I was able to obtain a copy of the complete (uncut) miniseries, which for some reason only aired in its full form in Europe and Australia, while North Americans only saw an edited three hour movie on ABC.
It's mostly based on the 2001 book, "Natasha: The Biography Of Natalie Wood" by Suzanne Finstad, but due to time constraints and especially legal issues, many things had to be glossed over or omitted. The book went over the suspicious circumstances surrounding Natalie's death (the case was re-opened in 2011 and the investigation is still ongoing as of this writing), but due to threats of a lawsuit by Robert Wagner, the ending had to be changed. Again, because of legalities, the actor/producer who raped Natalie in 1955 had to be referred to by a pseudonym, since he was still living at the time. Her sister, Lana Wood, who served as a co-producer, recently revealed his true identity, which was not a shock to me, but it was terrible that he got away with it.
In terms of the actors, most of them did a good job but some were hit and miss in terms of resembling who they were portraying. Justine Waddell was a good choice to play Natalie, although I do think that she bears more of a striking resemblance to Natalie's eldest daughter, actress Natasha Gregson Wagner. Michael Weatherly was good as Robert Wagner, and Matthew Settle could definitely pass for the young Warren Beatty. Nick Carpenter is one of the better actors to have portrayed James Dean, Paul Pantano is a dead ringer (pardon the pun) for Sal Mineo, and Alice Krige did a formidable job in the demanding role of Maria Gurdin, Natalie's obsessive, controlling and star struck mother. She lived vicariously through her daughter, almost sadistically. Nathalie Roy was an excellent choice to play the adult Lana Wood.
The recreation of the film sets that Natalie worked on, the costumes, locations (I found myself forgetting that it was actually filmed in Australia), and songs featured in the film were so fitting and fantastic, and all of the child actors in the movie were adorable and delightful.
I have to say the portrayal of Robert Wagner isn't very flattering, and you could almost see where it was going before the "oh, it was all just a tragic accident!" was tacked on.
If you can obtain a copy, you really should see the entire miniseries to get the full experience. Interviews with people who knew Natalie as well as archive footage was included. A must for any Natalie Wood fan or a fan of classic Hollywood.
It's mostly based on the 2001 book, "Natasha: The Biography Of Natalie Wood" by Suzanne Finstad, but due to time constraints and especially legal issues, many things had to be glossed over or omitted. The book went over the suspicious circumstances surrounding Natalie's death (the case was re-opened in 2011 and the investigation is still ongoing as of this writing), but due to threats of a lawsuit by Robert Wagner, the ending had to be changed. Again, because of legalities, the actor/producer who raped Natalie in 1955 had to be referred to by a pseudonym, since he was still living at the time. Her sister, Lana Wood, who served as a co-producer, recently revealed his true identity, which was not a shock to me, but it was terrible that he got away with it.
In terms of the actors, most of them did a good job but some were hit and miss in terms of resembling who they were portraying. Justine Waddell was a good choice to play Natalie, although I do think that she bears more of a striking resemblance to Natalie's eldest daughter, actress Natasha Gregson Wagner. Michael Weatherly was good as Robert Wagner, and Matthew Settle could definitely pass for the young Warren Beatty. Nick Carpenter is one of the better actors to have portrayed James Dean, Paul Pantano is a dead ringer (pardon the pun) for Sal Mineo, and Alice Krige did a formidable job in the demanding role of Maria Gurdin, Natalie's obsessive, controlling and star struck mother. She lived vicariously through her daughter, almost sadistically. Nathalie Roy was an excellent choice to play the adult Lana Wood.
The recreation of the film sets that Natalie worked on, the costumes, locations (I found myself forgetting that it was actually filmed in Australia), and songs featured in the film were so fitting and fantastic, and all of the child actors in the movie were adorable and delightful.
I have to say the portrayal of Robert Wagner isn't very flattering, and you could almost see where it was going before the "oh, it was all just a tragic accident!" was tacked on.
If you can obtain a copy, you really should see the entire miniseries to get the full experience. Interviews with people who knew Natalie as well as archive footage was included. A must for any Natalie Wood fan or a fan of classic Hollywood.