Variety reported this morning that Javier Bardem has dropped out of the lead role of Rob Marshall's upcoming musical Nine based on Federico Fellini's 8½. The reason he dropped out is due to what can best be described as exhaustion after promoting No Country for Old Men all year last year. Oh, imagine the agony. Too bad the rest of us can't just take a year off from our jobs. An actor's life... it's rough ain't it.

Anyway, this is no big deal. Personally I don't think Bardem was right for the role anyway, at least if we wanted to stick close to the character in Fellini's film. Recently I did a Cinematic Revival article on Fellini's film in which I proposed a suitable replacement for Bardem (ironically enough) and the man for the role is Robert Downey Jr. Oh man, he would knock this role out of the park. Not only can Downey sing, he has the charisma and style to pull the role off effortlessly.

The supporting players are still in place as Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Sophia Loren, Nicole Kidman and Judi Dench are still on board. There is no word on when the film will actually get underway, but a summer start is assumed as production had to be put on hold due to the writers' strike and some script tweaking that became necessary.

If you are unfamiliar with Fellini's original film I certainly recommend you give it a shot, it is certainly worth it. For my complete opinion on the film click here. And if you need more proof this role is made for Downey just take a peek at the vid below, go to the 3:15 mark and tell me you can't see Downey pulling that off. It's a long clip, but I love the way it goes from the tap dance in the hall to a tap dance around a bunch of leeches in the lobby.