It would be easy to blame Lindsay Lohan for the complete and total failure of Liz & Dick, Lifetime’s gossip-shrouded chronicle of the relationship between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

But it wouldn’t be fair, even if her off screen antics didn’t make for at least as many headlines as Taylor and Burton’s do on: Directed by Lloyd Kramer (Five People You Meet in Heaven) from a script by Christopher Monger (Temple Grandin), Liz & Dick is so misguidedly conceived as a torrid romance that its characters never rise above one-dimensional monsters, eliminating the possibility that anyone could fall in love with them – least of all each other.

Lohan plays Taylor, whom we meet as she begins work on Cleopatra. Cast opposite Richard Burton (Grant Bowler), a stage actor with an appetite for booze, she quickly dismisses him, but their mutual animosity evolves into something resembling animalistic passion. Before long, they’ve become a couple – despite their respective marriages – and sustain a fickle relationship with alternate doses of knockdown-dragout fights, seductive make-up sessions, and lots and lots of alcohol.

Despite admonitions from Burton’s brother Ifor (David Hunt), Taylor’s mother Sara (Theresa Russell) and perhaps most importantly, their accountant Bernard (Bruce Nozick), the couple indulges every impulse, good or bad, public or private, and they soon find themselves on the brink of financial ruin. But as Liz and Dick soon begin to recognize that the candle that burns twice as brightly lasts half as long, they are forced to accept the mistakes they made, for themselves and with one another, and reconcile with the idea that their passion was not meant to be contained by a conventional relationship.

It’s unfortunate that as an actress, Lohan has all but obliterated the reputation she once had as a reliable charmer, and perhaps even gifted leading lady. (This admittedly has less to do with her actual work than her off screen peccadilloes, but if anyone can watch a story about a reckless young woman in dire need of guidance and support and not think about her train wreck of a personal life, they’re tougher than yours truly.)

What’s sadder, however, is that even that life-imitates-art-imitates life ouroboros fails to enliven her characterization of Taylor, whose tabloid exploits make Lohan’s look virtually pedestrian by comparison. Lohan is flat and inexpressive, even when she’s throwing one of Taylor’s temper tantrums, and she offers not an ounce of the star wattage that, for better or worse, made her character such a genuine movie star for a time.

Meanwhile, Burton may have been self-important, pretentious blowhard whose aptitude for delivering Shakespearean quotations was matched only by one for emptying vodka bottles, but Bowler is hopelessly out of his depths when trying to make literally any of those qualities remotely appealing. As a man whose cartoonish conviction as an actor was supposedly turned into teenage petulance by Taylor’s febrile sensuality, Bowler is in capable of either making himself seem attractive or Lohan seem worth the effort, ultimately coming across as little more than a rakish douchebag whose “love” for Taylor was another self-destructive addiction rather than any sort of genuine or meaningful romance.

But as awful as the performances by the two leads are, Monger’s script is ultimately to blame for the thin reediness of their characters, and the worse fact that there’s no story and no meaning to the entire production – unless you find meaningful thrills in watching impossibly rich white people act like children under the guise of “falling in love.” Is the fact that any of this happened reason enough for Liz & Dick to exist? Is there any real tragedy in the fact that these two immature morons couldn’t behave maturely enough to maintain even the semblance of a healthy relationship? I’m not so sure.

Lohan’s next project is a Bret Easton Ellis film in which she stars opposite an adult film actor, which seems to automatically destine that project for some kind of camp glory. But Liz & Dick is a disaster, in all of the wrong ways – it’s sadly so unenjoyable that there isn’t even ironic enjoyment to be taken. All of which leaves only the perhaps less obvious but more inevitable verisimilitude between the film’s story and Lohan’s career: that after an initially-intriguing series of ups and downs, a time may come when audiences accept that they’ve just had enough of her, and need to move on.

Oh, Elizabeth Taylor!

The movie star who defined a generation, epitomized old Hollywood glamour and proved that a pretty face certainly can act is back.

Well, sort of.

This Sunday night, the late, great legend Ms. Taylor lives on in a special Lifetime biopic starring Lindsay Lohan as the icon herself.

