3 photos in galleryHave we talked about this yet? I don’t think so. Ergo, let us take some time this fine Thursday to make a massive snap judgment, based ENTIRELY on a very small set of photos, of whether we think Naomi Watts playing Princess Di in this movie has potential. Let your knees jerk, Fug Nation. If nothing else, maybe it will feel like cardio.
[Photos: Fame/Flynet]
Comments (144):
I see potential.
But I also see my 5th grade teacher, Ms. May.
This is one of my favorite GFY comments ever. I don’t know… it just struck a chord.
Is this for an acting job, or just a random whimsical style change? It’s awfully aging on her either way.
She’s playing Diana in a movie about Diana.
I like Naomi Watts. From an acting perspective, she may very well hit it out of the park in her portrayal of Diana, but I think the hair and wig department got it wrong. Diana’s hair certainly changed over the years, but those of us who were little girls when she got married and idolized her know that her hair never looked like this. Looks so obviously like a wig to me. Wish they had used Naomi’s real hair.
A) This movie should never have been made.
B) You’re are spot-on with the Camilla Parker-Bowles assessment. It’s almost like her hair and makeup team are Team Camilla.
C) Even Naomi can’t redeem this idea.
She looks older than Diana ever lived to be in all of those pictures, and kind of terrible. This is not her look, unless they’re going to be doing a whole lot of post-production.
I though the same thing! Diana never lived to look that old.
My first thought too. Way too old looking. And I can’t believe in some of the shots, as Heather mentioned, her look invokes Camilla Parker Bowles. So, based on the pictures alone, I say no, not a good first impression.
I thought old too — but I also thought — and not in a snarky way — that she would be terrific as Camilla.
So many people have said she is Diana’s doppleganger (Love that word!). I don’t see it.
Same thought, she looks too old!
That’s what I thought when I saw pictures of Lindsay Lohan as Liz Taylor
That was my thought too. Naomi Watts is a lovely woman, but she’s about 8 years older than Diana was when she died. It shows. I think that’s one reason she’s evoking the Parker-Bowles – Camilla’s older.
Yes…too old.
I agree- Naomi is a beautiful and talented actress but too old for the part . People in HOllywood do lack sense sometimes…
I’ve got to agree with all of the above. Definitely old, and definitely Camilla-esque. The thing is, Diana had such a delicate way of carrying herself, and such trademark facial expressions, it’s going to be a hard sell regardless. I’m just not sure Naomi can carry herself with the kind of air that Diana did, no matter how much she looks like her (or doesn’t).
OMG I thought the same thing…Good God Diana never looked that old and isnt Naomi the same age as her when she died??? Sheesh…..
That’s because she never lived to BE that old! Diana died at 36, Naomi is 43.
I also totally saw Camilla!
I think Diana had a longer face, and when Naomi’s shot from above (with her shy confidence look), her face looks longer and therefore more Diana-esque. But when shot from about any other angle, Naomi’s face shape is more Camilla’s face shape. And Camilla has a lot more hair at the sides of her face than Diana ever did. Well, okay, it was the 80s and Diana did have a LOT of hair at the sides of her face, but it was heavier (like physically weighed more) and didn’t blow around as much and look as wispy and older-ladyish as Camilla’s does and as this hair on Naomi looks to be doing. Diana’s hair did not move, and Naomi’s hair (or wig) apparently does, and that combined with the not-the-same-shaped-face thing throws off the whole Diana look.
Although you’re right. The proof is in the three-dimensional, real-time acting stuff, and not stills.
Spot on description of the differences.
Agreed, Daffodil nailed it. My first thought before reading any of the post beyond the headline was that she looks like Camilla and not Diana. Only in the last photo, she looks more like Reese Witherspoon,’s mom than either one of Charles’s wives. The 1982 Lifetime-esque movie about how Charles and Diana met did a better job than this mess.
This is absolutely it. I think I like Naomi Watts as an actress, though I can’t say that I ever developed a strong feeling about her either way. Just that I don’t put her in the category of fluffy no-talents; on some level, I accept that she has Acting Ability. So it doesn’t conceptually bother me that she’s taking on this role, but physically, I think this difference in face shape (articulated so well by Daffodil) is going to prevent her from really physically capturing the look of Diana, though that would not prevent me from getting into the movie if she acts the hell out of it.
