So after what's felt like a gazillion years, I finally managed to catch Jersey Boys on Broadway last night ... and all I could think about the entire time was why this hasn't been turned into a movie yet. (But in a good way.) In the past few years, we've had Chicago, Rent, Hairspray and The Producers, with Mamma Mia and Nine on the horizon. Where's Jersey Boys? The damn show gets a standing ovation every night, not to mention it's got a great story, great characters and, well, fantastic music. It'd be like Goodfellas: The Musical -- and something like that would probably rake in more cash (from both men and women) than most of these movie-musicals to date.

I haven't had this much fun watching a musical in years; probably since Wicked (which is another one that needs to hit the big screen at some point). But when I sat there, picturing how they could adapt each scene and make it really work on the big screen, one annoying issue kept beating me over the head: Who in the world do you cast? Since Hollywood is all about sticking names in these sorts of roles, you'd need four young guys who not only can sing (Valli gets UP there), but also come with thick Jersey accents. Off the top of my head, I don't know of any young, Hollywood stars who fit the bill. MAYBE Zac Efron, but he might be a tad too young ... and I've never seen him do a tough, Jersey accent (honestly, I don't know if I want to ...)

At the moment we have to consider this a rumor, but can you imagine an Academy Award-winning psychotic oilman in a musical? Daniel Day-Lewis is in talks to replace Javier Bardem in Rob Marshall's film version of the musical Nine, according to Variety. As Monika Bartyzel told us a couple of weeks ago, Bardem dropped out of the lead role due to exhaustion. A spokesman for distributor The Weinstein Co. denied that a new lead had been set.

What an exciting prospect, though! Day-Lewis is famously selective about the roles he chooses, which means it's safe to assume that he was impressed by the elements that have been brought together. Those elements include: (1) script by Michael Tolkin, re-written by Anthony Minghella shortly before he died; (2) a fabulous cast of women, led by Nicole Kidman and Judi Dench (as Elisabeth Rappe reported recently), but also Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard and Sophia Loren; (3) director Rob Marshall. I know that Marshall isn't universally loved -- I'm not a fan of Chicago -- but presumably he has some kind of dazzling vision that inspires confidence among actors with hidden musical talents.

If he takes the part, Day-Lewis would play Guido Contini, "a famous film director who experiences personal and creative crisis while trying to balance all the women in his life." In the 1982 Broadway musical, inspired by Federico Fellini's 8 1/2, Raul Julia originated the role. I'm hoping for confirmation soon.

Last month, he gets replaced by a woman. This month, he's just too tired to go on. Variety reports that Javier Bardem is backing out of his lead role in Rob Marshall's upcoming musical, Nine. They say: "Though his camp said that Bardem loved the script and the idea of working with Marshall, he pulled out because he is exhausted from work and awards seasons, and will take as long as a year to recharge his batteries."

I'm sorry, but that seems like overkill. Getting tired is understandable, as is needing a break. But let's recap. In the last few years, there was Goya's Ghosts, No Country for Old Men, and Love in the Time of Cholera. He's topping that off with two more -- Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Killing Pablo. Needing a year break after this seems like overkill. I mean, in the same amount of time, Peter O'Toole has taken on 12 roles (being 37-years Javier's senior), Scarlett Johansson, his Vicky co-star, has nine roles, a TV gig, and a directorial gig, Robert Downey Jr. has 11, and so on and so forth.

If this handful of roles and awards has worn him down too much, I have to wonder if he will be able to continue this career for many years to come. Then again, maybe he isn't tired of working, but just tired of the big-name system. Since he got his first credit role in The Ages of Lulu in 1990, he's had at least one gig a year, except for 2005, which remained Bardem-free. It's not like he's a complete newbie. Oh well. At least we still have Vicky and Pablo on the way.

They're still in talks, but everyone is reporting the deal as done, so I will too. Nicole Kidman and Judi Dench are joining Nine, Rob Marshall's film adaptation of the 1982 Broadway musical. The Hollywood Reporter says they'll be joining the already impressive cast of Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard and Sophia Loren.

Bardem will be playing the lead, a film director juggling the demands of several women in his life. The musical is an adaptation of Federico Fellini's autobiographical 8 1/2. Shooting was supposed to have begun in March, but due to the recent loss of Anthony Minghella, it has now been delayed to September. As Kidman is due to become a mother this summer, it would give her a nice maternity break.

Well it looks like we can chalk up another victim of the writers strike. Right after news broke that The Weinsteins had put their big-screen version of the musical Nine on hold, it now looks like Johnny Depp's Shantaram will be joining the list of casualties as well. Variety reports that Warner Bros. has halted production on the adaptation of Gregory David Robert's best-selling novel. Depp was set to co-produce and star in the drama about "an Australian heroin addict who escapes a maximum-security prison, reinvents himself as a doctor in the slums of India and eventually uses gun-running and counterfeiting skills to fight against the invading Russian troops in Afghanistan". Mira Nair had signed on to direct back in January after Australian director Peter Weir left the project due to those pesky "artistic differences".

