Several people, myself included, didn’t think that much of Chicago the surprise Best Picture winner in 2003. But lots of people liked it. Then again, lots of people liked Wild Hogs, which only goes to show that people are stupid. If you fall in to the group of people that liked Chicago, then you will be happy to learn that the same folks are going to get together on Nine, which, like Chicago is based on a Tony-Award winning Broadway musical.
Rob Marshall, who got an Oscar nomination for Chicago, will direct and co-choreograph Nine. His last film was 2005’s Memoirs of a Geisha and he also directed a Disney television version of Annie. I liked his Annie and in fact, I didn’t think Chicago was horrible, just nothing really special, and certainly not Best Picture worthy. In addition to Marshall, other Chicago alumnus will be co-choreographer John DeLuca and Harvey and Bob Weinstein. Nine will be produced by The Weinstein Company and the brothers brought Chicago to the screen (and to its Oscar win) while at Miramax.
The press release we received announcing the film doesn’t list cast members or a writer. Antonio Banderas, who played the lead in the recent Broadway revival, is certainly an option. Raul Julia, who played the lead in the original production, is probably not, since he’s dead. It will be interesting to see if Nine can restart the excitement in musicals created by Moulin Rouge and Chicago. Recent efforts like Rent and The Producers have fallen flat, making 2001-2003 seem more like a brief flash in musical resurgence, rather than a trend.
