By Renée Zellweger is playing Judy Garland in an upcoming biopic, Judy, which mostly focuses on the last year of the iconic entertainer’s life. In a photo released as production began in March, it’s clear Zellweger looks the part, appearing identical to Garland in the photo.
But that doesn’t mean Garland’s family is on board. In a statement, her daughter Liza Minnelli noted that she doesn’t endorse the movie and hasn’t been working with Zellweger at all on her portrayal of Minnelli's late mother.
Minnelli posted on her Facebook page in response to an online article (which has since been taken down) that claimed Zellweger was working with her during production of the movie. 'I have never met nor spoken to Renée Zellweger,' she wrote. '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.'
Judy will examine Garland’s life as she performs her final shows in London in 1968, interacts with her management, and starts a relationship with Mickey Deans, her fifth and last husband. Garland died a few months after those London performances due to an accidental overdose of barbiturates. The movie will showcase some of Garland’s most famous songs, like 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow.'
It’s unclear whether other members of Garland’s family are involved in the production of Judy. Minnelli’s half-sister, Lorna Luft, wrote Me and My Shadows: A Family Memoir, which was turned into a 2001 miniseries. Neither Zellweger, Luft, nor the producers of Judy have responded to Minnelli’s statement.
On June 11, Minnelli shared a video of herself performing with Garland on Facebook. 'She was taken from Lorna, Joey [Luft], and me far too soon,' she wrote to honour what would have been Garland's 96th birthday.
