Great news: Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Marion Cotillard have all signed on to join the starry cast ensemble of Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming sci-fi thriller ‘Contagion‘. The movie is based on a script by “The Bourne Ultimatum” and “The Informant!” writer Scott Z. Burns, and revolves around the threat posed by a deadly disease, with multiple plotlines in the style of Soderbergh’s ‘Traffic‘. Reportedly the story takes place over four continents and is “terrifying.” The plan is to shoot the project later this year, possibly fall.

Sources: Variety and Ace ShowBiz

Earlier today the nominations for the 82nd Academy Awards (Oscars) were announced. Though Marion Cotillard herself was not nominated the song she performs in ‘Nine‘ was among the 5 nominated songs in the category Music (Original Song). Though this is mainly honoring songwriter Maury Yeston I like to think that Marion’s performance helped it to get nominated and just shows that she herself would have been nominated had she been campaigned as Supporting Actress instead of Leading Actress by The Weinstein Company.

Music (Original Song)
• “Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
• “Down in New Orleans” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
• “Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36” Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyric by Frank Thomas
• “Take It All” from “Nine” Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
• “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart” Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Here’s Maury’s reaction to his nomination:

“I’m so grateful to Marion Cotillard for doing such a beautiful job with that song. It’s a very special honor to be singled out by the Academy and the world of film and my first foray into that world.”
• source: KFSM.com

‘Nine‘ was also nominated in the categories Actress in a Supporting Role (Penélope Cruz), Art Direction and Costume Design. Congratulations! See all Oscar Nominations here.

At yesterday’s press conference the French Academy revealed that this year’s honorary president of the 35th Annual César Awards Ceremony will be Marion Cotillard. Congratulations!

The event will take place on Saturday, February 27, 2010 and will be broadcast live from Théatre du Châtelet on Canal+ as of 9pm.

3 years after getting international recognition when ‘La Vie en Rose‘ celebrated its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival, Marion Cotillard could actually come back to Germany. Yesterday, the festival announced their line-up for the “Berlin Special” Gala screenings at the upcoming 60th Berlin International Film Festival. ‘Nine‘ is one of them – and it will actually be the festival’s Birthday Special screening ahead of its theatrical release in Germany. Upon inquiry by Welt Online they could not yet confirm any of the star’s appearances, though. Let’s hope Marion will attend!

On a sidenote, our site has been listed on The Fan Carpt and please stay tuned for our in-depth coverage of Marion’s Critics Choice and Golden Globe Award appearances. Thank you for your patience

Finally the new song written by Franz Ferdinand and performed by Marion Cotillard has been put up at LadyDior.com. It’s called ‘The Eyes of Mars‘ and Marion’s voice is stunning! You can also listen to it on our page with audio clips of Marion’s Songs.

It seems that there will be more to the 2nd chapter – how long do we have to wait for the video clip? – so stay tuned!

Meanwhile, the website reveals that Chapter 3, which plays in Shanghai and will feature a short film directed by David Lynch, will be called Lady Bleue (Lady Blue).

First some additional pictures of Marion Cotillard at the ‘Nine‘ screening in Rome.

Upcoming Events:
Today, Marion Cotillard will (probably) attend the 15th annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards ceremony as she’s nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Red carpet arrivials will begin at 4PM (PT). The Critics’ Choice Awards ceremony will begin promptly at 6PM (PT) and will be broadcast live on VH1 Television Network at 9PM ET/PT. Details at Locate TV. Then, don’t forget the Golde Globe Awards on Sunday. More on that later.

Upcoming Talk Shows:
The recently announced talk show appearance on Live with Regis and Kelly was quietly cancelled. It seems that it was impossible for Marion to go on the show since she was in Los Angeles at business meetings. Don’t forget to watch the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson this coming Monday evening. And a new talk show appearance to note down in your diaries: Marion Cotillard is scheduled to appear on the Tavis Smiley show, Tuesday, January 19 Thursday, January 21 on PBS. Check your local listings because not all PBS stations carry Tavis’ show and if they do, the times and sometimes dates vary. Many thanks Pushpak for the info.

For both the upcoming event and talk show appearances, I’d appreciate any help with getting good quality screencaptures and video clips for the site. Thank you!

