Naomi Watts in the first trailer for Princess Di bio-pic ‘Diana’: budget or decent?

Last year, we covered some of the set photos from the Princess Diana movie starring Naomi Watts. Just going by the photos alone, I was not impressed. The wig looks super-cheap and the clothes – while appropriately dated – look SO budget. The film was originally called Caught In Flight, but now it’s called Diana. Don’t think that this is just a straight-up bio-pic though. It’s not. It’s pretty much about the last year of Diana’s life, when she was in love with Hasnat Khan, a Pakistani surgeon (in the film, he’s played by Naveen Andrews). Khan and Diana dated quietly for a while, but she really wanted to marry him and he really didn’t want to marry her. So they broke it off and she got with Dodi Fayed in the summer of 1997. And the rest is tragic history. Anyway, that’s what the film is about and now we have the first trailer from the film:

God, I’m sorry, but this looks terrible. Maybe I was hoping for too much, but seriously, this is the best they could do? This was supposed to whet our appetite? You know what this trailer reminds me of? Liz & Dick starring Lindsay Lohan. I hate to shade Naomi Watts like that, but seriously. Naomi really doesn’t look like Diana at all, and this trailer is just trying too hard to be evocative and sad and it’s just… bad. Plus, I really don’t think Naomi “got” Diana. Naomi gave a few interviews where she talked about Diana’s life, and I just feel like she fundamentally misreads what Diana was all about. But maybe that’s the problem with Diana, almost 16 years after her passing – she has become a cypher, a symbol, a haunting image that various people use for their own devices. I guess it was too much to expect something more like Stephen Frears’ The Queen.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.

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89 Responses to “Naomi Watts in the first trailer for Princess Di bio-pic ‘Diana’: budget or decent?”

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  1. Emily says:

    It’s better they go for a better actress than someone who just happens to look like her. What does it matter that she isn’t her doppelganger?

    • Spooks says:

      I actually think she looks quite a lot like Diana, only prettier.
      Can you think of any actress that resembles her more?

      • anna says:

        Natasha Mcelhone looks a lot more like Diana than Naomi Watts does. She would have been a good choice. Also closer in age and taller

      • xxx says:

        Oh my gosh, yes! Natasha! Great pick. With the right hair she would look like an amazing Di… And she has the sad eyes too. Perfect.

    • teehee says:

      She doesnt look like her, in my opinion– Diana had giant expressive eyes, and Naomi has small hooded ones with no energy in them 😛 Just my opinion added to the mix in addition to yours 😉

    • nico says:

      I agree.

      Movies are filled with actors/actresses playing people they don’t look like.

      Sissy Spacek as Loretta Lynn
      Jessica Lange as Patsy Cline
      Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe
      Cate Blanchett as Katherine Hepburn

    • gogoGorilla says:

      Charlize probably could have rocked it out.

      I agree it’s better to go for a good actress than just someone who resembles the person, but Diana was so iconic, it’s hard to separate the person from her image.

      Hopefully the script will be good, at least.

    • TheOriginalKitten says:

      Completely agree with Emily but I also cop to being a Naomi fangirl 🙂
      I don’t have a huge interest in this movie but NW is one of the few actresses that compels me to watch any movie that she stars in.

      What a great day on C/B-a Hardy post AND a Naomi post! yay!

  2. T.fanty says:

    That looks like just a random catalogue of famous clothing she wore. And I know that it’s sixteen years on, but it still feels exploitative.

    • Anna says:

      Eh, no more so than showing demented Elizabeth Thatcher – WHILE SHE WAS STILL ALIVE.

      • linlin says:

        Who is Elizebeth Thatcher? Do you mean Margaret Thatcher? Or Elizabeth Taylor?

      • Amelia says:

        Elizabeth Thatcher?
        T. Fanty, I agree that the premise of this film doesn’t quite seem . . . appropriate.
        Apparently a great deal of guess work has gone into the script regarding how they first met, etc.
        It’s certainly a very audacious project. I do think it probably would have been better to just leave her memory in peace.

      • Anna says:

        OH GOD. wires totally crossed. Yes, Margaret Thatcher. In ‘The Iron Lady.’ NO idea what I was thinking (or if were thinking at all). Thanks guys!

