Yeston Pens Several New Tunes for "Nine" Film | Playbill

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News Yeston Pens Several New Tunes for "Nine" Film Maury Yeston, who won a Tony Award for his score to Nine, has penned three new tunes for the upcoming film based on that Broadway musical.
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Maury Yeston Photo by Aubrey Reuben

According to the Daily Mail, the new tunes include "Take It All," which will be performed by Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz and Marion Cotillard; and Cinema Italiano, which will be a big dance number performed by a Vogue journalist. (The Mail also reports that Kate Hudson is in negotiations to play the role of the journalist.) The title of the third new song was not named.

Rob Marshall, who will direct "Nine," told the Daily Mail, "In a way, it's a new musical because we took the wonderful bones of what Nine was and re-shaped it as a film." The award-winning director added, "There will be no dubbing. Everyone can carry a tune and they're all having singing lessons. They're in pretty good shape, and we'll have a 60-piece orchestra in the studio when we record the songs. It's all going to be very sexy."

Rehearsals will begin in August at Shepperton Studios.

As previously reported, Daniel Day-Lewis will head the cast of the Marshall-helmed screen adaptation of the Yeston-Arthur Kopit musical. The star of "There Will Be Blood" stepped into the role of Italian filmmaker Guido Contini that was recently vacated by an over-worked Javier Bardem.

Casting for the film also includes Penelope Cruz (Carla), Marion Cotillard (Luisa), Sophia Loren (Guido's Mother), Nicole Kidman and Judi Dench. The Weinstein Company produces the venture; Yeston and Kopit are on board as co-executive producers. The 1982 Broadway musical Nine was inspired by Federico Fellini's film "8 ½." Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Michael Tolkin penned the screenplay for the movie musical. The late Oscar-winning writer and director Anthony Minghella ("The English Patient") was brought in to rewrite Tolkin's screenplay shortly before his death in March.

Nine centers on Guido Contini, a heralded film director (much like Federico Fellini) who, fearing he is losing his touch, escapes to a Venetian spa for rejuvenation. Blurring the lines of fantasy and reality, the women in Contini's life swirl around him: His mother, his wife and his mistress ultimately serve as both distraction and inspiration.

Nine premiered on Broadway in 1982, starring Raul Julia, Anita Morris and Karen Akers. The Tommy Tune-directed production won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. In 2003 Broadway saw a revival boasting an all-star cast including Antonio Banderas, Chita Rivera, Jane Krakowski and Mary Stuart Masterson. Directed by David Leveaux and reset in the early 1960s, the revival would win two Tonys, including Best Revival.

 
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