Loren proud to be only Italian in 'Nine'

NEW YORK, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Sophia Loren says she is proud to be the only Italian in the star-studded movie musical "Nine."

Set in 1960s Rome, director Rob Marshall's film was nominated Tuesday for the Golden Globe for best musical or comedy.

Based on Federico Fellini's film "8 1/2," "Nine" features an international cast that includes Oscar winners Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman and Judi Dench, as well as American stars Fergie and Kate Hudson. Day-Lewis, Cotillard and Cruz also earned Golden Globe nominations for their work in "Nine."

"When Rob Marshall calIed me up and said, 'We are going to do this film about the story of Fellini and I would like you to be in it,' I was very proud of it because I was the only Italian in the film to be able to say Italian movies are still wonderful all over the world," Loren told reporters in New York recently. "So, I accepted in a very nice way and Rob told me -- he was lying, of course -- that he was not going to do the film if I wasn't in it. So, I said, 'For the sake of his career, it's OK, I'm going to be in it.' I did it and here I am to answer your questions."

Asked if she thinks Italians have changed from when she began her career decades ago, Loren replied: "Why should Italians be not the same as 40 years ago?"

"Italians will be the same always, all the time," the 75-year-old Oscar winner noted. "Italians are a people that have a lot of heart, a lot to say in every field and we will always be very successful ... and proud of being Italian."