Director Rob Marshall, who led the film version of Chicago to a Best Picture Oscar win, has set his sights on Nine. According to Variety, Marshall will team up with the Weinstein Company to helm a film of the musical, which won the 1982 Tony Award for Best Musical famously beating the most recent stage-to-screen musical transfer, Dreamgirls.
Nine, based on the Federico Fellini film 8½, features music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and a book by Arthur Kopit with a translation by Mario Fratti. The plot centers on filmmaker Guido Contini, who is trying to celebrate his latest success with a relaxing break. However, instead of simply baking in the sun, Contini rehashes every relationship he had with members of the opposite sex.
Marshall will co-produce and co-choreograph Nine with business and life partner John DeLuca, who also worked on Chicago. No screenwriter has yet been hired to adapt the musical for the screen, and no casting has been announced. The late Raul Julia originated the role of Guido Contini; Antonio Banderas played Guido in a 2003 Broadway revival.
