposes. The former featured two of the characters watching one of the film's trailers on the Internet on a YouTube-esque website, and there were subtle setting alterations performed for the latter, including movie posters on the walls of various public places.

Casting

On April 4, 2008, it was reported that Nicole Kidman had replaced Catherine Zeta-Jones, who turned down the role when director Marshall refused to expand the role for the film. The film was Kidman's first big-screen musical since Moulin Rouge!^[4]

On May 14, 2008, Variety reported Daniel Day-Lewis was in talks to star in the film as Guido Contini, the film's lead character,^[5] after Javier Bardem dropped out due to exhaustion. Later, it was reported Day-Lewis sent producers a video of him singing and shocked them with his voice. On May 19, 2008, People reported the actor had landed the role.^[6] Antonio Banderas, who had starred in the Broadway revival said he was "disappointed" at not being cast, said that the trailer to the film looked great and only wished the "best" for everyone involved.^[7]

Variety also reported that Penélope Cruz auditioned for the role of Claudia, but was cast as Carla, and that Marion Cotillard auditioned for Lili, but was cast as Luisa, and that Kate Hudson had also been cast.^[8] On July 18, 2008, People reported Fergie had been cast as Saraghina.^[9]

Katie Holmes and Demi Moore both auditioned for roles in the film, but failed to win those roles.^[10]

Production

Day-Lewis studied Italian for his role and frequently spoke the language in and out of character. According to music supervisor Matt Sullivan, "One day during shooting at London's Shepperton Studios, "Rob and I got called into Daniel's dressing room, which was designed as a 1960s film director's office," says Sullivan. 'He's smoking a cigarette, in full outfit and in character, and he's telling us how he would like to see this number that he's performing. And he's talking to us as Guido Contini. It was a really surreal experience.' "^[8]

Rehearsals for the film began in August 2008, the songs were then subsequently recorded in late September and filming commenced in October at Shepperton Studios, London. The film had been set to shoot in Toronto, though once Day-Lewis signed on, the production then moved to London.^[11] Further filming took place in Italy, and at Cinecittà Film Studios.^[12]

Nine's schedule required Kidman to begin rehearsals just four weeks after giving birth to her daughter. The teaser trailer for the film was released on May 14, 2009.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was released by Geffen Records, on December 22.^[13] It peaked at number twenty-six on the Billboard 200. It also peaked at number three on the Polish Albums Chart^[14] and at number nine on the Greek Albums Chart.^[15]

Variety confirmed that three new songs had been created for the film by original Broadway composer Maury Yeston. They were:

1. Guarda La Luna (Look at the Moon), a lullaby sung by Sophia Loren as Mamma. Yeston tailored this song specifically for Loren's voice, though he based the melody on the song Waltz from Nine from the Broadway score.
2. Cinema Italiano, a number which Kate Hudson performs as Stephanie. This has "a retro feel" and "elements of '60s pop" that illustrate how important Italian cinema was in that era.
3. Take It All, originally written as a trio for Claudia, Carla, and Luisa, but, just before shooting, rearranged as a solo for Luisa, according to music supervisor Matt Sullivan.^[8]

Tracklist

Bonus tracks

Cut songs

Reception

The film received mixed to largely mediocre reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 37% of 163 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 5.1 out of 10. The site's general consensus is that "It has a game, great-looking cast, led by the always worthwhile Daniel Day-Lewis, but Rob Marshall's Nine is chaotic and curiously distant." Despite this lackluster reception, it received four nominations for the 82nd Academy Awards and has received other notable awards and nominations:^[16]

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Official website
• Nine at the Internet Movie Database
• Nine at Allmovie
• Nine at Box Office Mojo
• Nine at Rotten Tomatoes
• Nine at Metacritic