Confession: I don’t really get why so many people idolize Diana, but I generally like movies about British monarchs, so this might appeal.
Wow, you articulated exactly what I was thinking!
I just want her jacket. It all depends on how good the accent is. But seriously-where do I get that jacket?
she’s british!
She’s NOT British. She’s Australian.
Actually, Naomi IS British. She lived in Australia as a teenager. I think we’re just doing that thing we do of claiming people we think are cool.
That first picture reminded me SO MUCH of Camilla. Her hair is not right. Diana’s was much shorter.
Exactly – Diana never wore it that long, or curly like that. Very weird that they got the wig that wrong (and that Camilla-ish!). It’s not as if there’s a dearth of photo and video to work from, and the blazer (incl. the color) certainly look like a Diana outfit.
When I saw this photo very quickly I went “oh what is Camilla Parker-Bowles wearing this time?” and then whoops, supposed to be Lady Di. They might want to address that wig.
Exactly what I did. Seriously, I thought it was going to be a post about how Camilla was kind of creepily starting to look like what Diana might have looked like if she’d grown old. So…I have to say this is not working.
Not feeling it. Naomi is very pretty, but she is not the classic, regal beauty that was Diana. That wig is awful and not Diana-ish at all. I’m not sure who could compel me to see the movie anyway, as I find it too sad and a bit invasive. The woman died being chased by paparazzi. She’s been photographed enough. I wish we could just leave her alone, especially since she’s not here to defend herself.
this this this this! The whole thing is “Just… no.”
Well, but plenty of movies are made about people who’ve died under tragic circumstances — not sure that’s a compelling argument against it. Nobody seemed to mind “My Week With Marilyn” existing, for example, except in the sense that it was a lousy movie (okay, personal opinion there). I don’t think you can declare her verboten but not everyone else.
That’s a good point, Heather. It just seems like Diana was hunted for so much of her life. And that everything about her life has been rehashed 1000 times. It doesn’t seem like this movie presenting a new angle. It is quite possible that Marilyn was similarly hunted, but since I never saw her alive, I don’t perceive it the same way. Which is probably inconsistent. And I agree with you about “My Week With Marilyn” not being a great movie. In spite of having a pretty great cast.
Yeah..it just shouldn’t be happening.
I never really thought Diana was beautiful personally. I mean compared to Camilla and Sarah Ferguson and Charles, sure she was the looker of the bunch…but compared to Grace Kelly or Kate Midleton I don’t think she’s that pretty. Doesn’t mean she wasn’t a good, kind and admirable woman or anything, in fact I think when people wax poetic about her appearance it distracts from the charity work and such that she acomplished.
That is just crazy!!!…Diana was a true beauty for the ages and would have been considered so at any time in history…just think of how even in the awful 80s and 90s outfits she looked so stunning.Kate Middleton is just a passably attractive woman with great hair and figure and tons of make up…without her makeup she would look rubbish and will not age well….
I agree. If the spirit and intention is there then the movie will be fine. We shall see. I like Naomi Watts in general and I think she was a safe choice. Like what if they chose Taylor Momsen to play Diana? It would be like choosing Lindsay Lohan to play Elizabeth Taylor. Wait. What?
Ha!
I also saw Camilla in the first two pics because that rolled feathered hair look is totally her. I agree – Camilla is the LAST person Naomi should resemble in this film. While I agree that what matters is what Naomi brings to the character and how she uses the material, you also don’t want the audience to say “Wait, why are there two Camillas in this film?”
I seem to remember seeing other pics of Naomi in character a few weeks ago, and she looked just like Princess Di. Maybe this is just an unfortunate combo of bad wig/bad styling?
I’ll echo what the others have said: she looks way more like (a younger version of) Camilla than she does Diana.
I’m also not sure about Naomi as Diana. Not that she’s a bad actress, because she’s not. I just…I don’t know. I have a hard time with biopics in general, especially when the person being portrayed is still living or hasn’t been gone a long time. I mean, fine, do a movie about Marilyn, about Elvis, whatever. But I think with someone like Diana, they should have waited longer. But that’s just me.