This & that:
Some background information of what went on at last Saturday’s Dior Cocktail party:

“Nine” producer Marc Platt unveiled a video she shot for her “Nine” number “Take It All.” “You may all know Marion is an Oscar-winning actress, but what you may not know is that she’s a talented music video artist,” he deadpanned. The clip showed bits from the film, rehearsal footage and outtakes of Cotillard in the recording studio. “Aaagh, this is so embarrassing,” she laughed as the small crowd, including directors Jim Sheridan, David Lynch and Michael Mann, and Tobey and Jennifer Maguire, broke into applause. Although tout Hollywood seems to want to work with her, Cotillard says she’s next turning her attention to a personal documentary on conserving the forestlands, which she was inspired to do after some friends raised her awareness about deforestation.
• source: WWD.com via Stéphanie

Then the upcoming rumoured Marion project ‘Second Coming‘ was recently mentioned by The Arizona Republic in an article about women’s rising power in Hollywood:

But if you do, and your stock is rising, it can happen. Bullock is one example. Marion Cotillard, an Oscar winner currently starring in “Nine,” is another. She’s a producer for the upcoming “The Second Coming.”

“What’s interesting is that time has changed, and now you, as an actor, can find a good story by yourself and make it happen,” Cotillard said, “like Charlize Theron with ‘Monster.’ . . . There are many ways to find roles if it doesn’t come to you from a director or producer. More and more actors are producing their movies. Maybe it’s because of that – they aren’t happy enough with the offers they get, or they want to do something else that directors will not think that they’re able to do.”

Many thanks Aurore for the following heads-up. Hugh Grant visited Le Grand Journal to promote his new movie ‘Did You Hear About the Morgans?‘ in France. During the comedy re-cap of recent news and gossip called Le Petit Journal there was a funny skit featuring Marion Cotillard. Did you think it funny how so many famous Hollywood men posed with Marion for photographs at the recent Dior Cocktail Party in her honour? Well, that’s what they thought as well, and they found a way for everyday citizens (and Hugh Grant) to do the same.

During the 21st Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Marion Cotillard will be awarded the Desert Palm Achievement Actress Award. Congratulations! In 2008, she was awarded the Breakthrough Performance Award at the same festival.

“Following a distinguished career in French cinema, Marion Cotillard has firmly established herself as a major actress in American films,” said festival chairman Harold Matzner. “Her performance in Rob Marshall’s ‘Nine’ is nothing short of breathtaking.”

Past recipients of the Desert Palm Achievement Actress Award include Anne Hathaway, Halle Berry, Charlize Theron, Naomi Watts and Kate Winslet.
• source

I updated the Awards & Nominations page as well as the sidebar.

Yay! Marion Cotillard was nominated for her second Golden Globe (in the same category as 2 years ago):

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Sandra Bullock, The Proposal
Marion Cotillard, Nine
Julia Roberts, Duplicity
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
Meryl Streep, It’s Complicated

Other nominations for ‘Nine‘: Motion Picture, Comedy/Musical, Actor, Comedy/Musical (Daniel Day-Lewis), Supporting Actress, Comedy/Musical (Penelope Cruz), and Original Song (Cinema Italiano). Congratulations!

Earlier today the Broadcast Film Critics Association announced their nominees for the 15th Annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards. ‘Nine‘ and ‘Inglourious Basterds‘ lead with 10 nominations each – a new record! Marion was also nominated – Congratulations!

Best Supporting Actress
Marion Cotillard – Nine
Vera Farmiga – Up In The Air
Anna Kendrick – Up In The Air
Mo’Nique – Precious
Julianne Moore – A Single Man
Samantha Morton – The Messenger

Other categories ‘Nine‘ scored nominations in are Best Picture, Best Acting Ensemble, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Editing, Best Makeup, Best Song (Cinema Italiano) and Best Sound. The Critics’ Choice Movie Awards will be held Friday, January 15, 2010 at 9:00pm PST and will be broadcast live on VH1.

Marion Cotillard has been nominated a second time already for her performance in ‘Nine‘. This time by the Detroit Film Critics Society and in a different category (this is the only nomination for ‘Nine‘):

6. Best Supporting Actress
Marion Cotillard, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Mélanie Laurent, Inglourious Basterds
Mo’Nique, Precious

The 2009 winners will be announced on December 18, 2009. There really is some confusion regarding her placement. As we posted a while back, The Weinstein Company is campaigning her as lead since she has the most screentime of all the ladies and also to give the other actresses a shot at winning supporting awards. However, since ‘Nine‘ is an ensemble Marion’s role is maybe more aptly described as supporting. Let’s see how this’ll turn out. In my opinion, it’s just nice to see that her hard work is being appreciated as it is.