As was the case with The Weinsteins Nine, Shantaram's delay was a direct result of the strike. Mainly because it meant there was zero chance of any re-writes taking place before the film was set to begin shooting. According to Variety, screenwriter Eric Roth (Forrest Gump) was working on the project until the very last minute before the strike. But when combined with the problems securing a location for the shoot due to monsoon season in India, it looks like the film is going to be put on hold for the foreseeable future. I wouldn't worry though, the film has been a passion project for Depp for some time now, so I doubt he will let if fall by the wayside. There is no word yet on whether Depp is looking for a replacement project in the meantime, but stay tuned for any updates that come our way.

According to the New York Daily News, Catherine Zeta-Jones will no longer co-star in Nine, the film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, which itself was an adaptation of Fellini's classic film 8 1/2. Zeta-Jones would have played the role of Claudia, "the alluring muse of skirt-chasing director Guido Contini." The reason for the falling out is allegedly -- it's always allegedly with the Daily News -- because director Rob Marshall (the inexplicably Best Picture-winning Chicago) "wouldn't give in to her demand to beef up her role." The script is adapted by Michael Tolkin (The Player), and apparently the creative team wasn't willing to change the story around. A friend of Zeta-Jones told the Daily News "She was never 100% committed to Nine. She had a meeting with Rob. She'd love to work with him again. But she felt she'd done the same sort of role in Chicago. The script wasn't an issue."

Marshall has moved on and is looking for a younger actress to hop in and play Claudia. The list of possibles includes Natalie Portman, Liv Tyler, Keira Knightley, Kate Hudson, and Gwyneth Paltrow. (In what world is Gwyneth Paltrow a reasonable substitute for Zeta-Jones?) The cast of Nine, one of the more attractive bunches of actors in recent memory, features Javier Bardem as Guido, Sophia Loren as Guido's mother, Penelope Cruz as his mistress Carla, and Marion Cotillard as Luisa Contini. Reportedly (another word for "allegedly"), Katie Holmes was "heartbroken" when Marshall turned her down for a role. Who would you guys like to see in the part? We'll keep you posted on how this drama turns out.

Additionally, Variety has announced today that the Weinstein Co. has officially delayed production on Nine due to the script not being ready.

Most people are on vacation right now. Not me. I exist solely to tell you about the following:

• Guess which movie has a new name ... again? Yup, when we last checked in on our favorite creature vs. creature sequel, it was being promoted under the name Alien vs. Predator 2: No Peace on Earth. Before that, it was known as Alien vs. Predator 2: AVP 2 and then Alien vs. Predator 2: Why? Now, however, we're being told that 20th Century Fox has changed the title to -- drum roll please -- Aliens vs. Predator. Get it? They shoved an extra 'S' in there. Now it just sounds the same, except there's more. I guess. Tune in next week when the title changes again to Aliens vs. Predator: Which Franchise Will Die First?
• Page Six is reporting that Demi Moore and Katie Holmes just recently auditioned to play the lead role in Rob Marshall's (Chicago) big-screen version of Nine, based on the popular Broadway musical. Also rumored to be vying for parts are Chicago co-stars Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Will Tom let Katie do it? Is Demi too old for the role? Antonio Banderas played the lead male role in the musical, but there's no word on whether he'll reprise the character for the movie. Inspired by Fellini's 8 1/2, Nine revolves around a film director who begins to suffer a nervous breakdown when he can't come up with a plot for his next film. Thus, he begins to explore his past flawed relationships as he struggles to act his mature age of 40 as opposed to nine. [via Moviehole]
• Towards the end of principal photography, director Jon Favreau decided to include himself in Iron Man. According to reports, he'll be playing Security Guard Man -- a little-known Marvel character who's a Las Vegas security guard by day and a crime-fighting male stripper at night. Actually, the real story is that one of the final scenes being shot needed a security guard, and in an attempt to get it all done, Favreau stepped in and played the part himself. I don't think he'll strip, but he might if you ask politely. Iron Man hits theaters on May 9, 2008. [via Dark Horizons]

It looks like we're getting another big-budget musical from the Weinsteins -- probably not a bad idea, since the last one they made won six Oscars. Variety recently reported that Rob Marshall has signed to direct the film version of the Tony Award winning musical Nine. The musical debuted in 1982 with Raul Julia and beat out Dreamgirls that year for Best Musical. In 2002, Antonio Banderas took on the lead and *won a Tony for Best Male Performance. The story was inspired Federico Fellini's 8½, and centers on an aging director suffering from his romantic entanglements and a creative dry spell. This is the first project for Marshall with the Weinsteins since Chicago, and he was eager for another film after Memoirs of a Geisha, saying, "I began looking intensely at (other projects), including remakes of movies, originals and Broadway musicals." Marshall will also help with the choreography for the film along with John DeLuca.

The project is still looking for a screenwriter, and casting has yet to begin -- there is no word on whether Banderas will return. Marshall warned that "This one needs to be created specifically for the talent involved, to suit their strengths, casting will be a big issue here, and if commitments complicate things, it will be 2009." We're not quite sure what that means since any movie that he started prepping now wouldn't likely arrive in theaters until 2009 anyway, but I'm sure the Weinsteins won't mind waiting, since it seems that their reputation at the box-office could use a little help.

*Correction: Banderas was nominated but the award went to Harvey Fierstein.