A biographical film on the life of Classic Hollywood icon Judy Garland will be released this month. Filming a big budget feature about Judy has been a project that’s been talked about for years. With films like Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocket Man charting the box-office, the time seems right for the audience to see a glimpse of the life of Judy Garland on screen. ‘Judy’ is set to be released on 27 September 2019 in the United States and on 4 October 2019 in Europe.
Set in winter 1968, the story takes place 30 years after Judy played the iconic role of Dorothy in The Wizard Of Oz. When she arrives in London to prepare for a sell-out run at The Talk of the Town, she battles with management, charms musicians and reminisces with friends and adoring fans. Even her dreams of romance seem undimmed as she embarks on a courtship with Mickey Deans, her soon to be fifth husband. And yet Judy is fragile. After working for 45 of her 47 years, she is exhausted; haunted by memories of a childhood lost to Hollywood and gripped by a desire to be back home with her kids.
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. Renee Zellweger plays Judy Garland, a role for which she spent two hours a day in the makeup chair where she was transformed using a combination of prosthetics, contact lenses and wigs. At the Toronto Film Festival in early September, Renee received a standing ovation for her performance. 17-year-old British actress Darci Shaw plays the younger Judy. Rufus Sewell plays her second husband Sidney Luft, while Finn Wittrock plays her fifth husband Mickey Deans, and Michael Gambon plays manager Bernard Delfont.
Judy Garland’s children were not involved in the making the film. Judy’s daughter Liza Minelli stated in 2018 on her Facebook page: ’I have never met nor spoken to Renee Zellweger . . . I don’t know how these stories get started, but I do not approve nor sanction the upcoming film about Judy Garland in any way. Any reports to the contrary are 100% Fiction’.