        @Amelia (and the rest):
        As more of a general question, why should we leave Di’s memory in peace? I mean, as opposed to any other famous person who gets a movie or TV show made about them, whether they’re dead or alive? Are you saying that we shouldnt make those kinds of movies (biopics) at all, period?

        Or is it just Di? If just Di…then why not spare this treatment: Liz Taylor? Margaret Thatcher? Queen EII? Ray Charles? Liberaci? Princess Grace? Any other royal, president, actor or actress?

      • TheOriginalKitten says:

        Yeah…I dunno. It’s sort of like all the 9/11 movies that came out not even 10 years after. A lot of people were outraged but it personally didn’t bother me. I also didn’t have an issue with The Iron Lady or this Princess Di biopic either.

        It could also be because I don’t have a huge hard-on for Di..? I mean, I respect her greatly but I was just never invested in all things royal.

        Do you guys feel the same way about the Hilary biopic that’s slated to be made or is it just because Di’s death was so tragic that it bothers you?
        Curious….

      • Leah says:

        Elizabeth Thatcher!! Lmao!!

      • Anna says:

        @Leah –

        It is a VERY long work day in Russia >.< !!!!

      • T.Fanty says:

        Late to the party – my apologies. I personally didn’t like Diana at all, but I think that a) the circumstances of her death merit people generally backing off. She was hounded to death, and it was the beginning of this kind of paparazzi culture that is now so beyond control, and I feel that to pay to see the movie is buying into and validating that. And, b) something about her sons. They were very young when she died, and have had to live out their grief in the public eye, and they are still overshadowed by her. It just feels a little improper to be gawping at the more sordid details of her life and drag her sons (especially Harry, who will have to go through all the paternity insinuations again) through the end of her life, which was, frankly, a bit of a mess.

  3. Tanguerita says:

    The trailer looks truly awful, but I really doubt that Diana was that interesting a person in the first place.

    • ds says:

      Yes; it’s one of the worst trailers I’ve ever seen

    • xxx says:

      Agreed. The thing is… and I hate to say this, but I’ve met quite a few people who met her over the years, were at dinners with her, had conversations with her, etc. All of these people have said the same thing. She was lovely and very sweet, but not particularly bright and she didn’t have anything particularly interesting to say. I think she has been blown up into this saint-like figure of perfection and that just wasn’t true. She was a flawed human being who was caring and loving and was able to telegraph that to others.

  4. VioletCrumble says:

    “….she has become a cypher, a symbol, a haunting image that various people use for their own devices.”

    I couldn’t agree more.

    I was never really a Diana fan, but the fact that these people continually drag up her last years, preying on her lasting appeal in order to make money, is cheap and obscene.

  5. Anna says:

    It strikes me just how much NW does not look anything like PD, even with all the styling. It’s jarring. Also, I think the large height difference is an issue, bc PD’s tallness affected so much how she sat, carried herself, the presence she had.

    But the trailer is…effective. Any time that I am not looking at NW’s face I am totally sucked into the drama. This is mostly credit to the editing and the musical score, so I am skeptical about how this will hold up in long form. But I will definitely watch.

    • Az says:

      I absolutely agree with you about the height difference being a major issue. That was precisely what bothered me most in that traler. Princess Diana’s height and the way she carried it was an intrinsical part of her image.

  6. Dirty Martini says:

    Darn, those clothes do look cheap. They may capture the time period, but they in no way look even closely like Diana from a material, fit etc perspective /

    Calling K-Mart shoppers…..

  7. Kelly says:

    Brought a tear to my eye. That picture of Diana is stunning

    • Bubbles says:

      I’m really trying to see her beauty, but Diana looks so so plain to me.
      She was an amazing person, though, probably the only royal I’ve ever liked.

      • Kate says:

        She wasn’t a classic beauty by any stretch, but she had, for lack of a better word, a light. There was something really *compelling* about her. NW isn’t serving that in her portrayal and I think that’s why she’s not working for me in this.

      • bluhare says:

        Kate: Exactly. She can’t portray the charisma Diana had. Not even close.

