Helen Mirren, Oscar winner for her role in The Queen, will step into Bette Midler’s role opposite Al Pacino in the HBO film Phil Spector. The Hollywood Reporter reports that Bette Midler had to step down from the role after a herniated disc in her back put her out of commission; Midler may require surgery. Less than a week after Midler’s departure, HBO has announced that Mirren will replace her.
The film focuses on the relationship between music producer and now convicted murderer Spector during his first trial for the 2003 shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson in his home. Mirren will play his defense attorney, Linda Kenny Braden. The original 2007 trial resulted in a mistrial; in 2009 a second trial ended with a conviction and 19 year sentence for Spector, who continues to appeal in spite of the conviction being upheld by the California Court of Appeals shortly after the original verdict.
Mirren isn’t new to television work, nor is she new to working with HBO. She won an Emmy in 2005 for her work on the HBO film Elizabeth I about the life of England’s most famous female monarch before she went on to playing another Queen Elizabeth on the big screen. The actress has also taken home 3 other Emmy awards. The cast also includes Jeffrey Tambor of Arrested Development and is written and directed by David Mamet who was nominated for an Academy Award for . The impressive cast gives HBO high hopes of another successful award winner with the Spector film.