ROME, Oct 10: Italian actress Sofia Loren has agreed to play in a musical comedy inspired by the 1963 Fellini classic “8-1/2,” she said in an interview published on Wednesday.

“I’m going to have to sing and dance,” the 73-year-old screen legend told the daily Messagero.

“It’s important to go forward, and I’m ready to return to the set like a good little soldier,” said the actress, whose husband, Italian director Carlo Ponti, died in January.

The film “Nine,” to be directed by American Rob Marshall, will be shot in New York early next year.

Spanish actor Javier Bardem will step into the shoes of Marcello Mastroianni in the role of Guido Contini, a film director who juggles his relationships with his wife, mistress, muse, agent and mother.

The film also stars Catherine Zeta-Jones, whom Marshall directed in “Chicago.” Loren’s last film, “Too Much Romance ... It’s Time for Stuffed Peppers,” a comedy reflecting her passion for cooking, came out in 2005.

—AFP