With the Empire snowman turning forlornly to puddle, something was needed to brighten this slushy Wednesday, and what could be better than news from over the rainbow of a Judy Garland biopic?

Well, having the snowman back to be honest, but a big-screen adaptation of Garland gloriously technicolored life pic runs it a close second -  so it's jazz hands for The Weinstein Co. who have picked up the rights to Gerald Clarke's biography Get Happy: The Life Of Judy Garland.

Clarke's book spans all of Garland's 47 years, which were of course as much tragic as joyous. Born Frances Ethel Gumm, Garland was making films by the age of 7, starred in The Wizard Of Oz at 16, and was one of Hollywood's most bankable stars by her early 20s, before suffering a nervous breakdown at 25 and spending much of the rest of her life battling mental illness and addiction. It's not all cheery stuff by any means, but with luck the script will dwell on the good times (The Wizard Of Oz, Meet Me In St. Louis, a Best Supporting Oscar nod for Judgment At Nuremberg) and sunshine (a thousand gloriously Technicolored song-and-dance numbers) as well as the darker moments.

It's been a biopic-tastic few days, with Ian Fleming and Ernest Hemingway also getting the Hollywood treatment. Head back to the casting counch and send us your choice to play Garland.