From day one, Lifetime‘s made-for-TV biopic about the life of Liz Taylor has kind of been royally screwed. First, they had to make the Sophie’s Choice of either casting Lindsay Lohan or Megan Fox, so clearly, acting ability wasn’t a requirement. Then when they eventually picked LiLo for the publicity, she then proceeded to throw a diva fit, demanding she go to Europe to find an appropriate Richard Burton, because she’s a casting agent now. Then they decided to shoot the whole movie in front of the paparazzi, thus proving that the whole thing really was just an attention grab vis-a-vis Lohan’s constantly slipping nipples. By now, I’m assuming whoever greenlit this movie has his lips wrapped around a gun, so here’s Lifetime’s PR people trying to convince People that this whole thing isn’t turning into a freckled shitstorm.
When Lindsay Lohan first walked onto the set of Lifetime’s Liz & Dick dressed as screen legend Elizabeth Taylor, “there was an audible gasp,” the movie’s costume designer, Salvador Pérez, tells People. “You’d swear it was Elizabeth.”
Dressed in Taylor’s favorite styles — jewel-toned cocktail dresses, fur coats and those famous gems (well, good fakes) — the actress looked remarkably like her screen idol. “She just walked into the clothes and became Elizabeth Taylor,” says Pérez.
Producer Larry Thompson had some of Taylor’s most famous bling, including the 33-carat Krupp diamond, recreated for the film. “Part of the magic is the wardrobe,” he says. “And Lindsay said she wants to bring magic to the movie.” Many of the vintage dresses fit her like a glove, too; Lohan’s waist measures a tiny 23 inches, while Taylor’s was a mere 22 inches.
Lohan will wear 66 different looks in the 80-minute biopic, which begins in 1961, ends with Richard Burton’s death in 1984 and focuses on their tumultuous relationship (an affair while she was still married, two weddings and two divorces). To prep, Lohan hired a voice coach and even dyed her auburn hair a deep brunette to better match Taylor’s dark tresses.
Which is all fine and good, until you remember the following:
- This is a Lifetime Original Movie. These are the people responsible for Mother May I Sleep With Danger?, which is how you tell someone in Hollywood they gave you chlamydia.
- Lindsay Lohan was never exactly the greatest actress in the world. Or the most professional.
- Did I mention the attention-grabbing clusterfark this whole thing has become? That needs repeating.
[PHOTO | TMZ]