Posted by Andrew Unterberger on 05/11/2012 at 9:33 AM News

The Popdust Files: broadway, coal miner's daughter, loretta lynn, rumors, zooey deschanel

Once upon a time, playing country legend Loretta Lynn in a movie was kind of a big deal for actress Sissy Spacek. The star of the film version of Coal Miner’s Daughter won a Best Actress Oscar for her performance, turning her from That Girl Who Played Carrie into one of the most respected actresses of the early ’80s. Could a similar career transition be in the cards for Zooey Deschanel, the big-eyed “adorkable” star of 500 Days of Summer and The New Girl?

Lynn herself certainly hopes so. Deschanel showed up at a recent Grand Ole Opry gig of Lynn’s to sing with the elderly country star, and was introduced by Lynn in a similar manner to the way she introduced Spacek before announcing her as the star of Coal Miner’s Daughter in the late ’70s. (“Pulling a Spacek,” we like to call it.) Rhapsodized Lynn of the moment:

I have a friend here tonight. I don’t know if ya’ll remember when Sissy Spacek was with me. I brought her out here with me. She about fainted. We both fainted…She went on to do the Coal Miner’s Daughter and you know from there. Well, there’s a little girl back stage that’s going to do the play of Coal Miner’s Daughter on Broadway…Zooey, where you at honey?

From there, the two performed the song “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” trading off verses. “Don’t forget her name. Her name is Zooey,” Lynn cautioned the crowd after.

Well, we don’t know if this counts as a formally binding contract, but it certainly seems like Lynn has her mind made up on this one. Hopefully the ads for the movie will be like those Deschanel-starring Siri commercials that have been airing incessantly, except with Zooey dancing to “Fist City” instead of “Shake, Rattle & Roll.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5Dt0YlN2nM

[AP]