Decca has announced that Renee Zellweger has recorded two new duets that will be included on the soundtrack album for the feature film JUDY: ‘Get Happy’ with Sam Smith; and ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’ with Rufus Wainwright.
The soundtrack album will be released globally on 27th September.
Long-time Judy Garland fan and fellow Academy Award winner, Sam Smith, said: “When I was 17 years old I did a project on Judy Garland for my Film Studies A-Level. I was immediately immersed into the magic of Judy and her incredibly brave and triumphant story. She has remained as one of the icons of my life. She was one of the bravest humans out there and her vulnerability and honesty in her art still gives me goose bumps like it did the first time. It was truly an honour to sing with Renée. Nobody could have played Judy as well as Renée, and it is a career highlight for me to be singing with her, and in some small way, with Judy. I hope everyone loves the film as much as I did.”
Rufus Wainwright, a self-professed Judy Garland superfan said: “Judy Garland has been a constant force in my life. ‘The Wizard of Oz’ was one of the pyramids of culture that I gazed at as a small child. It’s nice to come back and observe her again in the film and through this wonderful duet with Renee, her performance is astounding in a film that focuses on the love and the generosity that Judy always had for the world around her. It reminds me of how unique her life and art were.”
Zellweger herself sings all of the songs performed in the film. The Academy Award winner and three times Academy Award nominee (Bridget Jones’s Diary, Cold Mountain and Chicago) is joined in the film by amongst others Jessie Buckley (Wild Rose, Chernobyl), Finn Wittrock (Unbroken, The Big Short) and Rufus Sewell (TV’s The Man in the High Castle and Victoria).
A few weeks ago, Pathe released some brand new images of Renée Zellweger as Judy Garland and Finn Wittrock as Mickey Deans, which you can take a look at in the slideshow below:
For her upcoming movie Judy, Renée Zellweger has undergone a complete physical transformation to look like the Hollywood legend Judy Garland. To prepare for the role, the Oscar winner took music lessons, studied choreography and read up about the actress and singer, who shot to fame in 1939 when she played Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz but struggled later in life.
Here’s the official synopsis for the movie: Winter 1968 and showbiz legend Judy Garland arrives in Swinging London to perform in a sell-out run at The Talk of the Town. It is 30 years since she shot to global stardom in THE WIZARD OF OZ, but if her voice has weakened, its dramatic intensity has only grown. As she prepares for the show, battles with management, charms musicians, and reminisces with friends and adoring fans, her wit and warmth shine through. 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. Featuring some of her best-known songs, the film celebrates the voice, the capacity for love and the sheer pizzazz of “the world’s greatest entertainer”.
The biopic has been directed by British stage director Rupert Goold. The film also stars Rufus Sewell as Sidney Luft, Michael Gambon as Bernard Delfont, Finn Wittrock as Mickey Deans and Jesse Buckley as Roslyn Wilder.
If you haven’t yet seen the trailer for the movie, then take a look at the footage in the video player below:
What do you think of the news about Renée Zellweger singing with Sam Smith and Rufus Wainwright? Are you pleased with the casting of the movie? As always, we like to know your thoughts, so leave a comment below, tweet us @filmandtvnow or drop us a comment on our Facebook page.
JUDY will be arriving in cinemas October 2nd.