Lohan scored the role in Liz & Dick after admittedly begging directors to cast her as the sumptuous star, whom she idolizes. Recently, LiLo has compared herself to Taylor, citing similarities in love life, mother-daughter relationships and a constant presence in the public eye.

To honor the late Elizabeth Taylor, and in remembrance of her brilliant acting career, this week’s Flashback Friday pays tribute to the enigmatic Ms. Taylor and the way she was.

In one of her most critically acclaimed roles, Taylor played Maggie, the beautiful yet invisible wife to her alcoholic, stuck-in-his-glory-days husband Brick (Paul Newman), in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. 

The film adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ play was nominated for six Academy Awards, including one for Best Actress.

In this clip, a disillusioned Maggie desperately tries to win the attention of her husband, who has become little more than an empty shell of the man she married. Scorned by her husbands lackluster presence, she compares herself to a “cat on a hot tin roof,” a helpless feline constantly getting burned.

Check out the video above for a glimpse of Ms. Old Hollywood Glamour, both stunning and talented.

It may have already been panned by the critics, but Elizabeth Taylor‘s final husband Larry Fortensky will watch Lindsay Lohan play the screen icon in Lifetime’s Liz & Dick.

Fortensky, 59, who was married to Taylor between 1991 and 1996 after the pair met at The Betty Ford Center, is getting ready to watch Lohan’s portrayal of the famous actress who passed away from heart failure age 79 on March 23, 2011.

Speaking from his home in Menifee, Calif., Fortensky — who Taylor used to affectionately call ‘Larry The Lion’ — told Celebuzz, “Sure, I will watch it.”

But he admits he’s not sure if the troubled starlet will do justice to the memory of the legendary Oscar winner.

“I don’t know what Lindsay Lohan will be like or what Elizabeth would have thought about her performance,” he added.

After divorcing Taylor in 1996 the former construction worker, who received an estimated $1 million settlement, slipped back into obscurity and currently lives with his sister Donna in a modest home in Riverside County, 85 miles away from their former Beverly Hills home.

His superstar ex-wife always appreciated that Fortensky didn’t open-up about their relationship to the press when she was alive and left him $800,000 in her will when she died of congestive heart failure.

The pair remained friends until she passed away and would often spend hours on the phone chatting reminiscing about happier times when he escorted Taylor to lavish parties and premieres around the world.

For her part, 26-year-old Lohan, who looks strikingly like Taylor in the TV biopic, admitted on Good Morning America recently that she felt many similarities to the controversial screen legend and herself.

“Elizabeth Taylor actually went to her mother a lot. She was really close to her mother, and I’m pretty much the same,’ Lohan said, referring to her mother, Dina Lohan, in an interview with Amy Robach.

“It’s really nerve-wracking to play someone that’s such an incredible force and a wonderful woman, so I was kind of nervous to see what people would think of it.”

Liz & Dick airs Nov. 25 at 9 p.m. EST on Lifetime.

Though she never met her, Lindsay Lohan campaigned heavily for the role of Elizabeth Taylor on Lifetime’s movie, Liz & Dick.

“I just think her story is so incredible,” Lohan said on Tuesday’s The Tonight Show With Jay Leno. “I think her love story with Richard Burton is really beautiful. And, she’s done so many wonderful things. I relate to her part of her life that was all in front of the cameras.”

Playing a role is one thing, but how did the red head nail the Hollywood legend’s look?

The TV film chronicles the iconic star’s romance with actor Burton (played by Grant Bowler). As the movie crosses over several decades, Lohan wore 66 different costumes. In addition to wearing re-creations of Taylor’s jewelry, the 26-year-old also wore several of the icon’s actual vintage dresses.

But, does Lohan’s transformation do Taylor justice? At least one person who was very close to the star thought so: Taylor’s nurse of about eight years was moved by Lohan’s similarities to the late star.

“She was on-set most of the days when I was working,” Lohan told Leno.

“I get aged in the movie,” the actress later added. “So, when I had a different look, she actually started to tear up. And she said, ‘You look just like her and you sound just like her.’ And that was a real big compliment.”

