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CNN Larry King Live
Interview With The All-Star Cast of "Nine"
Aired December 15, 2009 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, the all-star cast of the Golden Globe-nominated "Nine" -- Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "NINE," COURTESY THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY)
NICOLE KIDMAN, ACTRESS: Don't kiss me, I might bite you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Daniel Day-Lewis, Penelope Cruz...
(VIDEO CLIP)
KING: ...Dame Judi Dench...
JUDI DENCH, ACTRESS: I was just asked to have a coffee.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Marion Cotillard, Fergie and the one and only Sophia Loren.
Next on LARRY KING LIVE.
Good evening.
"Nine" opens this Friday in New York and Los Angeles, and across the country on Christmas Day. It's been nominated a record 10 times by the Broadcast Film Critics Association, including nods for best picture, best supporting actress and best ensemble. And just earlier today, "Nine" was nominated for five Golden Globes, including best picture, musical or comedy; and best original song.
Joining us is the cast -- Kate Hudson, Academy Award-nominated actress -- this is going to sound repetitive; Nicole Kidman, Academy Award-winning actress; Penelope Cruz, Academy Award-winning actress and Golden Globe nominee; Dame Judi Dench, Academy Award-winning actress; Daniel Day-Lewis, two-time Academy Award-winner and Golden Globe nominee; Marion Cotillard, Academy Award-winning actress and Golden Globe nominee; Fergie, the Grammy-winning recording artist and actress; Rob Marshall, the Academy Award-winning -- Academy Award- nominated director; and from Geneva, Sophia Loren, the Academy Award- winning actress.
We're out of time, so good night.
(LAUGHTER) KING: Before we get into our discussion with this talented bunch, let's take a look at the film everyone's talking about.
Here is a segment from "Nine."
(VIDEO CLIP)
KING: I was fortunate enough to see "Nine" last week at its L.A. Premiere. And my quote will be, "'Nine' is a 10."
Its director is Rob Marshall.
How did you assemble this cast?
ROB MARSHALL, DIRECTOR: Oh, gosh. I guess piece by piece. I mean, I never imagined we'd have this cast. And this is a dream cast for me, every single one of them. It was joyous to work with them every day.
KING: Who was the hardest to get?
MARSHALL: Oh, gosh. The man -- the man in the middle...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
MARSHALL: ...Daniel Day-Lewis.
KING: Did you resist it, Daniel?
DANIEL DAY-LEWIS, ACTOR: You can't resist him. He's irresistible.
KING: Did you like this from the get-go or were you?
DAY-LEWIS: I did, yes. But I -- it just wasn't -- at the -- at the time, it was -- it was when he -- when he found me, we'd just finished making -- my wife had just finished making a film in -- in the States and it was not -- it wasn't a good moment for me to transplant everyone somewhere else to (INAUDIBLE)...
KING: So why did you succumb?
DAY-LEWIS: Him.
KING: Him.
DAY-LEWIS: And these lovely ladies.
KING: And the script.
Let's go around.
Kate, how did they get you?
KATE HUDSON, ACTRESS: I auditioned for Rob. I went in and I sang first. And then I -- it -- it was kind of old school. So I went and I sang and then I got a call back.
(LAUGHTER)
HUDSON: And I danced and then I got another call back. And I sang and I danced. Then I got another call back.
MARSHALL: That's true.
HUDSON: So it was a process for me.
KING: Did you think you'd get it?
HUDSON: You know, to be honest, I just wanted to sing and dance for Rob, you know. And I -- of course, I hoped that I would be able to be a part of such an incredible film. But I was more...
KING: But you got it.
HUDSON: ... Just trying to stay in (INAUDIBLE) -- well, yes.
KING: You were great.
Fergie, how did they get you?
FERGIE, ACTRESS/SINGER: I auditioned, as well. And everyone else had been cast, so it was...
KING: The last one?
FERGIE: Yes, I was the last one. And I -- I wanted it so badly. And I came in and, you know, I did my make-up. I contoured my nose. I have this bump on my nose and I tried to make it look bigger with make-up and over-line my lips and tried to make everything look bigger, because, you know, that's what...
KING: Everything?
FERGIE: Everything, Larry.
(LAUGHTER)
FERGIE: And -- and -- and, yes and -- a few weeks went by and -- and I was -- I was hoping, hoping. And every day I would think about it. And I -- I basically gave up on it. I let it go and I said...
KING: Really?
FERGIE: ... Well, I would have heard by now. I guess I didn't get it. And about a week letter -- about a week later, I got a call from Harvey and I screamed...
KING: That's Harvey Weinstein.
FERGIE: Yes. Yes.