She died 15 years ago… R.I.P. It’s not that recent!
In that last photo she looks more like Hillary.
I am also seeing Hillary. Which is certainly not their intention. I’m willing to have faith that Naomi Watts can pull it off, but the styling is making her look far, far older than Diana ever was. Unfortunate.
I also saw Hillary in the last one.
I’m another who thinks the wig is dreadful and Diana never wore her hair like that. I read that Naomi has extensive make-up and a prosthetic nose and I just don’t see how they couldn’t get her nose to look more like Diana’s in that case. I just don’t see it at all.
I saw Camilla in the first two and Hillary in the last.
Remember when Chastain was supposed to play this role? I was actually behind that casting.
I think Chastain might have looked better in the role, but she’s a little too short and a little too curvy to have played Diana. With some good hair colouring and the right makeup, I think Gwynneth Paltrow might have pulled it off–she certainly has the same kind of statuesque presence. But who boy, we’d never stop hearing about how awful she’d be in the role, just because people pick on Gwynny so much.
She looks like a young Camilla, not Diana. Lo siento.
I hate to say this but I think this is going to be terrible in a Lifetime-movie kinda of way. Which is a shame, because I very much like Naomi Watts both as actress and her public persona as well…
I think Jessica Chastain was a very good choice… She’s more in Diana age bracket, she’s a very competent actress, and she looks a bit like Diana in certain angles.
Agree about Chastain….similar proportions of face, strong nose, large wide eyes, a more classical body type. Her coloring is different, but that could have been easily changed for the movie.
Naomi is thinner and more fine boned than Diana, and the facial features, especially the nose, eyebrows and cheeks are not similar. Good actress though, but Jessica might have been more convincing…
I’m sure people will kill me for saying it…but based on looks am I the only one who thinks Blake Lively has a resembalance? Its hard to picture bcause of the hair and the tan and the boods….but her face shape and nose and eyes….I kinda see it
I’m totally with the Blake Lively choice. She could have pulled it off. Diana was looking a wee bit hard towards the end, and this movie is about the last year or two of her life.
It would take a Swank level acting job for this casting to end well.
I think the hair, as many have said, is too light & fluffy, instead of thick & shiny as I remember Diana’s. Also, Naomi as Diana looks far older than Diana ever did in life, which just makes me sad that we never got to see her get to that age
I agree with Pat; she looks like Hillary in that last shot. Also, are we being served Kir Royales while on our chaise loungers?
Naomi watts plays Katie Couric. NO! HELL NO!
Agreed. I thought I was looking at Katie Couric in a Diana wig in each of these pics.
My thoughts exactly! I don’t think that is terribly promising because I would associate, well, absolutely nothing about Katie Couric with Diana.
Oh, thank God! I thought I was the only one who saw that!
YES. Esp Pic 2.
Yes! Totally Katie Couric.
Agree she looks too old, especially because (i assume?) the movie will start off with her being younger and getting married… but I guess it could be about her last days or something; I don’t know much about it!
I like Naomi Watts, but for my money she looks more like Nancy Regan than Diana.
Diana never looked this dowdy. Where’s the dazzle?
Unless Prince Harry plays himself in this movie – I will not watch.
I really like Naomi Watts, but I’m having a hard time picturing her as Lady Di. You are spot on about the Camilla Bowlseque hair – that is just so wrong. Plus, Diana was quite a bit taller I would think. But, if Naomi can pull this off, and I’m sure she wouldn’t have been cast if she couldn’t, then kudos to her.
Would Charlize Theron have been a good choice, perhaps?
Unfortunately, Naomi is too old and too petite to really evoke the concept of Diana. Plus, that wig is so far off the mark – and that’s the one thing that they had full control over, in terms of bringing to mind Diana!
She went from Diana to Camilla to Margaret Thatcher in 3 pictures. That’s quite a feat!
Yes! You nailed it!!!
