Number Nine…Number Nine: Hudson Joins Cast of Musical

Kate Hudson…I’m sorry, I’m too bored by her to come up with a snarky comment.

ComingSoon reports that Kate Hudson has joined the cast of Rob Marshall’s adaptation of the Broadway musical Nine.

The musical is based on the Fellini film 8 1/2. It tells about a famous film director Guido Contini who, as he experiences a midlife crisis and creative dead end, reflects on all the women in his life. Daniel Day-Lewis is set to play Contini. Marion Cotillard will play his wife, Luisa; Penelope Cruz will play Carla, his mistress; Nicole Kidman will play Claudia, the star of Contini’s current film and his “muse”; Judi Dench will play his costume designer and “confidante” (what an unwelcome job that is, “Today I slept with another beautiful woman…yet I am bored…”) and Sophia Loren will play Contini’s mother. Hudson will play a role created for the film–Stephanie, an American fashion journalist. She plays an American because no one would believe her playing anything but an American. If the producers wanted to really be sure things would go off without a hitch, they probably should have just cast her as a blonde American movie starlet.

Harvey Weinstein Company’s said:

“We are thrilled that Kate Hudson is joining this group of some of the most talented and creative actors in film and it will be an incredible experience for audiences to watch this cast work under the brilliant direction of Rob Marshall. Inspired by one of cinema’s most profound auteurs, Minghella’s dramatic writing, and Marshall’s dynamic staging will provide the actors with a daring opportunity to showcase their artistic potential.”

Hmmmm…”We are thrilled that Kate Hudson is joining this group of some of the most talented and creative actors in film.” Does anyone else find themselves humming, “One of these things is not like the other”?

Marshall said:

“It’s wonderful having Kate join this extraordinary cast! Her revelatory skills as a singer and a dancer lead to the creation of the role of ‘Stephanie,’ a fashion reporter from Vogue working in Italy. An exciting new song, written by our composer Maury Yeston, has been added for her as well.”

Thanks for the enthusiasm, Rob, but seriously, was there pressure from the Weinsteins to add an American to the cast or something? Her “revelatory skills as a singer and dancer”–you know why they’re revelatory? Because no one believes in them. Seriously, I like to think that Hudson must at least be barely adequate in order to get cast (she’s got to be good at something other than just looking like a twinkly California blonde…doesn’t she?), but I can guarantee that I could walk into the waiting room of any Off-Off Broadway musical audition and pull out a girl who’s not even going to get a callback for the show and she’ll be prettier and a better singer or dancer than Hudson could ever dream about being. It’s so discouraging when you see the level of talent and training of so many people working in the theater and then you hear about something like this. I’m sorry, I’m sure she’s a very nice person and all that, but I just have yet to be impressed by anything Hudson has done.

I believe Nine is set to begin filming in the fall.