KING: Nicole, you -- how did they get you for "Nine?" NICOLE KIDMAN, ACTRESS: Actually, Rob told me. We were -- I think we had lunch or coffee or something. And he said that Anthony Minghella had written a role for me and so...
KING: He wrote it for you?
KIDMAN: Yes. Rob tells that story (ph).
KING: So then you had to do it, right?
KIDMAN: Huh?
KING: Then you had to do it, if he wrote it for you?
KIDMAN: Well, I had to do it because I wanted to work with Rob. And, of course, Anthony was one of my dearest friends. So, yes.
KING: Marion, how did they get you?
MARION COTILLARD, ACTRESS: Well, I auditioned, too.
KING: You had to audition?
COTILLARD: Yes. The first audition was singing.
MARSHALL: Yes.
COTILLARD: And then...
MARSHALL: For Judi's role.
COTILLARD: Yes, it was for Judi's role, actually. And...
(LAUGHTER)
COTILLARD: And I sang Claudia's song, too.
MARSHALL: Yes, also, she auditioned for Claudia, exactly.
COTILLARD: This...
MARSHALL: We -- we were -- we cast -- we were at casting before we started writing. So we weren't sure exactly who was going to play what and...
KING: But...
COTILLARD: Because Lilli is French.
MARSHALL: Lilli is French or Lilli sings a French song, "Folies Bergeres." So we thought well, maybe that. And we weren't sure.
COTILLARD: Yes.
KING: The star of "La Vie en Rose" had to audition?
MARSHALL: Well, I didn't know she could really sing or dance. And that...
COTILLARD: And it was much before...
MARSHALL: ... None of these actors would...
COTILLARD: ...I actually...
MARSHALL: ...would -- would audition except the fact...
COTILLARD: That movie was just...
KING: Wait a minute.
COTILLARD: ...released at that time, it was...
KING: Kate auditioned.
MARSHALL: No. No, they wouldn't have...
KING: Oh.
MARSHALL: ...if I -- but I didn't know they could sing or dance. Nicole did not because I knew her work as a singer. Judi, I -- I didn't audition, either.
(LAUGHTER)
KING: All right. Penelope, how did you come to "Nine?"
PENELOPE CRUZ, ACTRESS: I auditioned for three different parts. And my first meeting with Rob was like two-and-a-half years ago already.
MARSHALL: Yes.
CRUZ: And I just knew I wanted to be in part of this movie. I said to him, "I don't care which character, just have me there on the set cleaning the floors just to learn," because I admired him so much. And then he called me one day and he said, "I have decided that I want you to be Carla."
KING: Judi, how did they get you?
Oh, Dame.
Do you have to say "Dame?"
DENCH: No, you don't have to say Dame.
KING: Judi, how did they get you?
DENCH: It's a bone of contention, actually, between Nicole and I, because Nicole, I know, was asked by Rob to have lunch and was asked to do the part. I was just asked to have a coffee.
(LAUGHTER) DENCH: But, you see, the same magic.
How can you resist him?
KING: Are you glad you did it?
DENCH: Oh, you bet. I'm just resentful that I'm not in all the other dances.
(LAUGHTER)
KING: Sophia in Geneva, how did you get to do "Nine?"
SOPHIA LOREN, ACTRESS: Yes?
KING: How did you come to do the part?
LOREN: Well, I got a phone call from Rob Marshall -- one phone call. And I said yes right away. So it's very short, my story.
But -- no, no, no. There is also another -- there is also another reason, is that the film was involved, of course, the life of Fellini. And many times before, of course, before he died, I was very, very close to do a film with him. But as it happens in films, it never happened.
So I was very happy to be involved in the life of Fellini. And beside the phone call from Rob -- which I adore -- it's because I was very moved to be closer to my dear friend, Fellini, which I think is the best -- that he was the best director in town, in -- in -- in the world, you know?
Yes.
KING: A great story.
We'll -- we're just getting started with the cast of "Nine."
Much more with our nine guests right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sorry if I've given you a shock.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you can't change it, leave it. It was the only man I ever killed was (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you going to do about it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think God is dead!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When it comes to the showdown, they won't be there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't mind telling me you used to be an Irishman.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: That was Daniel Day-Lewis, of course, before he became Guido in "Nine."
And we'll be showing you some of the star turns from each of our guests during the hour.
Did you know you could sing?
DAY-LEWIS: I certainly didn't. I don't think he did, either. He -- he managed to convince me that -- that -- that he knew that. But I think I insisted on at least trying to sing to you.
MARSHALL: Yes. I think you would have wanted to audition yourself, as well.
KING: OK. What...
DAY-LEWIS: It was hopeless, Larry. And he still -- still managed to convince me.
MARSHALL: No, it was beautiful.
