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NINE updates
Rob Marshall to bring musical to the silver screen.
Source: Variety
April 12, 2007
Rob Marshall will direct a feature version of the stage hit "Nine" for the Weinstein Co.
Marshall and Harvey Weinstein previously teamed on "Chicago," the 2002 Miramax musical that won six Oscars, including picture.
Movie will be produced by Marshall and John DeLuca through their Lucamar Prods. banner. Marshall and DeLuca will also choreograph the film together, as they did "Chicago."
Marshall and TWC co-chairs Harvey and Bob Weinstein are in the process of securing a screenwriter.
Music and lyrics are by Maury Yeston, composer and lyricist of the original 1982 Broadway production written by Arthur Kopit. TWC acquired rights from Kopit and Yeston, who'll be co-exec producers.
Originally adapted by Mario Fratti, with a book by Kopit, the musical was inspired by the Fellini film "8½" and focused on a film director stuck in neutral as he tries to make a movie while haunted by the demands of all the women in his life, including a wife, mistress and even his deceased mother.
The original stage production was directed by Tommy Tune and starred Raul Julia, with Liliane Montevecchi and Anita Morris heading the list of women who haunted him. It won five Tony Awards, including musical. Antonio Banderas starred in a 2002 revival that won two Tonys, including revival.
"After I finished 'Memoirs of a Geisha,' I began looking intensely at (other projects), including remakes of movies, originals and Broadway musicals," Marshall said. "Nine" has a "seamlessness between reality and fantasy that is built into the fabric of the material."
Marshall said he'd like to lock in his leading man and actresses early and custom-fit the script to them.
"This one needs to be created specifically for the talent involved, to suit their strengths," he said. "Casting will be a big issue here, and if commitments complicate things, it will be 2009."
Marshall's repped by ICM.
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