We rounded up several of Lohan’s most spot-on looks from the movie. Launch our gallery to compare the two stars side-by-side and judge whether Lohan pulls it off for yourself.

Liz & Dick premieres Sunday at 9 PM on Lifetime.

Do you think Lindsay’s appearances captured Elizabeth Taylor? Tell us in the comments section below.

In just over a week, Lindsay Lohan will make her return to the small screen, playing Elizabeth Taylor in the highly-anticipated Liz & Dick.

With Grant Bowler playing Richard Burton — the Hollywood icon’s husband number five – in the Lifetime TV movie, the story follows the couple’s hot and heavy romance that spanned for what felt like centuries.

On Friday, Lohan, 26, told ABC’s Good Morning America that she pushed hard for the role, and wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

“I had seen that they were going to be making the movie and I got the producers’ numbers and started harassing [producer] Larry Thompson,” she said on the morning show. “I didn’t even care if my agents were going to do it or not, I just did it myself too…because I was like, ‘No one else is going to play this role, I have to do this.’”

But did Lohan’s persistence earned her enough buzz for the role?

Here’s what critics have been saying about Liz & Dick so far:

The New York Daily News: “It’s tempting to say the movie’s big problem is that Lohan is no Liz Taylor. And she isn’t — though that’s not entirely her fault. There aren’t all that many actresses, or women, who can stop a room simply by walking into it.
Liz Taylor in her prime could do that. She could make men melt. Lindsay Lohan’s Taylor does not.”

The Hollywood Reporter: “Lohan is woeful as Taylor from start to finish. But, whatever you do, don’t miss Liz & Dick. It’s an instant classic of unintentional hilarity. Drinking games were made for movies like this. And the best part is that it gets worse as it goes on, so in the right company with the right beverages, Liz & Dick could be unbearably hilarious toward the tail end of the 90-minute running time. By the time Lohan is playing mid-’80s Taylor and it looks like a lost Saturday Night Live skit, your body may be cramped by convulsions.”

Variety: “OK, so there’s plenty of fun to be manufactured watching the movie — and even drinking games, like taking a swig every time a doctor or associate delivers bad news. Still, Bowler is quite good as Burton, and Lohan certainly is adequate, barring a few awkward moments, thanks largely to the fabulous frocks and makeup (courtesy of Salvador Perez and Eryn Krueger Mekash, respectively) she gets to model.”

The New York Post: “Lohan, in character as Taylor, is often so believable you might think you’re seeing the real thing, but then every once in a while she’ll backslide and deliver lines that sound DOA. Not her fault, since Liz’s words in real life were often affected and hammy.

Not that she had anything on her egomaniacal ham of a husband when it came to words. Bowler has Burton’s words and voice down pat, but are they kidding with that rug? It looks like he’s wearing a yak on his head.”

Newsday: “Taylor on screen, and doubtless off, exuded an earthy sensuality. Lohan doesn’t. Taylor was a fine actress, occasionally a great one. Lohan’s skills are rudimentary — made rustier by a long absence from the screen. She delivers lines dutifully, competently, and at times woodenly, but she also looks like someone who has to think about what she has to say before she says it. That’s usually called “sleepwalking through a role” instead of actually ‘occupying’ one. Lohan is somewhere in-between most of the time, though closer to sleepwalking.”

The Denver Post: “Lohan is stunning (in violet contact lenses) as Liz, if unbelievable when talking about her weight problem. Bowler, a New Zealander, is dashing as the Welshman Burton. They hint at the right chemistry.”

Liz & Dick airs Nov. 25 on Lifetime.

Will you watch ‘Liz & Dick’ next week? Chime in below.

Real life or reel life? The line is being blurred.

Though Hollywood has long been all about recreating history, this year in particular seems to have seen a spike in historical flicks. The newest biographical project to bring to life an icon is The Anna Nicole Story, an upcoming made-for-TV movie for which Lifetime has tapped Private Practice alum Agnes Bruckner to transform into the late Anna Nicole Smith.