KING: But what was it like as a distinguished actor, a two-time -- I mean, one of the -- many consider you maybe the best actor in the world today.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
KING: What was it like to sing?
DAY-LEWIS: I -- I don't -- I think maybe we all secretly hope that we have a voice in us that one day somebody will help us to discover and -- and it always looks -- when -- you know, when you see somebody expressing themselves through music, it looks as if it must be so satisfying. So how it...
KING: Was it?
DAY-LEWIS: Yes, I mean, with all the frustrations that you go through beforehand. But, yes, very, very satisfying.
KING: Fergie, how good was he?
DAY-LEWIS: Yes.
FERGIE: Oh, he did a great job. He was spectacular. In fact, he was the first person that I -- that I met on set, you know, flying and just being really intimidated, you know, walking onto the set and the first person I see is Daniel. I'm going, great. And Rob, 15 minutes later, pulls me over to the piano and says, "Why don't you just sing along? We'll do a piano version right here."
And Daniel's sitting right there in the corner. And I'm going, "OK."
So those fears kind of had to go out the window really quick. And they did, because everyone here is -- is very down to Earth. And I find that...
KING: Yes?
FERGIE: ...that the more -- the more people who -- who are very successful and -- and talented at what they do are -- tend to be the nicest, because they're not trying to prove anything to you. So it made it very comfortable for me.
KING: Were you at all, Rob, intimidated by Daniel Day?
MARSHALL: I was thrilled. I was thrilled to be able to work with, to me, the greatest -- I agree, the greatest actor in the world.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I agree.
MARSHALL: And so every day for me was thrilling. Imagine, you know, the call sheet, Larry, you know, Daniel Day-Lewis in a scene with Judi Dench; in a scene with Nicole Kidman and Penelope Cruz; and Marion and Kate. I mean, I was in heaven.
KING: But were you able to say to these stars, "No, let's do it that way?"
MARSHALL: Oh, I think that...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
MARSHALL: Oh, I think they're desperate for that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
MARSHALL: Well, you know, I think of it as a collaboration, in a way. I mean, I never feel like I'm instructing them to do certain things. I feel like it's something we're -- we're creating together. And, you know, these are the best in the world because they're -- they work so hard. It's not because there's some magic thing that happens. It's because of the...
KING: They (INAUDIBLE)...
(CROSSTALK)
KING: If they prove it...
MARSHALL: It's because of the work ethic. Yes.
KING: Was it nervous for you, Kate?
HUDSON: I was -- I was thrilled. I was -- you know, I was nervous when I heard the song for the first time, because it was a very challenging -- it's a very challenging song. And I got intimidated by the actual song that -- that they wrote. And -- but the thing about Rob is that he provides this amazing, you know, sort of safety net around you, so you -- it -- it helps you build your confidence that I think, in order to, you know, be able to perform those things, when you're not -- when it's not your everyday, you know...
KING: It's not?
HUDSON: No, you know?
KING: Marion, this is a very different kind of musical.
Did you enjoy doing it?
COTILLARD: It was my dream to do a musical -- an American musical and -- and to have the opportunity to do one with Rob was magical, really. And -- and I more than enjoyed, I mean, working with all these amazing, gifted people and -- and also all that...
KING: You're not bad yourself.
COTILLARD: ...that -- sorry?
KING: You're not bad yourself.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
COTILLARD: Thank you.
(CROSSTALK)
COTILLARD: And Rob's team, John DeLuca and all the dancers and -- and Paul Bogaey, our singing guide...
KING: A couple of the stars transformed themselves for the film. We'll talk about that ahead.
Back in 60 seconds with the cast of "Nine."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: We're talking with the terrifically talented cast of the new movie, "Nine." Daniel Day-Lewis plays Guido Contini, an Italian director with no direction, struggling to make his latest movie.
The character played by Penelope Cruz is his mistress.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "NINE," COURTESY THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY)
CRUZ: Oh, that's not what I meant. Guidino, no.
Where you are going?
DAY-LEWIS: I have to go to work.
Cara, cara, please.
CRUZ: Let me come with you (INAUDIBLE).
DAY-LEWIS: That's impossible.
CRUZ: Why?
DAY-LEWIS: Because it's impossible, please.
CRUZ: But why is it impossible?
Guido, everybody knows about me.
Why?
Why won't you let me near you?
DAY-LEWIS: For the very same reason you don't want me to die on top of you. It's not fair to your husband and it's not fair to my wife.
CRUZ: Please let me come with you.
DAY-LEWIS: No.
CRUZ: I'll be here waiting for you with my legs open.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Do you like doing love scenes, Penelope?
(LAUGHTER)
CRUZ: What?
KING: Do you like doing love scenes?