      • Chicagogurl says:

        People really connected to Diana’s vulnerability and shyness, similarly the way she showed strength and brought attention to such important causes. While not classically gorgeous, she was completely beautiful inside and out….but where in most cases confidence make people more beautiful, it was Diana’s self doubt and ability to use her power to help others that made her beautiful and protected by her fans….and it mad her so sad. She kind of always carried this sadness. This was a woman who felt alone in a crowd with people cheering her name. I think an actor would have to tap into some deep pain/loneliness to get Diana and this looks like a “surface” movie. I bet the script doesn’t go that deep. The last year of her life was not the most interesting….am curious why that is the subject. Hilary Swank would have been my pic for the actress to play Diana.

  8. DanaG says:

    Naomi Watts looks nothing like Diana and after read her interviews she didn’t bother to really understand her or the situation. Naomi is best known for being pretty when she cries which probably got her the gig. The hair looks awful and the outfits while the right date look cheap and not what Diana wore. Her clothes are so embedded in history to try and do cheap almost looks like something she wore once doesn’t hack it. Just someone else trying to make money of a sad situation!

  9. GoodNamesAllTaken says:

    I think Diana was younger looking, had much more beautiful eyes and skin, and an air of vitality mixed with vunerability that NW doesn’t capture, at least in the trailer. Diana’s beauty was more unusual. NW is pretty, but not in the same way. She looks like an older Diana on bad hair day, who just learned how to make her own clothes and jewelry.

    • kaligula says:

      Well put. Diana was/is inimitable. Weird how she takes my breath away even just thinking about her, and I have negative feelings towards the royals as a rule. There was just something about her….

      I think Naomi will do a fine job in the film, though, as far as acting goes. I’ll never waste 90mins of my life watching it, however. There is such a thing as overexposure isn’t there, when it comes to a given story or person….

    • kaligula says:

      Omg, I take it back! Hadn’t watched the trailer yet! It looks really good & I *will* see it!!

  10. cabfan34 says:

    Naveen Andrews is in this. He was my favorite lostaway

  11. smee says:

    She looks like a young Camilla more than Diana, to me.

    • Anahnemus says:

      You nailed it! And in the fourth picture her hair looks so similar to Camilla’s.

    • dahlianoir says:

      Exactly !

    • Liberty says:

      Yes — I was just about to write that. I honestly glanced at the photo and assumed it was the Camilla character with her blowsy hair and open pony club grin for the crowd.

    • Liberty says:

      And in the second blue suit image, she looks like Jane Fonda’s character in Monster-in-law.

      And like Tina Brown of the 90s in the video still.

    • Kate says:

      I loved Diana but I don’t really have any interest in this. I would line up for the midnight opening of the Camilla movie though.

    • Katttt says:

      I actually glanced briefly at the cover photo and thought it was Camilla…

      • taxi says:

        Yes – the pic in the blue suit looks like younger Camilla. There are so many pictures of Diana that better wigs should have been used. A fake nose & darker brows would have helped too.

        Diana was far from pretty. The stylish look she eventually developed was very strong & dramatic, & she her unsated needs for attention & validation always came through as magnetism combined with vulnerability.

  12. DianeP says:

    Naomi Watts looks nothing like Princess Diana, and the clothes look like they belong in a budget made-for-TV movie. Plus she’s too old.

  13. Liz says:

    It looks very lifetime channel. It took days to be sold at Cannes and all the big companies passed so I’m guessing its just not very good and I think Naomi as beautiful as she is, looks to old.

  14. serena says:

    It looks really budget but not ‘that’ bad. I’ll give it a try.

  15. DeE says:

    Anne Hathaway probably could have captured the likeness & vulnerability of the Princess

  16. Elle says:

    Oddly enough, Naomi reminds me more of Camilla in these photos than she does of Diana.

    • Mel says:

      You’re right, she does! It’s the smile, mostly. But also her facial features in general are closer to Camilla’s than to Diana’s.

  17. poppy says:

    they took 2 attractive women and made one ugly one?

  18. lisa2 says:

    I don’t know why they made her wear a wig. It would have been better if they had just cut her blond hair.

    I was and not a Royal follower. Was not a fan of Diana’s and don’t really find the whole family that interesting. But you don’t have to look exactly like the person to play them.

  19. Po says:

    I don’t think that these two women’s lack of resemblace to each other is the issue. The issue is that when I saw the few shots from the trailer, there were no other similarities. The way she stood, the facial expressions, there was nothing. It could have been the length of the clip but if that’s the problem they need to do better on editing trailers because the only vibe I got from it was that I should expect it on LMN very soon.