And Bruckner sure has some big cups — er, shoes — to fill. The film will chronicle the life and times of the troubled Playboy pin-up — born Vicky Lynn Hogan — tracing Smith’s journey from small-town Southern girl to millionaire-marrying, Marilyn Monroe-channeling model and celebrity/reality TV pioneer.

Bruckner certainly has a lot of company among Hollywood stars tackling real-life roles.

From Sean Penn‘s Academy Award-winning incarnation of first-ever openly gay elected official Harvey Milk, to Jesse Eisenberg donning Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg‘s hoodie, to Jamie Foxx‘s Oscar-winning turn as Ray Charles, Hollywood has been all about the biopic in recent years.

And this year, filmmakers are capturing the lives of many more famous faces. Naomi Watts has transformed into the late Princess Diana for the upcoming biopic, Diana. Lindsay Lohan brings Elizabeth Taylor alive through sex, scandal and screaming matches for Lifetime’s upcoming made-for-TV movie, Liz & Dick. And two-time Oscar-winner Daniel Day-Lewis brings to life the 16th president of the United States for Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, in theaters next month

Another upcoming backstairs-at-the-White-House docudrama, The Butler (about a valet who served eight presidents), has called on stars to morph into some well-known political figures. Friday Night Lights alumna Minka Kelly is portraying former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (X-Man James Marsden is President John F. Kennedy) while Jane Fonda and Harry Potter regular Alan Rickman are tackling First Lady Nancy Reagan, and President Ronald Reagan.

Check these out and many more in Celebuzz‘s gallery of stars doing their best impressions of real-life icons.

After getting evicted from the Chateau Marmont and being accused of yet another jewelry heist, Lindsay Lohan isn’t exactly having the best week ever.

However, things may change for the 26-year-old starlet now that Lifetime has released brand-new photos from Liz & Dick, the upcoming TV movie in which Lohan plays the late Oscar-winning icon Elizabeth Taylor.

What do the new photos tease?

One shows Richard Burton (Grant Bowler) and Taylor at their first wedding, in Canada, in which Lohan dons Taylor’s iconic yellow chiffon dress and floral hair accessories.

Another shows Taylor on the set of the 1963 film, Cleopatra, during which she and Burton began their scandalous romance.

The final photo — which is perhaps the eeriest of the three — shows Taylor in the backseat of a car, trying to shield herself from the paparazzi. It’s a scene that Lohan could clearly relate to, given her many run-ins with the cameras.

This week, it was revealed that the troubled starlet was recently banned from Los Angeles hotspot Chateau Marmont after she failed to cough up $46,350.04 in charges over a 47-day period.

In a letter from hotel management, obtained by TMZ, Lohan was asked to leave the property by 12PM on August 1, and was told the hotel would be unable to host her again until the issue has been resolved. Among the charges Lohan racked up: $686 in cigarettes; and $3,145.07 from the minibar.

Despite her recent setbacks, fans are eager to see whether Liz & Dick could mark Lohan’s career comeback.

Lindsay Lohan channeled one of Dame Elizabeth Taylor‘s most iconic roles on Monday, as she was seen on Lifetime’s Liz & Dick set in Los Angeles donning a Cleopatra wig and gaudy eye makeup.

The controversial actress celebrated her 26th birthday on set, and bared a striking resemblance to Taylor’s character in the 1963 film Cleopatra.

Lohan was eager to celebrate her birthday and the end of filming with her fans, tweeting:

“Thank you all for the birthday wishes! Also – that’s a wrap on ‘Liz & Dick’ – thank you to all my fans, crew members, friends & lifetime!”

Later that night, the actress was spotted leaving bar Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.

As filming wraps, Celebuzz reviews Lindsay’s slew of costumes while portraying the late Liz Taylor. Taylor passed away on March 23, 2011. She was 79.

After reviewing these photos, are you excited to see Lohan take on the role of Taylor? Sound off in the comments!

Lindsay Lohan showed her warm and fuzzy side while on set of her Lifetime movie Liz & Dick on Thursday afternoon.

The embattled actress, 25, channeled the late Dame Elizabeth Taylor as she stepped out in a furry hat and cream-colored dress.

Despite a brief bout with exhaustion this past week, Lilo seemed to be happy and healthy as she shot scenes in Los Angeles.