CRUZ: No.
(LAUGHTER)
KING: No?
CRUZ: It's -- it's always a very strange thing. I mean, I -- I -- we had the best director and -- and I was in the best possible company, but it's always something strange, right, Daniel?
DAY-LEWIS: We had to laugh.
(LAUGHTER)
CRUZ: And, God, we laughed a lot together, because you have to bring humor to those situations.
DAY-LEWIS yes.
KING: With a cast this big, there had to be some behind-the- scenes drama.
Was there?
We'll ask after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
KIDMAN: Dr. Zawani (ph) (INAUDIBLE) nothing.
Perhaps we might take a walk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Nicole, is a musical harder to do?
KIDMAN: No. No, I don't think so.
KING: Even though you prerecord the music and you have to kind of lip sync over it?
KIDMAN: Yes, except, I mean, as -- as an actress, that's just -- that's what you want to do. You want to be able to do it all. You want to have a chance to sing and dance and -- and act and -- that's what they used to do. So, it's nice to have that chance now.
KING: Of course, you had the experience in "Moulin Rouge!" too, right?
KIDMAN: I did.
KING: Let's take a look at Nicole and Daniel in action. Now, Kidman plays Guido's muse.
See why she's so important to him in "Nine".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "NINE," COURTESY THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY)
DAY-LEWIS: There are the muses, the incredible women that made Italy what it is today -- a country run by men who are themselves run by women, whether they know it or not.
KIDMAN: Why are women behind the great men?
DAY-LEWIS: Great women, in a way, yes.
KIDMAN: These muses, they fall in love with the men?
DAY-LEWIS: Exactly. They fall in love with them.
KIDMAN: I'd rather be the man.
DAY-LEWIS: What?
KIDMAN: I'd rather be the man.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: What's it like to work with this cast?
KIDMAN: Wonderful. I mean it was one of those things that...
KING: I mean you were all stars. Is there a little diva issue or do you actually -- are you workers?
KIDMAN: I -- I mean, I think when you get to -- as Fergie said, when you get to a certain place in your career, everyone is there because they are hard workers.
Wouldn't you agree with that?
DAY-LEWIS: Yes. Yes.
KIDMAN: And we love -- we love what we do and the craft of it.
KING: Do you like musicals, Judi?
DENCH: Yes, I love it. I love them. It's a great -- well, I loved being in a musical on stage, when an orchestra starts and you -- and you suddenly hear all that music. And it's like a huge, you know, support to you. So all you've got to get on is get on and do your bit.
KING: Sophia, have you seen the finished product?
LOREN: No, I've not seen the film because I have in mind to see the film with my children. I want to enjoy the whole film with my children, because it's -- this film is very important to me, because, being Italian, I've always wanted to be in a musical. And now that I have this chance, even though my role is cameo, but I think it's a good start. And I think while the shooting, I enjoyed, really, every moment of it.
So I want to see it finished and I want to see it with my family.
KING: You will love it.
Was she -- what was she like to direct, Rob?
MARSHALL: Oh, my god. I mean that's almost impossible to -- to explain for me. I mean there was a sequence I remember very clearly, shooting in Rome, in the Piazza de Popolo with Daniel and Sophia in a little Italian sports car and everything set in the '60s. So there was Sophia in a '60s Italian sports car. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. I -- I couldn't quite believe I was there, this kid from Pittsburgh was there directing this iconic major actor and -- and Daniel. I mean I couldn't believe it.
KING: What was it like for you, Daniel, to work with one of the grand dames?
DAY-LEWIS: Oh, I -- I tell you, I shall treasure it forever, for every single moment I spent with that wonderful woman. I'll treasure it, yes.
KING: Will you...
DAY-LEWIS: It was funny, because we were going around in circles pretty much all day long. And a huge crowd had turned out to see Sophia. And -- and she turned to me at one point and she said, you know, all these people, every time we go around, they think that the reason we're doing it and again is because we're so stupid...
(LAUGHTER)
DAY-LEWIS: ...that we just can't get it right. Dua criatinni (ph).
KING: Do you ever get used, Penelope, to doing it again and again?
CRUZ: What?
KING: Do you ever get used to that -- let's take another take, let's do another take?
CRUZ: I -- I always get thrown out of the set, because asking for too many dates -- takes.
KING: You like takes?
CRUZ: I -- I -- I have a problem with that. I cannot let go. I cannot say OK, now we can stop and move to the next thing...
MARSHALL: We had to call security.
CRUZ: Yes, I -- I...
(LAUGHTER)
CRUZ: ...I drive everybody crazy because I can't control myself. I always want to do one more.
KING: Penelope's sexy rope dance -- she suffered for her art. We'll talk about it ahead.
(VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(VIDEO CLIP)
KING: That was, of course, was one of the greatest screen performances ever.
Did you know you were going to win?
COTILLARD: I didn't want to think about it. I really tried to stay in the present time all -- all this advent -- all the -- sorry.
(LAUGHTER)
KING: Now when you're sitting there in that theater...
COTILLARD: All the way long.
KING: ...and they're opening the envelope.
COTILLARD: No, I mean it was two or even three months of amazing adventure, amazing meetings with people I admire so much. And the way in America you share movies with actors, we don't do that in France. And then you have to talk about your work with people who know what you are talking about.
It was -- it was so amazing that I really wanted to keep it out of the fantasy, out of thinking, oh, if this happens, if that happens. So I really -- and being nominated with Cate Blanchett was something huge for me. So I really wanted to enjoy the present time and to enjoy it, you don't have to think about what's -- what could happen.
KING: Well said.
Penelope, that dance that we showed, what was that like to do?
(LAUGHTER)
CRUZ: It -- it was amazing. It was amazing to learn it from them and to be able to train for three months I had until I shot it. And to see how everyday you can get a little farther and the feeling of freedom that you get when you can get to do the entire number without stopping. It's been a great experience for me.
KING: Do you think that's the biggest turn-on moment of the movie, Rob?
MARSHALL: Oh, gosh. I mean, I--
(LAUGHTER)
MARSHALL: I think all the--
KING: Oh, come on, Rob.
(CROSSTALK)
MARSHALL: -- question for me. Listen, I think --
KING: It is the--
MARSHALL: Well, I think she's-- KING: There are many sexy scenes, but that's--
MARSHALL: Well, that's -- that's a particularly sexy scene.
(LAUGHTER)
MARSHALL: But all these ladies have their moments of -- of beauty and sex in this film, I have to say, every single one of them.
KING: Fergie, did you all get along?
FERGIE: Oh, yes. Oh--
KING: Come on.
FERGIE: Oh, yes. I'm serious. We would have lunch together and, you know, I -- I really didn't know what to expect, you know, coming on and with -- with all these Academy Award winners and -- and nominees and--
KING: Well, you're a Grammy winner.
FERGIE: And -- yes, a Grammy winner. Exactly. I got -- I got to have something.
(LAUGHTER)
FERGIE: But, you know, I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know if I was going to sit in the corner and kind of let everyone do their thing and kind of soak it up.
MARSHALL: But Fergie attacked us -- she attacked this like an actor.
FERGIE: Yes. But we--
MARSHALL: Big time.
FERGIE: But we all got along really well. I mean -- I mean honestly.
COTILLARD: It was fun.
FERGIE: Yes, we had a good time.
MARSHALL: It's very exciting doing a musical together. It really is. It's a joy. It's a joyous experience. This is a -- this is a tough musical in some ways, too. It's more sophisticated, in a way, and -- and -- and sort of treads some different territory. But there's a joy to making musicals. The dancers are so -- they're spectacular to be around -- the discipline. Amazing.
KING: You grew up in show business, Kate.
HUDSON: Yes.
KING: Right?
So what -- did your mother see it yet?
HUDSON: No. She's going to be my date tonight to the premier so I'm really excited about that. It's actually really interesting, this -- this movie for -- for the first time I feel like -- and my mom was a dancer. That's how she started her career. And so for me to be able to work with Rob, who's, you know, for our generation or my generation, the -- the choreographer to look up to and for me to kind of have that connection with my mother and then be able to bring her to the movie tonight and it's kind of -- it's pretty -- it's pretty amazing--
KING: That's -- yes.
You were -- are you a good dancer, Rob?
MARSHALL: I was a dancer.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's amazing.
MARSHALL: Well, it's a--
KING: There's a lot of choreographers who are not great dancers.
MARSHALL: Well, listen, John DeLuca and myself, who choreographed this with me, you know, we're dancers. That's where we come from. We -- you know, we -- we started in the -- in the chorus in the ensemble. There we were.
(CROSSTALK)
CRUZ: -- in a film Rob can dance it.
COTILLARD: Yes. He can do my routine--
KING: Whoa.
COTILLARD: -- way better than I can.
(CROSSTALK)
KING: Because it's true, though, right?
A lot of great choreographers--
MARSHALL: Well, the only way I can choreograph--
KING: -- are not necessarily great dancers?
MARSHALL: Well, the only way I can choreograph is actually to get up there and do it.
KING: Show them? MARSHALL: And feel it and try it.
(CROSSTALK)
KING: As we go to break, a look at Kate Hudson's greatest hits.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: We're back.
"Nine" opens in Los Angeles and in New York Friday night and then will open wide on Christmas Day. It's a great movie.
