Javier Bardem (”No Country For Old Men”) has exited director Rob Marshall’s feature musical “Nine”, citing exhaustion from the past year’s work and awards-season schedule. Bardem, who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in the Coen Brothers’ “No Country”, was set to play Guido Contini, the lead character in “Nine”. The story is about a film director who experiences personal and creative crisis trying to balance all the women in his life. The Weinstein Co. movie is an adaptation of a stage musical inspired by Fellini’s movie “8 ½”. Bardem is said to have loved the script and the idea of working with Marshall but simply needs some time off, perhaps as long as a year, to recharge his batteries.

Bardem’s exit marks his second departure from a major project in as many months, following the announcement that Carmen Maura (”Volver”) has replaced him in Francis Ford Coppola’s family drama “Tetro”. That move was officially attributed to Coppola’s decision that the role was better filled by a female, though it has been reported that Bardem simply became unavailable.

The Spanish actor will next be seen in the Woody Allen-directed “Vicky Christina Barcelona”, which will debut at Cannes.

Source: Variety / Entertainment Weekly

Today I’ve updated the gallery with some high res movie stills of Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival next month, and Love In the Time of Cholera. Thanks to Maria of PenelopeFan.com for the Vicky stills!

Forget the Tribeca Film Festival! Javier Bardem is all about the Sahara International Film Festival.

The Oscar winner jetted off to southwestern Algeria near the border with the Western Sahara to partake in the cinema gala’s fifth installment Thursday and took time out of his schedule to visit the Dakhla refugee camp in Tindouf, Algeria. There, the 39-year-old was welcomed with open arms by numerous exiled Sahrawi families.

The Saharawis fled their native Western Sahara more than 30 years ago to escape Moroccan and Mauritanian oppression.

… Read the full story »

Spanish stars Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem are to marry, reports claim.

Bardem, who won this year’s Best Supporting Actor Oscar for “No Country For Old Men”, is thought to have proposed last month during a holiday in France.

Sources told the National Enquirer that he popped the question after mum Pilar urged him to take the relationship to the next level.

A friend said: “Pilar took her son aside and told him, ‘What’s the matter with you? She’s perfect! You love her, she loves you. Get married.’”

The couple began dating last summer after hooking up on the set of Woody Allen’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” in Spain.

The wedding is rumoured to be taking place later this year.

Source: Digital Spy

Please know that Javier Bardem Online is looking for any and all kinds of donations. Got a Javier film you could cap? A magazine to scan? A photoshoot set we’re missing? Please send it in! All donations will be properly credited and much appreciated by myself and fans of this great actor.

Nicole Kidman and Judi Dench might soon be dressing up to the “Nine.”

The Oscar-winning pair are in talks to join Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard and Sophia Loren in Rob Marshall’s adaptation of the Tony-winning Broadway musical.

The 1982 show, itself an adaptation of Federico Fellini’s autobiographical opus “8 1/2,” revolves around a film director (Bardem) juggling the demands of several women in his life.

The Weinstein Co. project was slated to begin principal photography in March but was postponed when the late writer-director Anthony Minghella didn’t have enough time to rework Michael Tolkin’s screenplay before the WGA strike. Extra work was needed to coordinate the choreography and Maury Yeston’s music and lyrics with a new draft. The film is now tentatively scheduled for a September start.

… Read the full story »

In what Francis Ford Coppola is calling a “sex change” operation, Carmen Maura is replacing fellow Spaniard Javier Bardem in the family drama “Tetro”.

Coppola said he rewrote the pivotal role during rehearsals for the film’s 11-week shoot, which began Monday in Buenos Aires.

“One of the important roles in the script is a mentor and teacher to Tetro (Vincent Gallo), and I originally wrote it for a man. As I read and reread (the script), I felt that the interaction between the two characters would be far more intriguing if they were of the opposite sex.”

The director often changes key elements of his script before and during filming, he said.

But according to another person involved in the deal, Bardem “became unavailable” for the project and is currently reading drafts of the script for his starring role in Rob Marshall’s adaptation of the Broadway musical “Nine.” Bardem, who recently won an Oscar for his supporting role in “No Country For Old Men,” never attended the rehearsals.

… Read the full story »

Huge congrats to Javier for the great honor! Photos will be added shortly.

The Actors Union Prizes were awarded at a gala in Madrid last night, with the gongs given to those who have excelled in television, theatre or film over the past year. This year the main Premio Homenaje went to actor Javier Bardem for winning an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor in “No Country for Old Men”.

In his acceptance speech, Javier Bardem commented that when he was told about the award that he thought it was a bit absurd that he was being given an award for having won an award, but that it was a very special prize to belong to a different race of people that had a lot to do with the love of life. Javier Bardem was visibly affected by the night and enjoyed the choice of his brother Carlos as Best newcomer.

… Read the full story »

I’ve added one new photoshoot, shot in 2005 for Vitals magazine. And another set of candids of Javier and Penelope on their vacation in France.

Check out these recently discovered fantastic photoshoots of Javier Bardem.

- 2000 Uknown Set
- 2005 Vanity Fair
- 2008 Vanity Fair