Katie Holmes and Demi Moore Audition for 'Nine' Film

The New York Post's Page Six reports that both Katie Holmes and Demi Moore are keen on landing roles in the upcoming film version of Nine, directed by Tony- and Oscar-nominee Rob Marshall and brought to the screen by producer Harvey Weinstein.

"The wife of Tom Cruise and mother of little Suri did a singing and dancing audition in Marshall's office on Tuesday, as did Moore. Also being talked about are Marshall's Chicago stars, Renée Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones," states the article.

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.

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," Marshall said. "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.

Photo - Katie Holmes