Fergie really worked hard for this part. She plays a prostitute from Guido's past, and sings "Nine's" signature song that you may be singing when you the see movie.
Here's Fergie in action.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Now, you can applaud that.
Now, Rob--
FERGIE: Remember when we were--
KING: It had to be interesting--
FERGIE: Remember when we were trying to decide what pose would be the great--
MARSHALL: I know. We--
FERGIE: -- the grand ending pose.
MARSHALL: Yes. Yes. We came up with hundreds.
FERGIE: And Rob was getting on the chair and, you know, turning all these different ways.
KING: And Fergie was the only one of these people that's a singer, right?
MARSHALL: Yes. It was amazing to see her come from that side of things. But the challenge was huge for her. FERGIE: Yes.
MARSHALL: Everybody had this big mountain to climb, but hers was different. But, you know, I was so impressed every day with how Fergie attacked this role, like an animal. Really. She wanted to feel it. She wanted to believe it.
FERGIE: Yes.
MARSHALL: It was extraordinary to see, you know -- that -- the first day of shooting was the black and white footage in that film, right, that we shot?
FERGIE: Oh, really?
MARSHALL: Yes. It was the first day of filming.
FERGIE: Oh, wow!
MARSHALL: And it was freezing cold water. You were in there and you wouldn't leave.
FERGIE: Oh, that -- that's right.
MARSHALL: Yes.
FERGIE: That -- that's the -- the realistic scenes. And -- and it's interesting for me--
MARSHALL: Yes.
FERGIE: -- because, you know, the song is so big and--
KING: Right.
FERGIE: -- and, you know, performing when -- when you have dance moves, it's -- it's projecting. It's -- it's being extroverted. But on the reality side of the film, for me, it was so much fun to just go inside and be still and keep it about the thoughts, about what I'm seeing and -- and about the reality of this situation with Guido and her relationship with him and -- and how that all works and how that started that spark in his brain of that naughty, naughty, naughty, naughty, all these naughty thoughts that Guido has. And -- and, you know, looking at Daniel Day Lewis and I have to basically look at him as a child, you know. And that was kind of weird for me. I kind of just let him do his thing and stayed away, because it's awkward looking at, you know, the natives -- that guy, you know, as--
KING: Daniel, was--
FERGIE: -- as an eight-year-old boy.
KING: Daniel, did--
(CROSSTALK)
KING: Daniel, did you like Guido?
DAY-LEWIS: I don't think I -- I -- I didn't like or dislike him. I didn't really -- I didn't look at him in that way. I didn't -- I didn't relate to him as a separate being, I suppose.
KING: You became him?
DAY-LEWIS: Well, I -- I kidded myself I did, yes.
KING: What was he like to work with, Nicole?
KIDMAN: Oh, very difficult.
(CROSSTALK)
DAY-LEWIS: Finally we're getting to it.
KING: All right, let's get to it now.
He bucks you, right?
KIDMAN: He -- he lifts your game. He -- I think that's the thing. When you're working with somebody like Daniel, it -- it makes you want to do better.
KING: Judi, what was it like with you for him?
DENCH: We go back a long, long way, because I played his mother 20 years ago.
KING: Were you?
DENCH: In "Hamlet," yes. So you see, I've known him for a very long time.
KING: On the stage in London?
DENCH: Yes, at The National. Yes. And well, the thing about Daniel is you're meant to be -- you come to make -- you're meant to be doing a scene with this person and this person is not Daniel; this person who you'd like to be doing the scene with is standing in front of you.
So it's an all embracing thing, you know?
It's -- it doesn't ex -- stand in the way of working. Daniel's way of working doesn't exclude you, it includes you.
KING: How good a Hamlet was he?
DENCH: Oh, he was wonderful.
KING: That's the hardest -- the hardest role in the theater, isn't it?
DENCH: I don't think you can get harder than that, do you? DAY-LEWIS: I sent her a--
(CROSSTALK)
DAY-LEWIS: -- I sent her a note when -- when we started "Nine," "I promise not to run out on you this time."
(LAUGHTER)
KING: We'll be back.
We'll check in with Sophia, too.
Back with the cast of "Nine" in 60 seconds.
Here's a look at Penelope Cruz and some of her acclaimed performances.
We've got a lot of them.
(VIDEO CLIP)
CRUZ: Open your eyes.
You are --
They said it was a -- right?
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: Two screen legends, Oscar winners Sophia Loren and Dame Judi Dench, have played and portrayed all kinds of characters on film. And while you might not think of them as singers, this isn't the first time they've carried a tune in movies.
Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DENCH: Too late. Too late.
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Sophia, tell us, what is life like now? What are you doing? What are you doing?