  20. ruby says:

    Gosh she looks nothing like Diana, it’s jarring ! And has no charisma whatsoever. Say what you will about Diana but she had presence. This is just meh.

  21. moon says:

    I’m going to give it some leeway and blame it on the badly edited trailer.

  22. Feebee says:

    It’s a bit sad the first major film about her looks so disappointing. I will probably watch and since my expectations are so low maybe it won’t be too bad.

    First thought was ‘well she/they tried hard, but computer says no’. I don’t think actors have to be a doppelganger but if they’re not then they have to be extra good as capturing the person as a whole. It doesn’t look like that’s happened and a bad wardrobe hasn’t helped. Diana never looked budget.

    • Bacon! says:

      ‘Compu-ah says no’ – thank you for that unexpected bit of Little Britain this morning, I needed it!

  23. Laura says:

    I am not sure I will see this movie. I’d rather a movie about Diana’s entire life versus two silly romances she had, especially when one involved a 6 week fling (not much of a love story).

    Seeing that picture of Diana makes my heart ache a little. She was a very unusual looking lady — much softer and beautiful in her younger years, she looked a little rougher when she got older which was most likely from sun damage to her skin and her awful hair style at the time.

    It makes me sad to think of the current royal family. There isn’t anyone that has the same magic or ability to capture the hearts of the public the way Diana did. Kate Middleton is sometimes nice to look at but there is zero substance to her. She is simply a living doll, who never says anything intelligent and seems primarily concerned with shopping and what she looks like versus Diana who I’m sure cared about her appearance but seemed more involved in her charitable role than being arm candy for a man.

    It’s too bad that Diana made such deadly choices — mainly being involved with someone like Dodi Al Fayed (the guy seemed slimy to me and that the situation involving him and Diana was motivated by his father’s interests versus any great love story between the couple, although I could be wrong since they’d only been together for around 6 weeks when they died) and not wearing her seatbelt.

    I often wondered if William and Harry would have turned out differently had she lived. I think Harry would have largely remained the same fun loving trouble maker he sometimes is, while perhaps William would have been less of the whiny, cold fish he’s become. And maybe he would have married someone a little more dynamic than Kate.

    It’s all speculation of course so it doesn’t matter.

    I hope Diana is resting peacefully and that she continues to be remembered for the incredibly flawed yet inspirational woman that she was.

    • bluhare says:

      A truthful Diana film would interest me a lot more than this romantic twaddle. I’m with you.

      (Although Naveen Andrews blows Hasnat Kahn out of the water.

  24. RHONYC says:

    and what in the ‘Beyoncé-world-of-fake-hair-we-WEAVE’ is that cheap ass hair on her head???

    i mean seriously, that’s the BEST Diana wig they could come up with?

    a f*cking disgrace, really. 🙄

  25. kibbles says:

    Has anyone seen “The Five Year Engagement” with Emily Blunt? She dresses as Princess Diana at a New Year’s Eve party in the movie and she looked so much more like Diana than Naomi Watts does here, and Emily is a good actress. I would have loved to see Emily Blunt in a movie like this. I think she would have pulled it off.

    Here is a photo of Emily as Diana in the movie: http://images.dailyexpress.co.uk/img/dynamic/79/285×214/317224_1.jpg

    Update: Found this while I was looking for an image. Apparently Blunt turned down this role, but might play Diana in another movie based on the memoirs of Diana’s former bodyguard. http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/76279766.html

  26. Simply Red says:

    The still shots does no justice to rep Princess Di in no way at all..

    I wonder what the royal family thinks ??

  27. Murphy says:

    Naomi looks nice but the wig is AWFUL.

  28. m says:

    Am I the only person who thinks that unauthorized biopics are in truly bad taste?

    We know so very little about what goes on the private lives of these people and yet once on celluloid it gets referenced as fact.

    Hollywood does enough rewriting of history with their movies about various historical events, surely the lives of people who we all remember should be off-limits. (as should letting people like the horrible Paul Burrell ever cash in any more on Diana – if rumours about a movie based upon his book are true)

  29. RHONYC says:

    P.S.~

    Naomi = short, cute & unassuming

    Diana = TALL, REGAL & ELEGANCE INCARNATE

    so not a match.

