Renée Zellweger’s ‘Miraculous’ Transformation for ‘The Thing About Pam’ Was ‘Surreal and a Little Scary’

variety.com:

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorWelcome to this week’s “Just for Variety.” From “Bridget Jones’ Diary” to “Judy,” Renée Zellweger knows a thing or two about transformation.The two-time Oscar winner’s latest, as convicted murderer Pam Hupp in NBC’s “The Thing About Pam,” is no exception. “It was a team of magicians,” Zellweger told me Monday night at a press event at the Maybourne Beverly Hills hotel. “What they’re capable of is pretty miraculous.”The six-episode “The Thing About Pam” is based on the podcast of the same name and several episodes of “Dateline NBC,” which detailed the 2011 murder of Hupp’s friend Betsy Faria.

Hupp was convicted of the killing. However, Faria’s husband Russ Faria was first sent to prison for the murder, but his conviction was overturned.

The real-life drama and the scripted retelling are truly bonkers. If all is right in the world, expect to hear Zellweger’s name at the top of Emmy conversations. “Renée Zellweger is a beast,” said Josh Duhamel, who plays Russ Faria’s defense attorney Joel Schwartz. “That woman is unbelievable.”Showrunner Jenny Klein signed onto the series after Zellweger was attached. “I have Pam Hupp burned into my brain.

I studied her, watched everything there was to watch and more,” she said. “Seeing Renée walk on stage was really surreal and also a little scary.