The legacies of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton are getting a shot at redemption, after being tarnished by the widely panned Lifetime biopic "Liz & Dick" last year.
BBC America released a first-look photo at its upcoming TV movie "Burton and Taylor" on Tuesday, and from the looks of things the new take on the Liz and Dick romance will receive a vast and much-needed improvement.
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The 90-minute movie, which BBC America is co-producing with Dramaville, follows the famous Hollywood couple during their fill-fated appearance in a 1983 revival of the Noel Coward play "Private Lives." Helena Bonham Carter is taking on the iconic role of Elizabeth Taylor, while Dominic West ("The Hour") will play her on-again, off-again lover Burton.
The Lifetime production "Liz & Dick," which starred Lindsay Lohan as Taylor and Grant Bowler as Burton, was savaged by the public and critics alike, with TheWrap noting, "It's impossible to feel any emotional connection with the characters, because, as portrayed here, they're self-centered asses. It doesn't help that the dialogue is awful, and that many scenes are less than 30 seconds long, which doesn't allow us into the characters' heads. The scenes are strung together by sub-sitcom transitional music that at least tips us off to the disposability of the entire movie."
Also read: 'Liz & Dick': America Reacts, Savagely
(The biopic did, however, draw a respectable 3.5 million viewers for Lifetime. Blame it on the trainwreck factor if you must.)
"Burton and Taylor" will premiere on BBC America in the fall.