    *drops mic* :mrgreen:

    • anet says:

      THANK YOU. Piggy nose, small featured, fare haired woman tend to exude the same unattractive features. I’m offended for the late Diana.

  30. Maggie says:

    Wow! Could they not have chosen someone else for this part? Naomi looks so old! Nicole Kidman would have been a better choice. At least she has the height. Plus she’s a much better actress.

    • minxx says:

      Nicole has the right height but her face stopped moving about 10 years ago. Besides, she has a very annoying “third lip” and Naomi is a far better actress, just not as overrated/priced as Nicole.

      • Maggie says:

        Third lip??? I disagree about Naomi being a better actress although I do like her. I just think Nicole could have pulled it off despite the botox or whatever she’s done. Naomi really looks old. Bad skin!

      • boredbrit says:

        I think she means there’s a weird swelling at the bottom of NK lips. Probs because of her lip injections. Her makeup artists use lip liner above this ‘third lip’ ( kinda obvious because you can still see it) to prevent her lips looking even more slug-like.

  31. Ginger says:

    Budget! She looks nothing like Diana. I do think Watts is a decent actress so maybe she can make something of it. It still seems like something for the Lifetime channel.

  32. aenflex says:

    I adore Lady Di. I simply adore her. There aren’t words.

  33. boredbrit says:

    WTF. Why have they given her old lady hair? I know nothing about styling hair/wigs but bloody hell, I could do a better job.

    • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

      Also, I don’t think Diana styled her hair that way at all during the time period in question. Or ever, on purpose, anyway.

  34. Fue McCormick says:

    … the first thing I thought of when I saw NW in the evening gown was “where the hell is the rack?” C’mon … Diana had a nice rack!

  35. Camille (TheOriginal) says:

    If Michelle Williams can try and play Marilyn Monroe (big fail), then I’m sure Naomi has done her best to try and capture Diana (imo Naomi is a much better actress than Michelle for starters). I’m no Diana stan, but I think Naomi looks like she is doing a decent ‘Diana’. I’m not going to bash it until I see it.

  36. anna says:

    Natasha Mcelhone would be a great Diana. She’s younger than Naomi Watts and is as tall as Diana was, and most importantly she looks like her. I wonder if the casting directors offered the role to her?

  37. Mel says:

    I can’t understand the styling at all… Are they blind? Don’t they know how to do a crisp hairdo, such as Diana wore? Oddly enough, the hair matters a LOT in this particular case.

    Also, the makeup and the clothes themselves just don’t look right… The clothes often look like bland, inexpensive knock-offs.

    Finally, Naomi’s facial expressions and overall “vibe” she seems to be giving off in clips and photos is just so NOT Diana. She is much meeker, somehow. there is no edge to her.

    I think Jessica Chastain would have been the perfect choice.
    Or Natascha McElhone, as someone else said. Definitely one of them.

  38. lisa says:

    it looks cheap and lifetimey

    that’s too bad because i think naomi watts is a really good actress, very subtle

  39. miasys says:

    Wow, I forgot how gorgeous Diana was, and how much William favors her, except for his unfortunate hairline. I think Harry got her charisma, though. I’m not getting a strong Diana vibe with Naomi, but am reserving judgment until I see the movie.

  40. anet says:

    NO. That is no Diana. I like Naiomi Watts as an actress…but she does not exude the shape and beauty/persona of Princess Di…not in the least. It’s like the latest Marylyn Monroe all over again. Another reason not to see the movie.

  41. ParisPucker says:

    Naomi is immaculate. i don’t think she would have agreed to have done this movie if the script and cast members showed signs of it likely to suck. She can pick her projects, and would she have signed on if it was going to be bad? Di’s life was a circus and was the stuff of tabloids: tacky by nature. I don’t think this necessarily means that this film will result in this category as a result. Again: team Naomi. I absolutely adore her and again, can’t see her failing or signing on for rubbish. I have high hopes. Hope I’m right on this one…

  42. T says:

    Is it me or does Naomi look more like Camilla, in the photos and trailer, than Diana. Talk about the ultimate shade. The woman has been dead for over a decade and you make a biopic with her looking like her ultimate rival?