Unlike in the play, Edge says he wanted to include a glimpse of Garland’s adolescence in the film to give the audience a sense of everything the performer overcame in her life. While “Judy” focuses primarily on Garland’s final year, the movie does include flashbacks to her youth, beginning in 1939, when she’s a 16-year-old overworked child actor (played by Darci Shaw). It also probably brought a little bit of truth to the experience, because from my understanding, she was afraid that she would not perform at the level to which people had expected from her and she experienced stage fright. “So having that in the back of my mind was very liberating. “There was a little bit of freedom in knowing that there were nights where there were some misses and compromise and inability to access her full instrument,” Zellweger acknowledges, referring to the decline in Garland’s vocal abilities at that point in her career. Zellweger has sung in films before, most memorably as Roxie Hart in the 2002 adaptation of "Chicago." But she says she was scared when Goold requested that she belt out Garland's classics on set instead of in a studio prior to filming. But my memory of actually shooting on the day was more about the psychological narrative than a replication.” Of course, that’s going to replicate Judy - and we did vocal work and choreography to make it as true as possible. “What I wanted, really, was a connection with the story and to tell an emotional journey through song. “I think that’s what people do on cruise ships, impressions, and it’s not really sustainable,” Goold says. But he was also clear that he didn’t want the “Bridget Jones” star to do a note-for-note impression of Garland, singing live on set and bringing her own personality to the performance. Because Garland has often been “presented almost as a gargoyle,” the filmmaker says, he was hopeful Zellweger could channel her warmer side. Goold, who directed the film, says he liked the idea of Zellweger as Garland because he was drawn to the legend’s lighter side - the snappy comedian who always had a comeback at the ready. Having had some experience with that myself, maybe I knew to sniff it out and be a little bit more skeptical about ‘firsthand accounts.’ Everybody has a bad day and can be misunderstood.” “But considering the source was an interesting challenge - trying to understand the truth or the depth of the relationship. “Every night, there was something new to go to sleep with - reading and watching to make sure there wasn’t a tiny little gemstone hidden in the mix,” she says. There was a deep anger, irritation and protectiveness around her children. You could see in the space of the same paragraph, she would pivot from telling showbiz anecdotes to being more vulnerable and wary. “Beyond Carnegie Hall" and the pill-popping, the woman on the sofa seemed incredibly smart and vulnerable. “I was really kind of taken with her,” Edge recalls. ![]() He was most moved by the interview she gave to Barbara Walters in 1967, during which she sits beside two of her children, Lorna and Joey Luft. Tom Edge (“The Crown,” “Lovesick”), who was asked to adapt the play for the big screen, wasn’t particularly familiar with the show - or Garland herself - before signing on to “Judy.” So he began by scouring YouTube, hunting for videos of the legend in the late 1960s. The film is based on playwright Peter Quilter’s “End of the Rainbow,” a musical stage production that opened in 2005, played London’s West End and eventually went to Broadway. Under pressure, she turns up late or out-of-tune during her sold-out run at the cabaret club Talk of the Town, inviting scorn from critics and ticket holders. ![]() ![]() But she’s drinking heavily and can’t stop popping the pills that Hollywood studios forced on her during her adolescence. Millions of dollars in debt, she’s been forced overseas and away from her children to London, the only place she can find a paying gig. It’s 1968 and the “Wizard of Oz” star at 46 is no longer America’s sweetheart. 27 after hitting the festival circuit in Telluride and Toronto, Zellweger plays Garland in the final months of the performer’s life. In Rupert Goold’s “Judy,” which opens in theaters Sept. So I don’t understand the appetite for it, but there wouldn’t be a need for providing that information if there wasn’t a desire.” I didn’t tear through magazines about Judy Garland or anyone else growing up, looking for something that was salacious. “It might have been a little less direct then than it can be today, where you will be unapologetically asked about the nature or health of your personal, intimate relationships and the private choices you make. “It wasn’t shocking because I’ve never known any different,” Zellweger says.
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