Yes, that’s what I’ve been thinking. The suit and pearls are pure Thatcher
Naomi as Marilyn was hard for me… Gorgeous, but way too thin: (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IeoCDtDWgMk/TP-uKYyPSMI/AAAAAAAAA0M/Jy3Ej0Yqf8c/s1600/020naomimarilyn.jpg) It’s not convincing! Now, as Lady Di? I’m sorry, but I don’t see it either! I found this picture comparing the two (http://revistaestilo.abril.com.br/blogs/festeiras/files/2012/08/naomi-watts-lady-di.jpg) and she has Diana’s humble demeanor down, but looks older, not as classically elegant and the hair is all wrong! This shot from the movie looks a little bit better (http://i2.cdnds.net/12/27/618×412/naomi_watts_princess_diana.jpg), but I’m having a hard time buying it!
I agree with the dessenters. She is too old and (sorry) not pretty enough. And I like Naomi Watts. Just not as Diana. There was some posh girl who played Diana once, she really looked like her too. Catherine Oxenberg.
I read that as “some Polish girl”
I didn’t realize the world was clamoring for another Diana biopic.
@jen: I think Naomi is plenty pretty, she just doesn’t look enough like Diana!
The thing is, I think Naomi skews more pretty, and Diana was more handsome. Both are (were) extremely attractive women, but in enormously different ways. This is perhaps why Chastain might have been a better choice — she’s more on the handsome scale.
I like Naomi as an actor but thing she’s all wrong for this. Mostly I think she’s too old and doesn’t even bear a resemblance to Diana. That hair too is pretty bad. I thought Michelle Williams was totally wrong for Marilyn too but she won me over with her spot on portrayal. I guess that’s all we can hope for cause looks wise is a no go in my opinion.
Diana had a *very* signature nose, was tall, and not-considerably-but-noticably-enough younger than Naomi is now at the time of her death. I don’t require a spot-on impersonation either, but it seems very odd casting to me … which is kind of rad, though, because when Naomi inevitably kicks major ass, she’ll be able to turn to all of us and go “You’re welcome.”
Any Canucks here in the commentariat? She looks more like Kim Campbell than anyone else I can think of. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/2/4/h4-3475-e.html/
Yes! Fellow Canuck here……and the Kim Campbell likeness is striking.
THAT’S who it is! I went with Margaret Thatcher, but yes, Kim Campbell is IT.
Yep! I see it too ~ now I can’t un-see it!
Every time I see photos from this movie it drives me nuts. Couldn’t they have least TRIED to the get the hair right? Diana’s hair was distinctive and this isn’t it.
This!! Diana’s hair was SO striking and pretty much hers uniquely, and was one thing it seems like a good H’wood team could totally NAIL. Whoever’s responsible for this should be fired, I want complete re-shoots!…
why do you give me naomi sans liev? she’ll be out tons in the next few months….you ladies better give us some liev! sorry, i’m just in love with both of them.
I said to myself when I saw that photo, “Wow! Camilla looks good!” Huh, not Camilla at all. Someone playing Di. Kinda eerie
Notes on the casting: Leelee Sobieski needs to fire her agent
Good one!
I think you’re right. I could totally see Leelee rocking this more convincingly, even with that hideous hair job….
Ha, not a bad choice didn’t think of her…the eyes are close….though she looks more like Helen Hunt than anybody else.
I think we should file this one under “Oh, Dear.”
Somehow she seems to old to play Princess Diana. Diana had a special star power that very few celebrities have.
This isn’t right. I think they should’ve gone with an unknown who’s a real dead ringer, if they could find one who could act. Watts will be fine performance-wise; not great, but not bad, as always; but the look is all wrong.
I agree with assorted remarks that a good deal of this is the fault of styling. The hair is making itself known to me in ways that I wish it wouldn’t, ditto the makeup, and the clothes are wrong, too. Look at those Chiclet-white pearls! Old pearls (the kind you inherit, or get to wear by marrying into a family with loads of them) are more ivory…
And the clothes tailoring is terrible. Cheap. In fact I think this is just straight off the rack.
Late to the party here, but chiming in anyway. Naomi is aging gracefully, but she’s too old to play Diana. Her acting ability may make up for it, but all I’m seeing in the first two photos is Camilla and someone approaching Betty Ford in the third. That wig is way too Camilla. I was about 2 feet away from Diana not long before she died and she didn’t look this old.
You were lucky!
She looks more like Camilla in these pics. Not good.
I’ve seen other pictures (not close-ups) where she looks a lot like Diana. I’m not seeing it here though.
