{"id":33258,"date":"2021-08-30T21:47:37","date_gmt":"2021-08-30T21:47:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=33258"},"modified":"2021-08-30T22:01:53","modified_gmt":"2021-08-30T22:01:53","slug":"naomi-watts-princess-diana-movie-spencer","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/naomi-watts-princess-diana-movie-spencer\/","title":{"rendered":"Remember That Time Naomi Watts Starred in a Princess Diana Biopic?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Naomi
Naomi Watts in Diana<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Last week, we got the most extensive look yet at Pablo Larra\u00edn and Stephen Knight\u2019s upcoming Princess Diana biopic via the first official teaser trailer<\/a> for Spencer<\/em><\/a>. Set in 1991, the film stars Kristen Stewart<\/a> as the Princess of Wales, and seems to be an unintentionally perfect follow-up to the most recent season of The Crown<\/em><\/a>, which ended with Emma Corrin<\/a>\u2019s Diana considering leaving Prince Charles<\/a> whilst celebrating Christmas with the extended royal family. Spencer<\/em>, meanwhile, reportedly takes place during the Christmas holidays, and there\u2019s a shot in the teaser of the Windsors gathering for a family photo that\u2019s strikingly similar to the devastating final scene in The Crown<\/em>\u2019s fourth season.<\/p>\n

How Stewart\u2019s portrayal<\/a> will stack up against Corrin\u2019s remains to be seen — though Corrin has set the bar pretty high. One thing is certain though: Stewart has taken on a dicey job playing a figure like Diana. Obviously, neither actress is the first to play the princess, and Spencer<\/em> isn\u2019t even the first big budget, awards-bait-y film to attempt to shed light on her private turmoil. Eight years ago, Naomi Watts<\/a> attempted something similar in director Oliver Hirschbiegel\u2019s Diana<\/em>, and the result was disastrous. The film was pretty much universally panned, with some critics comparing it to a half-hearted Lifetime movie.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a germ of a smart biopic in Diana<\/em>,\u201d Ignatiy Vishnevetsky wrote for The AV Club<\/em><\/a> at the time. \u201cThe problem is that it\u2019s tucked away behind a clunky structure and even clunkier dialogue.\u201d The Associated Press, meanwhile, suggested<\/a> that, while not particularly good, the film had the potential to become something of a guilty pleasure for royal obsessives.<\/p>\n

With Diana-mania ramping up recently thanks to Corrin, Spencer<\/em> and Elizabeth Debicki<\/a>\u2019s role in The Crown<\/em>\u2019s highly anticipated fifth season, this seemed like a good time to give Watts\u2019 2013 performance another chance. I mean, sign me up for a royal guilty pleasure<\/a> any day.<\/p>\n