LOREN: I just made a film on the life of my mother, which is a fiction for television that is going on for tonight. And -- and then I'm preparing something else to do in films in Italy.
KING: Thank you so much, dear.
Give our love to everyone.
We love you, Sophia.
LOREN: Thank you.
Merry Christmas to everybody.
(CROSSTALK)
LOREN: Ciao, Rob.
(CROSSTALK)
KING: Ciao, Rob.
Sophia Loren. We lose the satellite.
The rest of the cast remains with us.
Nicole gave birth to her daughter weeks before "Nine" began filming. She brought her baby to the set. We're going to talk about kids and families next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWS BREAK)
KING: We're back in New York with the cast of "Nine".
All right, what's with the -- what's with the baby?
KIDMAN: What do you mean?
KING: You brought the -- you brought the baby to the set?
And she's hold old now?
KIDMAN: I did. I did. It was when she first came, she was six weeks old. And everyone -- everyone was really nice to her.
MARSHALL: It was beautiful.
COTILLARD: Yes, it was--
(CROSSTALK)
MARSHALL: Yes.
KIDMAN: So they've seen her grow up now, so --
KING: Now, she's how old now?
KIDMAN: Seventeen months.
KING: What was it like having a baby around the set, Rob?
MARSHALL: It was part of the whole family extension. I loved it.
KING: Do all of you have children?
Who has children?
Everyone. OK. Let's run around.
Kate, what's your family?
HUDSON: I have a -- he's going to be six in January.
KING: What's his name?
HUDSON: Ryder. Ryder Russell Robinson. And--
KING: Ryder Russell Robinson?
HUDSON: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
HUDSON: He was. He was on the set--
KING: Did you take him to the World Series?
HUDSON: Yes. No. Actually, no. No, I didn't. He was with his father. But -- but he got to enjoy a lot of great baseball games.
KING: How is A-Rod, by the way?
HUDSON: Good. Really good.
KING: Are you really into baseball now?
HUDSON: I've always kind of been into baseball. You know, my Kurt -- my dad played baseball so--
COTILLARD: Yes.
HUDSON: -- I've always.
KING: That's right, he did.
HUDSON: And my cousin played -- played pro ball. So I've -- I've all -- baseball has been around my family for a while. But, yes, I took --
KING: So you have an older daughter, right?
KIDMAN: Seventeen.
KING: Seventeen now?
KIDMAN: Um-hmm.
KING: How -- what's her name?
KIDMAN: Bella.
KING: A great name.
Penelope, what -- what is in your family grouping?
CRUZ: Well, my parents, my brother and sister. I don't have kids yet.
KING: No kids.
Judi, do you have grown children?
DENCH: I have an actress daughter who is here to see the premier. And she has a son, Sammy, my grandson, who is 12 and who is in love with Fergie.
(LAUGHTER)
KING: A crush?
DENCH: This film has changed his --
KING: How many children do you have, Daniel?
DAY-LEWIS: I have three boys.
KING: Three boys?
DAY-LEWIS: Three boys, yes.
KING: Ages?
DAY-LEWIS: Fourteen, 11 and seven.
KING: Any want to act?
DAY-LEWIS: No, I don't think so.
KING: Well, do they watch their father a lot?
DAY-LEWIS: Never.
KING: They don't watch their father?
DAY-LEWIS: No. They have other things to do.
(LAUGHTER)
KING: Marion, do you -- you're not married, right?
COTILLARD: No. No kids yet.
KING: Do you want children?
COTILLARD: Yes, of course.
KING: Fergie?
FERGIE: I have two furry dogs that I -- I remind them that I suffered for nine months for each of them. So if they get out of line, they get in trouble.
(LAUGHTER)
KING: Rob?
MARSHALL: I have a dog, as well, a gorgeous dog, Gilly (ph). And John, of course.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gilly was on the set.
(CROSSTALK)
MARSHALL: Gilly is great.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our mascot.
(CROSSTALK)
KING: This was all really this happy?
MARSHALL: Yes.
DAY-LEWIS: Yes, but, still -- we're sort of squeezing the last remaining time that we can, which is lovely that you invited us all to be together in this, because we rarely have a chance to be together now and--
KING: Because you all go off and do different things now, right?
DAY-LEWIS: And we miss it. I miss it. I didn't do anything.
(CROSSTALK)
MARSHALL: I mean it's -- it's -- but one of the great things about doing this event tonight, for instance, and -- is just being together, because we knew how special what we were doing was. I think -- it rarely happens like this.
KING: Anthony Quinn told me once, the saddest day when you make a movie is the last day.
MARSHALL: That's true.
KING: Because you all play these parts and you go off --
MARSHALL: That's true. KING: -- into another world.
