People talk a lot of smack about Judy Garland. History hasn’t always been kind to her – it seems that every year there’s some new revelation about Judy Garland’s drug usage, her (lack of) mothering skills, her bad finances and her bad marriages. But the woman was a star, and her struggles and multiple comebacks and falls from grace have earned her a place in diva history.

I’ve always thought that one of the reasons drag queens were so eager to embrace Judy was the simple fact that she was outrageously talented and incredibly ambitious, yet she wasn’t a stunner. She wasn’t one of those women who had a beautiful face that opened a thousand doors, and I’ve always thought that was her appeal. Not that she wasn’t pretty, because she was. But she wasn’t gorgeous, and her appeal was her cuteness, her spunk, her attitude.

Anyway, Hollywood is going to make another movie about Judy, this time based on one of her many biographies, Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland. Anne Hathaway is said to be in talks to star as Judy. The Daily Mail has more:

Hollywood starlet Anne Hathaway is in talks to play her movie idol Judy Garland in an upcoming film based on Gerald Clarke’s biography, Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland.

The 26-year-old actress is so desperate to appear in the movie – which charts Judy’s rise to fame and her struggle with drink and drugs – that she may have to sacrifice other projects, which include a lead role in a comedy called The Fiance.

The Weinstein Company has optioned the film and stage rights to the Garland story.
A Tinseltown insider says: ‘Anne dearly wants to do a musical and this could be her chance.

‘The big attraction is that it really will be her singing, not recordings of Judy. She is determined to do it justice.

‘If she nails the part, she will be a shoo-in for some big awards.’

From The Daily Mail

Anne Hathaway has a lot of the same qualities as Judy Garland – she’s talented and ambitious, without being drop-dead gorgeous. She has a cuteness, a vulnerability mixed with bad luck and bad taste in men. They even have the same kind of sad, intelligent eyes. Anne is rather Judy Garland-esque, and I think if Anne signs on, it would be a brilliant choice.

Several years ago, there was a television-movie about Judy, going through the span of her life. They had a young Broadway actress portray the young Judy, then the incredible Judy Davis portrayed Judy Garland in her later years. Considering Anne Hathaway is the only one rumored to play Judy at this point, I suspect this film will deal with Judy’s life post-Wizard of Oz, but before the drugs really got to her.