I think Uma Thurman could have totally rocked that role, though.
Awesome Camilla Parker Bowles costume, Katie Couric!
Wait, what?
My knee-jerk reaction kicks this far, far away!
This goes straight to the list of Movies That I Never Want to Waste My Time Watching.
NO!!!! You can’t hear me but I am screaming. This is terrible! And I love Naomi Watts. However this is way too much Camilla and not enough Di. Oh the irony…
DO NOT WANT!
Thanks to digital photography we now see WAY more detail than we used to. It’s not doing Naomi any favors and I think she might be just fine on film. It’s much kinder and she’s a pretty fab actress.
Frankly, it’s still too soon to have anyone be truly convincing for those of us who remember seeing Diana during her time in the public eye. I don’t envy Naomi all of the comparisons that will continue to be made, regardless of her acting skills. Also, knowing how short Naomi is, I really can’t imagine who they have cast to play Charles.
My first thought was that she looked more like Camilla, which I see you addressed. I don’t think she looks like Diana at all, really. Compared to Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe, this is a very poorly done “transformation”.
I think she’s a dead ringer for Tina Brown!
Looks more like Camilla P-B to my mind.
Nope. Not even close. Hair’s completely wrong, too old (and I’m in NO position to be ageist)! She looks more like Camilla.
The clothes are not as impeccably tailored and as perfect as Diana’s. How could they be?
Totally Camilla! I think it is hilarious that everyone else thinks so too. And the last photo could be a young Hillary Clinton or a young blond Sally Field. Poor Naomi, it doesn’t matter if she can imitate Diana’s expressions and mannerisms, she simply doesn’t look like Diana. The shape of her face is completely different. Pictures of Naomi dressed like Diana gives me the same reaction as when someone runs their fingernails down a chalkboard.
SALLY FIELD!! That is exactly who I thought of when I saw the last photo!!
I shall chime in with the NAYs – no me gusta…no bueno… *smh*
When biographical movies are made so close to the time of the person’s life, memory will serve to oppose it.
But for posterity, I think Naomi Watts is up to this job.
However whomever is on the hair/makeup/ and costumes section of this film, should be replaced if this isn’t already in the can…
Diana had highlighted hair, not a complete bleach out.
Her hair was always in great condition, always appeared recently cut, and her later haircuts were far, far more youthful and elegant than what is presented here.
The suit is wrong- It’s an unflattering shade of polyester blue, and the tailoring is wrong.
I hope the script is better than the makeup/hair/ and costume design…
Thank you! You just saved me the effort of writting a comment. My point exactly.
Just have to add that, whether we like it or not, Diana is more remembered as an ever impeccable styled media icon than as a charitable princess, a mother or a woman vying for happiness.
Even if the movie’s fair goal is to focus on Diana, the “human being”, I do think that an outstanding manifestation of her human quality was a very obvious interest on looking as elegant and fashionable as her wealth and physical features allowed her. This shouldn’t have been overlooked or downplayed while conforming her character.
I see zero potential. She looks pudding faced. Maybe with voice will be okay?
I enjoy Naomi Watts, but this is not working on any level.
What bothers me is that she is too old – not meaning too old looking, but too old in that the actress has had the great fortune to live longer that the person she is portraying. And that fact somehow seems to both draw attention to the age difference and make it repulsive like …Hey, we are going to make a movie about a famous person who died an early tragic death and we plan to have the lead actress look and be older than Diana ever got to be – creepy and offputting.
I guess she could be Diana’s MOTHER. But the real problem is Naomi’s basic confidence, which only seems accentuated in these pix. Diana didn’t have that.
Great point, Melly. Diana was so shy and coy and in these pics Naomi looks like an 80s woman running for congress. That hair/wig is horrendous. Thank you for all the giggles on this post, fug girls!
Yes 80s woman running for congress. The outfit. The hair. The expressions. All of it is wrong.
Oh, and also there are Naomi’s eyes. They are smiling, even when her face is not, and look so lively. Diana’s always had that haunting, sad, shy, scared look about them. It was part of what made her so arresting to look at — such enormous beauty, and wealth and privilege, and yet such powerful sadness.
