Rob Marshall’s exquisitely crafted movie musical, “Nine,” finally premiered in New York last night. It opens on Friday.

One person who saw it at the Ziegfeld premiere but won’t be coming back: star Daniel Day Lewis. “It was nerve-wracking” he said later of sitting through the premiere and watching the movie. What made him so nervous? He declined to say. But frankly, DDL makes a very convincing Guido Contini. He has nothing to worry about. And at the big party later at cavernous M2 in West Chelsea, DDL was accessible and fun. He posed for pictures with well wishers and entertained wife Rebecca Miller’s famous actress aunt, Joan Copeland, younger sister of the late Arthur Miller. DDL also got to meet legendary crooner Tony Bennett, who declared “Nine” a “masterpiece.”

Still: “That’s the one and only time I will do that,” Daniel told me, even though the audience loved him, loved “Nine,” and the ladies in it so much that they were applauding the musical numbers before they ended.

And in the audience were all the cast with the exception of Sophia Loren, who was working in Rome.

Penelope Cruz even brought boyfriend and rumored fiancee Javier Bardem, who was originally going to play Guido but backed out after his role in “No County for Old Men” exhausted him. Her favored director and pal Pedro Almodovar was also on hand.

Kate Hudson, looking like a million bucks and happier than ever without baseball star Alex Rodriguez, was accompanied by mom Goldie Hawn. When I mentioned to Goldie that Kate’s performance was reminiscent of her own on “Laugh In” back in the day, Goldie laughed and said: “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!”

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Nicole Kidman’s 18-month-old daughter, Sunday Rose, is not only walking and talking but using baby sign language.

“She’s picked it right up,” Nicole told me yesterday at the swellicious lunch for the cast of “Nine” at the super fantastic Michelin star rated Per Se restaurant overlooking Columbus Circle.

Kidman was joined at her table by Anna Wintour, director Ron Howard, Harry Connick, Jr. and wife Jill Goodacre, Ingrid Sischy and Sandy Brant, and movie financier Ryan Kavanagh.

But around the Per Se dining room, as a select few dined on chef Thomas Keller’s delectable morsels, it was quite a scene. “Nine” stars Daniel Day Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Dame Judi Dench, and Kate Hudson were divided up to captain their tables. And the guests weren’t bad, ranging from “Nine” director Rob Marshall, his choreographer sister Kathleen, to Liz Smith to Larry King, Cynthia McFadden (who really should be on “Good Morning America”), plus Bob and Lynne Balaban, Joel Grey, Tommy Tune, TV’s Bill McCuddy, casting director Amanda Mackey, and so on. It was all A-list people eating A-list food and saying A-list things. Harvey Weinstein was thrilled. His movies picked up about 25 nominations from the Broadcast Critics, and several more from different critics groups. And this is what people had to say:

Daniel Day Lewis thinks Jeff Bridges should win the Oscar for “Crazy Heart.” “Everyone loves him,” DDL told me, “and he’s so good.” Judi Dench told me that DDL has changed “completely” since the time they did “Hamlet” together on stage in London and Daniel had a breakdown. “He’s remarkable now,” Dench said, then told me all about starring in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” this winter at the National Theatre in London. “It’s extremely sold out,” she informed me when I asked about tickets. She also said she was thrilled finally to meet Joel Grey, Broadway’s sort of unofficial mayor. “He was in Cabaret!” Dench exclaimed.

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Rob Marshall’s “Nine” is finally making the rounds of early screenings, really early, and getting lots of love.

Over the weekend it was apparently shown to visiting press junketeers, members of the Directors Guild, the Hollywood Foreign Press, and the British Academy. At the DGA, Nora Ephron hosted the screening, then interviewed director Rob Marshall afterward.

It’s too early for reviews — opening day isn’t until mid December and there’s still not a final print. But there’s a lot of buzz for the actors, starting with  Daniel Day Lewis, Penelope Cruz and Marion Cotillard. Here’s a clip

Not to say the many other famous women don’t score; they do. Each of them — Fergie, Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench, Sophia Loren — have smaller roles (as well as a show-stopping number). Here’s the trailer

Kidman, however, is getting a lot of kudos for her performance of the show’s hit, “Unusual Way.” Geffen Records may wind up putting it out as a single. You may recall that Nicole had a hit record a few years back on a duet with Robbie Williams of “Something Stupid.”

A couple of the numbers are already floating around on YouTube as fans seem to be making their own videos in anticipation of the real thing:  Fergie’s “Be Italian” is sensational as one of the songs designed to make people leave the theater humming. And Kate Hudson’s “Cinema Italiano,” written for the movie, looks like a knockout in this new trailer

I did a hear a funny story from the international press junket. Sophia Loren, who is so magnificent and legendary, had to get used to Daniel Day Lewis staying in character all the time. Someone asked her about it, though, after the American actresses all sort of nodded and said it had been fine for them. Loren, though, laughed when she was asked: “It was very strange!” she exclaimed, shaking her head.

As for Oscars and all that jazz: it does seem as though Marion C will wind up in the lead actress category, alongside Meryl Streep, Gabby Sidibe, Carey Mulligan, and Helen Mirren, maybe. Penelope goes into Supporting, with Patricia Clarkson, Mo’Nique, Julianne Moore, and maybe Diane Kruger or Mariah Carey. The various races have begun! It’s a good thing January is such a long month.