Michael Tolkin to Pen Movie Musical Version of 'Nine'

Variety reports that the upcoming film version of Nine, directed by Rob Marshall, will be penned by Oscar-nominated screenwriter and novelist Michael Tolkin.

"Tolkin said Marshall's commitment to keeping the movie rooted in the postwar cinema of Italy was a key reason he wanted to embark on his first musical venture," according to the article. The Broadway musical Nine, on which the film will be based, was an adaptation of Federico Fellini's semi-autobiographical classic 8 1/2.  "On 500 channels of cable and satellite, the classic Italian cinema is lost for the young people of today.  It was the era of skinny ties and the original cool sunglasses," stated Tolkin, waxing fondly over a cinema whose maestros also included such directors as Michelangelo Antonioni and stars such as Marcello Mastroianni and Sophia Loren.  "Michael's unique understanding of show business and the creative process will help create a clever and sexy film," said producer Harvey Weinstein.

Tolkin received an Oscar nomination for his screenplay of Robert Altman's The Player, based on Tolkin's own satiric novel on Hollywood movers and shakers. Other screenwriting credits include Changing Lanes, Deep Impact, The New Age and The Rapture (he also directed the latter two films).

Nine, set in Venice, Italy in the 1960s, premiered on Broadway in 1982 and was last seen on Broadway in 2003 in a production starring Antonio Banderas; David Leveaux directed. The original production, directed by Tommy Tune and starring Raul Julia, won 5 Tony Awards, including Best Musical (among its competitors in the category was Dreamgirls, the basis of a recent hit Dreamworks film). The revival won two, including Best Revival.   Nine, based on Federico Fellini's 8 1/2, features music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and a book by Arthur Kopit.

Director Marshall previously told Variety: "After I finished Memoirs of a Geisha, I began looking intensely at (other projects), including remakes of movies, originals and Broadway musicals..Nine (has) a seamlessness between reality and fantasy that is built into the fabric of the material. This one needs to be created specifically for the talent involved, to suit their strenghts," he said.  "Casting will be a big issue here, and if commitments complicates things, it will be 2009."

Nine revolves around one central character, Guido Contini, a film director in the Fellini mold. He is contracted to write and direct a film, but is unable to come up with a suitable plot. After recent box office failures, he finds himself drifting towards a nervous breakdown. Guido finds himself examining his past flawed relationships with the many women who have come through his life and the struggle to act his mature age of 40--as opposed to nine.

Weinstein and Marshall last worked together on Chicago via Miramax films.  Nine will be produced by Marshall and John DeLuca and choreograped by the pair, as well.  Yeston and Kopit will be co-executive producers.