This isn’t the first time Lilo has donned fur for her Liz Taylor role, and it isn’t expected to be the last.

Celebuzz has been tracking the starlet on set, and we’ve compiled a round-up of her scene-stealing costumes in the gallery below. It’s no wonder she’s being hailed as LizLo while filming this TV movie.

On Friday, June 15, news hit that Lindsay was found unresponsive at a Marina del Ray hotel where she was shooting scenes for Liz & Dick. A rep for the starlet issued a statement in light of the news, telling Celebuzz, “Lindsay worked a grueling schedule the past few days. She was on set last night at 7 pm and worked through the night until 8 am this morning (Friday).”

Following the health scare, Lohan was seen back on set that weekend.

Given all the photos we’ve seen of the actress as Liz Taylor, do you think she’s pulling off the role? Let us know, below.

Lindsay Lohan does her best impression of Elizabeth Taylor in this newly released photo from the TV movie Liz & Dick, in which the troubled 25-year-old actress takes on the role of the late Oscar-winning icon.

Dressed in an emerald beaded gown, Lohan bears an uncanny resemblance to Taylor, who died in 2011 after many, many years of health-related issues at age 79.

Liz & Dick, which will premiere on Lifetime, is arguably Lohan’s biggest role since her long-gestating courtroom drama was formally resolved, in March. She’s also made appearances on the hit series Glee, and recently hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live.

In a recent interview with Celebuzz, Lohan’s mother, Dina Lohan, told us that Lindsay is doing “great,” adding that she is “working really hard” on the Los Angeles-based project to honor the iconic actress.

According to recent reports, Ugly Betty hunk Grant Bowler will portray Taylor’s on-again, off-again husband, Richard Burton, in the TV movie, which has yet to find a release date.

What do you think of Lindsay’s Elizabeth Taylor impression? Sound off, below!

Oh, how we miss this dame! Elizabeth Taylor may be gone, but she will never be forgotten. 

In honor of the upcoming Golden Globe Awards this Sunday, Celebuzz is paying tribute to one of Hollywood’s brightest stars at one of her most hilarious on-screen moments. Liz fantastically flubbed her way through presenting Best Motion Picture of the Year in 2001 by almost accidentally announcing the winner before even listing the nominees. 

“Hey,” she deadpanned to the crowd, “I’m new at this.”

 It easy enough to see how she got turned around. “I usually like to get them,” she jokes. 

The rest of her presentation goes off without a hitch, although there is added humor as she reads from the teleprompter as directed by the show’s host, Dick Clark. 

Do you remember who won that year? Watch the video to find out! 

Think Kim Kardashian‘s 20.5-carat engagement ring was outrageous? She isn’t the only celebrity who is carrying double-digit carats on her ring finger. Celebuzz has rounded up some of the biggest celebrity engagement rings in Hollywood history for a little something we like to call the 20 Carat Club.

So, which glamorous stars have gained acceptance into the 20 Carat Club with their massive engagement bling? Check out our gallery and sound off in the comments.

Don’t forget to follow Celebuzz on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr for more celeb news and photos!

The world lost legendary actress Elizabeth Taylor early Wednesday morning, and Hollywood has been responding ever since.

The 79-year-old actress was certainly more than just that — she was a philanthropist and friend to many. In her last print interview, she was interviewed by Kim Kardashian for Harper’s Bazaar. Kim even paid homage to one of Dame Elizabeth’s most famous roles and dressed up as Egyptian queen Cleopatra for the magazine.

Kim expressed her sadness towards the passing on her blog:

The world stopped for a moment in time this morning when the legendary Dame Elizabeth Taylor passed away.
An era in time is over.

Elizabeth Taylor’s achievements in film were outstanding. How can we forget her as a teenager in National Velvet? Then A Place in the Sun with Montgomery Clift when her tulle “daisy” dress became the most copied dress of all time for debutantes. Her performance with Paul Newman in Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, Rock Hudson and James Dean in Giant, Butterfield 8 with Eddie Fisher (which earned her, her first Academy Award), Cleopatra (the start of her life-time, love affair with Richard Burton) and her next Academy Award winning performance for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf? solidified her international elite status above and beyond any other female actor of her day.

