Renee Zellweger looks different again, and this time it’s because she looks just like Judy Garland. The Oscar-winner transformed into the legendary singer on the first day of principal photography for a new biopic.
Zellweger will star as Garland in Judy, a film about Garland’s final concerts in London. The film is being produced by BBC Films, Pathe and Calamity Films.
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The project was first announced in October 2017. The script, by The Crown scribe Tom Edge, will center on Garland’s 1968 concerts in London. She was booked for five weeks at the Talk of the Town nightclub, but her fragile state at age 47 and her desire to be with her children in the U.S. made the performances difficult. Garland’s relationship with her last husband, Micky Deans, will also be a part of the film.
Garland completed the run, and left for a show in Copenhagen. She returned to London, where she died in June 1969.
Judy will be produced by BAFTA winner David Livingstone for Calamity, with British stage director Rupert Goold directing, reports Variety. Goold is a Tony nominee who helmed 2015’s True Story with Jonah Hill and James Franco.
The film will include many of Garland’s most beloved songs, with Zellweger performing.
The rest of the cast includes Michael Gambon, Finn Wittrock, Bella Ramsey, Jessie Buckley and Gemma-Leah Devereux.
Zellweger is an Oscar-winner for her supporting role in 2003’s Cold Mountain with Jude Law and Nicole Kidman. She also sang as Roxie Hart in the 2002 Best Picture winner Chicago. Before Judy comes out, she will be seen in Blue Night with Sarah Jessica Parker.
Zellweger took six years off from the movie business, but made a comeback in 2016 with Bridget Jones’s Baby. Last year, she appeared in Same Kind of Different As Me with Greg Kinnear and Djimon Honsou.
As for Garland, she remains a beloved figure in Hollywood history, 49 years after her death. She starred in countless great musicals, including The Wizard of Oz and Meet Me In St. Louis. She was nominated for Academy Awards for performances in A Star Is Born (1954) and Judgement at Nuremberg (1961).
Photo credit: Twitter/ Pathe Films
