The Dish: October 9, 2009

Radcliffe takes on big Business! The boy wizard himself, Daniel Radcliffe, is set to take on a role in one of Broadway’s most celebrated musicals. The 20-year-old Brit made his American theatre debut last year in the sell-out, well-reviewed revival of Equus and is now, according to Variety, going to head up a new production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. The popular musical first opened on the Great White Way in October 1961 and went on to win seven Tony Awards and the 1962 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The musical follows a young window cleaner, J. Pierrepont Finch, who uses a self-help manual to fight his way to the top of the financial world. While this latest version isn’t the first modern revival on this side of the pond, the Matthew Broderick-led 1995 revival starred holds that title, it certainly has the distinction of probably having the largest built-in fan base before table-readings even begin in December.

Kristen vs Christina: Cross your fingers for a catfight Following the success of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, a stint on "Heroes" and now a co-starring role in ensemble comedy Couples Retreat, "Veronica Mars" hottie Kristen Bell is going all Pussycat Dolls on us to play a burlesque dancer in, wait for it, Burlesque. This project, described as a "musical drama" by the Hollywood Reporter, stars Christina Aguilera, treading familiar and true-to-life territory as a small-town girl with a larger-than-life voice who hits the road in search of stardom and makes her mark at a Cabaret-esque neo-Burlesque club. Bell will play Aguilera’s spitfire rival Nikki who gets all kinds of jealous when the new girl gets more attention. The cast also includes Stanley Tucci as a man who helps turn Aguilera's character into a full-fledged star and Cher as the club’s owner. Set to direct is actor-producer Steve Antin, aka Robin Antin's bro, aka the woman who created the Pussycat Dolls, which seems about right.

Weinstein moves Nine to December The Weinstein Company has pushed back the release date of Rob Marshall’s start-studded, highly anticipated film, Nine. The musical, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman and Penelope Cruz and based on Federico Fellini’s 8 ½, was set to hit the big screen on November 25 but will now open wide on Christmas Day. The studio has made it clear the change is unrelated to delays with the film itself, insisting the final cut has already been locked and no tinkering is needed. The reason behind the move seems likely to be removing competition from Viggo Mortensen’s The Road, another TWC production opening on Nov. 25. Nine’s new release date puts it up against Warner Brothers’ Sherlock Holmes and Universal’s It’s Complicated.

Reitman joins Ghostbuster III, in some capacity With our boy Bill Murray, not to mention the other original ghostbusters Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson, and object of affection Sigourney Weaver, previously confirming their involvement in what would be the third installment of the hugely popular franchise. Ghostbusters III was already shaping up to be a return to the mainstream '80s comedies that went for big laughs, never took themselves too seriously and entertained the entire family with enough subtle jokes and innuendo for the adults. Now graphically-named BloodyDisgusting.com has revealed that Ivan Reitman, who directed the original and the sequel, has also signed on for part three, though what exactly he'll be doing is still unclear. Whether or not Reitman directs could be the deciding factor between whether this flick bombs or blows up at the box office. Who do you think should direct Ghostbusters III?