MARSHALL: Well, I got to sit with them in a room, you know, and look at them and -- and spend time with them during the editing process, which was beautiful for me. You know, I always feel it's my job to serve them.
KING: Fergie is famous, of course, as a member of the Black Eyed Peas. here she is doing what she does best. Let's get it started.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: Before we find out what's next, let's look at Judi and Daniel talking about how easy directing is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DENCH: Directing a movie is a very over-rated job. We all know it. You just have to say yes and no. What else do you do? Nothing. Maestro, should this be red? Yes. Green? No. More extras? Yes. More lipstick? No. Yes, no, yes, no.
DAY LEWIS: Director. That's right, as director. It doesn't seem to make a blind bit of difference finding what the answer is.
DENCH: So please, yes or no, do you want any costumes in this film?
DAY-LEWIS: Yes.
DENCH: You see? Simple.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: That's a great last word in this movie -- action.
I love that ending. And the entire premier audience stood up and applauded.
What's next, Kate?
HUDSON: Christmas. Christmas shopping.
(LAUGHTER)
HUDSON: I'm trying to wrap my head around that and the family. But -- but for work, I start a film in--
KING: Work.
HUDSON: -- in January. I start a film where I play a girl that's dying of cancer.
KING: Really?
Oh.
Rob, what's next?
MARSHALL: I don't know yet. I'm still sort of debating and a few things in the -- mostly it's just a rest would be lovely.
KING: -- figure something out.
HUDSON: Here, here.
KING: Nicole, what's next?
KIDMAN: I produced my first film and it's -- we're going to release that, called "Robert Holt." And then I'm going to play a transsexual in a film.
KING: A transsex--
HUDSON: Yes.
KING: You've got a cancer victim, you're a transsexual?
HUDSON: Yes.
KING: Interesting lives these people lead.
(CROSSTALK)
KING: Fergie?
FERGIE: I am going to be on tour all year next year. So the end with the Black Eyed Peas. And I'm just designing my shoe line, and doing that. But touring -- I'll be in the tour bus a lot.
KING: Penelope?
CRUZ: I think I'm going to take a little bit of time for myself away from the set, because I've been traveling a lot promoting "Nine" and broken -- at the same time. So I've been going around the world and I just wanted to take a little bit of time.
KING: Here or back home?
CRUZ: Both, mainly back home, but--
KING: The lovely Marion, what's next?
COTILLARD: I want to travel. I'm going to go to Africa. I'm going to go to Peru. And I want to -- I want to do a documentary about the forest.
KING: The forest? COTILLARD: Deforestation and all amazing projects about reforestation. So I want to spend time in the forest.
KING: Dame?
(LAUGHTER)
DENCH: I did "A Midsummer Night's Dream" with Peter Hall on stage in 1962. And I'm going to do it again.
KING: In London?
COTILLARD: I'll be there.
MARSHALL: I'll be there, too.
DENCH: Yes.
KING: And Daniel Day?
DAY-LEWIS: No plans, just -- just spending time with the family and catching up with them.
KING: You work sparingly, don't you?
DAY LEWIS: I do.
KING: You do a film like, what, every three years?
DAY LEWIS: Two or three, yes.
KING: Why?
DAY-LEWIS: I think I -- I've found that the time that I spend away from -- from working, which is a great luxury, of course, to be able to spend that time away from it, gives me what I need to be able to do the work. So it's very much part of the same thing.
KING: So no chosen script yet?
DAY LEWIS: No.
KING: Rob, do you expect some Academy -- obviously, you're going to get Academy Award nominations.
MARSHALL: Oh --
KING: Do you expect a lot?
MARSHALL: Well, I think all of us are just go like this and just sort of -- because -- because those are gifts, really, you know?
It's so dangerous to think in terms of that. I think we're just so happy with the product and the process of what we did. I think that's what you must do.
KING: Do you like the idea of 10 nominations for best movies this year?
MARSHALL: That's an interesting question. I mean, I -- I like that it includes a lot of different kinds of films, hopefully. I love the variety and -- but, on the other hand, you do think, well, isn't it, you know -- the five, it's always been that -- or at least it has, you know, for the most recent past.
KING: Yes.
MARSHALL: And so you --
KING: It's hard to change.
MARSHALL: Yes. Yes.
KING: All right, let's hear it for Kate, Nicole, Penelope, Dame Judi, Daniel Day, Marion, Fergie, Rob and, from Italy, Sophia -- from Sweden, rather -- from Switzerland -- from Sophia Loren.
Thank you all very much.
(CROSSTALK)
KING: "Nine" opens Friday in L.A. and New York and nationwide Christmas Day.
And "AC 360" with Anderson Cooper starts right now.
