The gloves are off. Anne Hathaway played nice at this year’s Oscars, where she was nominated for Rachel Getting Married, but now she’s serious about getting a statue. She’s doing whatever it takes to win, and whatever it takes is often doing a biopic about a beloved, doomed star. In this case: Judy Garland.
And just in case playing Garland – and singing songs! – in a movie wasn’t enough to guarantee an award, Hathaway will also be doing the role in a stage version. Yes, she’ll be Judy on stage and on screen in an adaptation of Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland, a 2001 biography.
Well, she’s ‘attached.’ No real deals have been made, etc etc etc, but the Weinstein Company have her on the record as wanting to do it. This is good for them – I’ve played games of Jenga that were more stable than the Weinstein Company these days, and having a name like this on the project helps – and for her, since Harvey Weinstein remains one of the Kings of Oscar (see The Reader undeservedly appearing at this year’s awards).
But it’s also just damn good casting. Hathaway has the looks, the chops and the lungs (for singing, you perv) to be Garland. And the story itself is prime biopic fodder: early success, ravages of drugs and drink, a life flushed down the toilet and a daughter who married a gay dude. I definitely hope this project comes together; right now there’s no writer or director.