Weinstein told the paper, "I'm thinking Gwyneth Paltrow, Anne Hathaway, Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renée Zellweger" for the six major female roles, who sing and dance opposite a central male role of a movie director.

The Post reports that Weinstein and the director Rob Marshall are considering George Clooney, Javier Bardem, Antonio Banderas and Johnny Depp for the movie director role, played by Raul Julia originally on Broadway and Banderas in a 2003 Broadway revival.

The musical has songs by Maury Yeston and a book by Arthur Kopit and won the 1982 Tony Award for Best Musical. The 2003 Broadway production won the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical.

The venture reunites Marshall with Harvey Weinstein, who headed Miramax when Marshall directed "Chicago" for the studio in 2002. "Chicago" won six Oscars, including best picture.

Marshall and John DeLuca will co-choreograph "Nine," which they also did for "Chicago." A screenwriter and cast have yet to be found. Marshall also directed the film "Memoirs of a Geisha" and co-directed the smash Broadway revival of Cabaret.

Nine was inspired by the Federico Fellini film "8 1/2." The Yeston score includes such tunes as "Be On Your Own," "Unusual Way" and "My Husband Makes Movies."