Big Stars Lined Up for Musical "Nine"

Mon, 16 April 2007 12:00:00 ET

Gwyneth Paltrow, Nicole Kidman, %George and Johnny Depp are being lined up to appear in a star-studded musical movie. Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein plans to make a big-screen adaptation of the award-winning musical 'Nine' and is determined to attract Hollywood's biggest stars.

Speaking about the six leading female roles, Weinstein said: "I'm thinking Gwyneth Paltrow, Anne Hathaway, Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench, Catherine Zeta-Jones and %Renée "How will we pay their salaries? We'll figure it out. There are roles for six women in the movie who have to be beautiful and sing and dance. It's a terrible assignment to cast this."

Kidman demonstrated her singing talents in 'Moulin Rouge', while Dench starred as Sally Bowles in the first West End production of 'Cabaret' in 1968. Zeta-Jones won an Oscar for her role in 'Chicago', starring alongside Zellweger. Weinstein and director Rob Marshall are said to be considering Johnny Depp, George Clooney, Antonio Banderas and Javier Bardem for the male lead.

'Nine', which won five Tony Awards including Best Musical, tells the story of film director Guido Contini who is facing a mid-life crisis and trying to deal with the women in his life - which include his wife, mistress, protégé and dead mother. It is set in Venice in the early 60s.

Banderas - who starred in the movie adaptation of 'Evita' alongside Madonna - played Guido in the 2003 Broadway production. His performance earned him a Tony nomination. Depp is currently filming musical movie 'Sweeney Todd' in which he stars as murderous London barber Benjamin Barker.