Scroll To Top
film

Judy's Stars Rave About Renée Zellweger's Portrayal in New Featurette 

Judy's Stars Rave About Renée Zellweger's Portrayal in New Featurette 

Renee Zellweger

Zellweger sang many of the musical numbers live in the upcoming biopic about Judy Garland's later-in-life London concert series. 

Support The Advocate
LGBTQ+ stories are more important than ever. Join us in fighting for our future. Support our journalism.

The highly anticipated biopic Judy, the Renee Zellweger starrer that focuses on Judy Garland's later-in-life London concert series "Talk of the Town," drops in theaters September 27. Now there's a featurette with never-before-seen scenes from the film juxtaposed with interviews with its stars, director, writer, and Rosalyn Wilder, the producer's assistant who essentially became Judy's right hand during those several weeks in London.

"As she left me in the corner and the lights hit her, she became the Judy Garland of legend," says Wilder, who's played by Jessie Buckley (Wild Rose) in the movie.

"I was absolutely stunned. I've never seen such a transformation," she adds of Zellweger's performance.

The film from director Rupert Goold is based on Peter Quilter's play The End of the Rainbow and bookends the "Talk of the Town" series with flashbacks to a young Garland as she's about to star in The Wizard of Oz.

"There are a lot of reasons I wanted to make this picture -- to look into the human side of this icon," Zellweger says in the featurette.

The film includes several beloved songs that Garland made famous, including "Over the Rainbow" and "The Trolley Song." Zellweger sang many of the musical numbers live, according to Goold.

"One of the things I'll always remember was seeing Renee sing 'Rainbow,'" says screenwriter Tom Edge. "Everyone in the room was spellbound."

"There's a reason why we're telling her story 50 years after her passing. That combination of spirit, and beauty, and humility, and grace, and empathy is so rare," Zellweger says.

"She mattered so much to so many people and she touched the lives of so many people. We want to show her the love that she shared with all of us."

The Advocates with Sonia BaghdadyOut / Advocate Magazine - Jonathan Groff & Wayne Brady

From our Sponsors

Most Popular

Latest Stories

Tracy E. Gilchrist

Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP of Editorial and Special Projects at equalpride. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.
Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP of Editorial and Special Projects at equalpride. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.