Nine: The stars are on cloud Nine

Dec 21 2009 By Susan Griffin

Nine tells the story of a genius director, played by Daniel Day-Lewis, who experiencing a creative breakdown turns to the influential women in his life for inspiration. Day-Lewis along with, Dame Judi Dench, Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz and director Rob Marshall talk about their experiences in making one of the year's most hotly-anticipated movies. Nine opens on December 26.

As five of the biggest names in Hollywood gather at the luxurious Mandarin Hotel in London's Knightsbridge to talk about their latest film, the boundaries of reality and fantasy are definitely starting to blur.

Daniel Day-Lewis, Rob Marshall, Dame Judi Dench, Nicole Kidman and Penelope Cruz are all here to discuss one of the most hotly anticipated films of the year, Nine.

And I'm shown to one of the suites, a highly sophisticated holding pen for journalists, where there's just time to make a cup of tea before my first A-list encounter.

Based on the Broadway production of the same name, Nine was inspired by Fellini's 1963 masterpiece, 8 ½, and focuses on the creative breakdown of a world famous director called Guido Contini, played by Daniel Day-Lewis.

In the film, the director turns to a series of influential women for inspiration and over the course of the film we witness Guido's most evocative desires, memories and dreams transform into dynamic musical fantasies.

Nine is the latest offering from musical maestro, Rob Marshall, of Chicago fame, and the huge song and dance numbers in Nine again demonstrate his terrific vision and choreography.

It's no wonder the great and good of Hollywood were clamouring to be in his cast with a final roll call which also includes Sophia Loren, Marion Cotillard and Kate Hudson.

Finally the door opens, and I get my first summons. Penelope Cruz is ready.

Walking down a corridor, a door to my right opens and I enter another suite, turn a corner and find Penelope, wearing what look like pink silk pyjamas and with her handbag on her lap behind which she's texting furiously.

Waiting until said text is sent, only then does she look up, appearing momentarily confused as to where she is and then says, "Sorry," in her thick Madrid accent.

In Nine, Penelope plays Guido's tempting mistress Carla and provides one of the film's most risque performances which involves sliding down an 80-foot pink drape, swinging around ropes and cavorting on a mirrored floor.

"The day they showed the dance to me I was speechless," she says. "I thought, 'How am I going to do that?'"

Fortunately she had three months to prepare.

"Thank God because that was the only way to do it. I enjoyed every second of the preparation but then you shoot it for two or three days and then that's it and then you feel sad that you don't get to do it again."

Although she trained as a ballerina back in Spain, like most of the cast it was the first time she'd sung and danced on film.

"You can't really hide anything when you are singing, you can't lie to anybody, everything is out there but to be able to do a musical with somebody like Rob you have a guarantee of doing something good because he's the best person in the world right now to do a musical with," she says.

As for her character Carla she adds: "She suffers a lot in that relationship because she's addicted to Guido. She's extremely happy and then half an hour later he leaves and she never knows when she will see him again but I didn't want to play it like a victim." Her eyes widen as she discusses preparing for the role, and she explains that it was very interesting to understand what happened to her character.

"When Carla's around Guido she feels part of his world and his art and then when he's away she's like in limbo, nothing happens, it's like time stops."

Then my time is up and it's back to the holding pen. Cue more tea, more conversation, more waiting. Finally, a harassed looking PR appears and I'm summoned once more for my interview with Daniel Day-Lewis and Rob Marshall.

The thought of interviewing Mr Day-Lewis is nothing short of terrifying. One of the best actors in the world, he has a reputation for being solemn and intense, and as a method actor, lives and breathes his roles. It's with these thoughts running through my head that I enter the suite slightly wobbly-legged to be met by a smiling Rob and Daniel.

To my relief they both turn out to be incredibly charming.

"One of things I love about musicals is that they can take you to another world that no other film genre really can," says Rob. Daniel nods in agreement. "They somehow tell you that no matter how dark the subject matter is everything will be ok," he says.

For men at the top of their game, they both seem incredibly humble.

"I have to say I was so overwhelmed by the amount of women that came out to audition for this," says Rob. "Especially women who don't audition. Most of these actresses are offered roles and there they were bravely coming in to these work sessions and exposing themselves by singing or dancing and doing things they've never done before."

"It takes a lot of humility to do that," adds Daniel. "It's hard if you're out of the whole audition process. Rob always treats everybody impeccably no matter what sort of level of pecking order they're on, but most dancers, actors and singers get treated like filth at auditions."

"It's true," says Rob. "The last thing I would ever do is sit behind a desk and judge. I can't stand that."

"You never forget that do you," says Daniel. "I mean every now and then I bump into some of the directors that treated me that way when I was a kid and they're all over me like a rash and you can't forget it because you're so vulnerable."

Did he feel particularly vulnerable singing and dancing for the first time on screen? "Yes, naked," he says, laughing quietly. One of the most selective actors in the world, Daniel says it was Guido's "central dilemma" that attracted him to the part.

"He's days away from shooting a film and there's not a single idea in his head and just that sense of being abandoned by your own self, your own imagination," he says.

He does realise he'll be the envy of every man though, with the likes of Nicole Kidman and Penelope Cruz hanging on his every word.

"Oh yes," he says laughing again. "Already all my mates are saying, 'How did you get away with that? What did Rebecca (his wife) think of that?'"

But all too soon my time is up and after shaking hands it's time to return to the pen. Eventually, I'm summoned for the final time to interview Nicole Kidman and Dame Judi Dench. With a whole three minutes to do the interview, it's straight down to business.

"I want to see musicals continue to exist in my lifetime," says Nicole, her alabaster complexion looking strikingly pale in this light.

"I'd hate for them to die because hopefully it's one of those things that makes you embrace music in our life."

In the film she plays Guido's muse, Claudia, and I ask her if she can relate to the idea of being something other that people need you to be.

"Yeah sure, when you meet people they see something else," she says. "They don't know who you really are and I think that's why she says to him, 'You've created this thing but it's not actually who I am,' which is why I tell him, 'Wrong girl.'"

Judi Dench plays Guido's confidante, the only person who is completely honest with him. "I don't think there's an actor I know who doesn't have somebody they can go to who will actually tell them the truth and not mess about," she says of being in an industry that's prevalent with 'yes' people.

"My family are very, very good and supportive about that and my husband used to be brilliant. He would 'tell it as it is', that was his expression."

There's just time for Judi to talk about draping herself over a piano before promptly falling off the stage during her number and Nicole to talk about the frustrations of not being able to hit the big notes before someone appears to say my time is up.

This surreal and star-studded morning has come to a close. I exit the hotel, clamber on a bus and head back to reality.

Extra time - Nine

The original Broadway production of Nine opened in 1982.

Javier Bardem, who Penelope Cruz is rumoured to be engaged to, was apparently in the running to play Guido.

Rob Marshall says he had always envisioned Sophia Loren playing Guido's mother.

Kate Hudson's song Cinema Italiano was written especially for the movie.

Stacy Ferguson, aka Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas, makes her acting debut as the prostitute, Saraghina.