Her continual and undying philanthropic work for AIDS gave the world hope, promise and awareness.
This year, one of the greatest highlights of my entire life was when I was asked to remake Cleopatra for Harper’s Bazaar magazine in a fashion shoot. Not only did I get to wear Dame Elizabeth’s original clothing from the movie, but I got to interview her for this piece! I never felt so lucky and fortunate; it was truly the greatest honor and dream of mine to be the iconic “Elizabeth Taylor” for one day! As I got to know her, I saw her beauty both inside and out, loved her humor and business mind and her spirit for life was truly amazing and contagious.

Unfortunately, this was Ms. Taylor’s last interview ever and her last tweet was about our piece in Bazaar together. I am so very grateful to have had this amazing and phenomenal experience personally with my life-time idol, Dame Elizabeth Taylor.

Everyone remembers Elizabeth Taylor’s famed and celebrated marriages along with her beautiful, acquired and renowned jewelry collection over the years.

RIP Elizabeth Taylor, forever my idol.

Although she’s no longer with us, her legend will never fade. In lieu of flowers, her family has asked that donations be made to her life’s work, the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.

Actress. Philanthropist. Icon. Elizabeth Taylor lived her life with passion and integrity.

In her death, we remember her in pictures. In lieu of flowers, her family has asked that donations be made to her life’s work, the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.

RIP Dame Elizabeth.

The passing of Hollywood legend Elizabeth Taylor has movie fans around the world reflecting, and it also has today’s stars remembering the screen icon.

The new tradition of tributes via Twitter following a celebrity death was in full force on Wednesday morning as the sad news spread. Everyone from Khloe Kardashian to Kylie Monogue to Kirstie Alley have chimed in for what’s sure to be a banner day in tributes on the social networking site.

Check out Celebuzz’s gallery on who’s saying what, and we’ll keep updating them as they pour in.

Elizabeth Taylor — the Hollywood icon considered one of the greatest actresses of all time — has passed away at the age of 79. The Cleopatra and Butterfield Eight Oscar-winner was hospitalized for the past month in California, and eventually succumbed to congestive heart failure with her family by her side.

Click on the gallery above to see Elizabeth Taylor through the years, and for full coverage on her life and passing, go to FoxNews.com

What happens when you put Harper’s Bazaar covergirl Kim Kardashian and living legend Elizabeth Taylor in the same room? Pure, glamorous magic.

Kim, 30, interviewed her idol Liz, 78, for the March issue of Harper’s Bazaar, and tried to get a little advice on how to become a true diva.

“You are my idol,” Kim told Liz. “But I’m six husbands and some big jewels behind. What should I do?”

“I never planned to acquire a lot of jewels or a lot of husbands,” Liz told the reality star. “For me, life happened, just as it does for anyone else. [...] Follow your passion, follow your heart, and things you need will come.”

As for her famous role in Cleopatra (the same film that inspired Kim’s Bazaar shoot), Liz doesn’t consider herself in the same category as the famous Egyptian ruler.

“I have never wanted to be a queen,” Liz tells Kim after the Kardashian sister asks her for some regal advice. “Cleopatra was a role and I am an actor, so it was fun to play one, but it’s not real.”

Check out Liz playing the famous queen in the Cleopatra trailer below.

Diamond-loving Liz does have some sage advice for Kim: “Size does matter [when it comes to diamonds] but so does the size of the emotion behind it.”

Check out the full interview in the March issue of Harper’s Bazaar!

What do you think of Kim and Liz’s interview? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Kim Kardashian strikes a stunning pose on the cover Allure’s September issue, wearing a va-va-voom white bustier and prompting the magazine’s creative director to compare her to other “classic dark-haired beauties” like Elizabeth Taylor and Ava Gardner.

On her blog, Kim called the pictures “really natural and feminine… alluring, I guess you could say.”

Click here for more photos of Kim’s glamorous Allure shoot, including behind-the-scenes shots.

What do you think of Kim’s sexy shoot? Let us know in the comments.