Penelope Cruz on Her First Time...Singing on Screen for NINE

Celebrity news website Showbizspy.com has a brief chat with Oscar nominated screen siren Penelope Cruz on her role in the upcoming film adaptation of NINE. Cruz remarked that singing for the first time for the big screen was something she found to be a creative challenge. 

"It's the first time I've had to sing in a movie, so that was very scary. It was one of the most daunting things I've ever had to do, but it was so much fun at the same time. I loved it", she explained about her part in the film. Cruz plays sexy mistress Carla, her big number in the movie  is the famous, "A Call From The Vatican", which is a showstopper in the musical production.

To read the entire article with Cruz click here.

Daniel Day-Lewis replaced the previously attached Javier Bardem in the leading role of Guido Contini, Bardem left the project citing exhaustion. Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Kate Hudson, Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson, Sophia Loren and Judi Dench star in the film as well.

Nine is a musical with a book by Arthur Kopit and music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and is based off of Fredrico Fellini's movie 8 1/2. The play tells the story of a young film maker living in Venice trying to juggle all of the women in his life.

The Broadway production of Nine, directed by Tommy Tune and choreographed by Thommie Walsh, opened on May 9, 1982 at the 46th Street Theatre, where it ran for 729 performances. The cast included Raúl Juliá as Guido, Karen Akers as Luisa, Liliane Montevecchi as Liliane, Anita Morris as Carla, Shelly Burch as Claudia, and Taina Elg as Guido's mother. Replacements later in the run included Bert Convy and Sergio Franchi as Guido, Maureen McGovern as Luisa, and Priscilla Lopez as Liliane. The musical won five Tony Awards, including best musical.

The first revival of the 1982 Tony Award-winning musical hit Broadway in 2003 led by Antonio Banderas-who made his Broadway debut in the role of Guido. Laura Benanti, Jane Krakowski, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Chita Rivera rounded out the original revival cast.

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.

Nine is scheduled for release in December 2009.

Photo Credit: Sarah DeBoer/Retna Ltd.