Annette Bening waited 20 years to play Gloria Grahame

Annette Bening first showed interest in portraying Gloria Grahame on the big screen 20 years ago, but was too young to play the tragic It's a Wonderful Life star.

The actress was producer Barbara Broccoli's first choice to play the late star in the adaptation of Peter Turner's memoir and the two women plotted to make the movie.

Fortunately for both, it took two decades for the film to come to fruition - and Bening was the perfect age for the project when shooting finally began.

"Annette has always been the only person I would want to play this role," James Bond franchise boss Broccoli explains. "She is such a great actress but also she really connects with the character in a profound way.

"She was really enamoured with Gloria and the complexities of Gloria as a screen goddess and also a person. This isn't a biography, it is so much more. Annette and I waited for the right time and that time is now."

Bening reveals her interest in Grahame and her romance with young British actor Turner at the end of her life began when she was making 1990 film The Grifters, and director Stephen Frears suggested she check out the actress' work.

"He said, 'Hey, you might want to have a look at her movies," she recalls. "The Grifters was a noir-esque movie and so it made sense to look at film noir... and the women of that period and the way they were portrayed. Gloria, of course, holds a special place in that period."

Grahame's film noir hits included the 1947 thriller Crossfire and 1953's The Big Heat.

"She (Gloria) had a really interesting presence on screen and she was a good listener," Annette adds. "When you watch her you feel like there's an inner life going on and that is compelling about her."