MINNELLI'S PLEA TO GARLAND PRODUCERS

Actress Anne Hathaway will be tackling The Wizard Of Oz star's hits as part of the Weinstein Company's planned theatre and film project, based on biographer Gerald Clarke's 2001 book Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland.

Garland's daughter Minnelli has approved of casting Hathaway in the role - but is convinced the new versions must focus on her mother's talent instead of her well-documented personal problems.

Minnelli tells Canada's Citytv, "Well, I love Anne Hathaway. And I hope that it's a good movie and I hope that it's true. You know, that they don't just concentrate on the crap like they usually do.

"(I hope) that they talk about her the way she should be talked about which was she was a fabulous entertainer, a great mother and just a wonderful human being."