I think she looks like Camilla in all these pictures! How did they even manage that – Naomi Watts is so gorgeous!! I’m sure acting-wise they’ll be great, but I am super unimpressed by this. She looks SO. OLD. Older than Diana ever lived to be, and older than Naomi herself has ever looked. This is not promising.
and by “they’ll” I mean “she’ll”. Sorry. It’s been a long week of Olympics-watching.
NO,NO,NO! How did they manage to make Naomi look so old. Completely failed at Diana. Agree with the comparisons to Maggie Thatcher and C. P. Bowles.
I can see a resemblance in the first picture but the second two don’t work. I guess it depends on the angle. I have to say that this isn’t really something I want to see made at all, like the Lindsay Lohan as Liz Taylor movie.
Not as much in these, but in most of the shots I’ve seen of Naomi as Diana she looks exactly like Tina Brown.
If Naomi’s IQ is in three digits, she’s overqualified to play … that person.
Ha! Good one.
Wow! This Camilla looks good.
http://www.lux-zone.org/celebrity.html
I saw Camilla at first too. Maybe it’s a hologram playing mind games with us. Or just a lil’ ol lady senator from Down South in the U S of A.
It’s such a relief to see so many Camilla references because I thought I might be going a bit batty. When I first saw the thumbnails, not having read the title, I really thought this was a story about Camilla getting a makeover.
That hair is NOT Diana hair. It is all kinds of Camilla Parker-Bowles hair.
Diana was so charismatic. Watts in these pics is just so really, really bland.
Please, no. Watts doesn’t even come close.
Except that she’s entirely too old to pull off the part, they should have gotten Denise Crosby. She always made me think of Diana, and vice versa.
Not a reasonable facsimile
she doesn’t look anything like diana in any of those photos. she looks too (i hate to say it), lined in the face – aka old. she looks like someone’s middle-aged frumpy mother in the last photo. i do not see any resemblance at all.
that being said, normally watts does not look old at all and i love her in the painted veil.
According to wiki, Naomi is 44 and 5″4.5 in height and Diana was 5’10 and 36 when she died. There is no similarity apart from shared dyed blonde hair and blue eyes. These things rarely work and is in bad taste. Let the woman RIP!
Denise Crosby was born in 1957 and way too old. Apart from dyed blonde hair and blue eyes, there’s no similarity.
I think Watts will pull it off when we see her moving about. I’d rather have a good actress than a total look alike. Blake Lively might look more like her, but her chops aren’t there. Really, really not there. I remember all the 1980s movies about the romance of Charles and Diana and Amanda Oxenfield, Oxenburg? played Diana and she looked just right, but again, not much of an actress despite her Dynasty bonafides.
There’s someone in the royal family who looks just like her too. Is is Zara? It’s a strong resemblance.
It seems like they didn’t want to do a carbon-copy of Diana’s now dated hairstyle–in their attempt to make it a bit more modern and flattering (for some reason) they completely missed the mark. I think Naomi is the right caliber of actress to pull this off, but agree that she is too old and I remain very skeptical.
Totally agree with the age-discrepancy issue. Loved Diana, love Naomi, but not sure this is right. Not sure who else should’ve done it though, either. And I’ve seen other stills that looked a bit more Di than these.
But.. that third shot might… sort of … remind me of a younger Hilary Clinton. :-O
Ah, I belatedly realize @SKGD noted the same similarity!
I had no idea what this was about when I glimpsed the photo. I hadn’t read any of the text at all, and I thought, “Oh, who’s playing Camilla?” Wouldn’t it be nifty, though, if the movie takes a bizarre twist where Diana and Camilla just kind of meld together? I’m not clever enough to take it any further.
Nooo. I love Naomi and I loved Diana, but just NO. Naomi does look to old (and she is at least eight years older than Diana lived to be) and too Parker-Bowlesian. I don’t doubt that Naomi’s acting will be great, but no, no, no.
Naomi Watts is one of my favorite actresses but this looks terribly unconvincing! Emily Blunt had a much better Princess Di look in 5 Year Engagement…
When I first saw this in the feed I thought it was a picture of Camilla. I think they got the hair wrong. Something isn’t quite working… I think Diana’s innocence – whether authentic or not – is really hard to replicate.