It's pretty shameless for me to be posting this picture of me with Academy Award winner Javier Barden who I met at the Oscar nominees luncheon back in February. But I can be shameless at times, as we know.

But here's the real news and it really is disappointing: Javier has dropped out of the big-screen version of the musical "Nine" being directed by the gifted Rob Marshall ("Chicago"). He had the lead role of Guido Continim, a film director who experiences personal and creative crisis trying to balance all the women in his life.

Bardem, who won his Oscar for his scary performance in "No Country for Old Men," cited exhaustion not only from film work but also from a hectic awards-season schedule. Variety reports that the actor says he might need as much as a year off to recharge. He had previously dropped out of the Francis Ford Coppola-directed "Tetro." But he does have a film already wrapped: the Woody Allen-directed Vicky Christina Barcelona, which will debut at the Cannes Film Festival.

Get some rest Javier!