Even in 2022, Marilyn Monroe stays one of many world’s hottest icons. Any time she is portrayed on display screen, there are all the time excessive expectations. Ana de Armas stars as Marilyn in Netflix’s drama Blonde, which was launched on September 28.
Similar to Marilyn, Ana has been on an upward trajectory in Hollywood since her breakout position in Knives Out. After years of ready for this movie, the excitement round Blonde has by no means been louder. Blonde has individuals speaking, particularly with its NC-17 ranking. There’s even Oscar discuss Ana’s efficiency. From the solid to the fan response to the movie, HollywoodLife has all the newest Blonde updates.
Where & When to Watch
Blonde was launched on September 28, 2022, on Netflix. The unique launch date of September 23 was introduced in June 2022 when the official teaser trailer was revealed. The film isn’t anticipated to have a restricted theatrical run.
The official Blonde trailer was launched on July 28. The footage reveals glimpses of Blonde’s recreations of Marilyn’s movies like Some Like It Hot, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and extra.
Who Is In The Cast?
- Ana de Armas will play Marilyn Monroe/Norma Jeane Mortensen. Ana rose to fame after her breakout efficiency in Knives Out, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination. She additionally performed a Bond lady identify Paloma in No Time To Die. Her subsequent position earlier than Blonde is within the Netflix movie The Gray Man.
- Adrien Brody performs The Playwright, a.ok.a. Arthur Miller, the legendary playwright who was married to Marilyn. Adrien notably gained an Oscar for his position in The Pianist. He not too long ago earned an Emmy nomination for his position in Succession.
- Bobby Cannavale performs The Ex-Athlete, a.ok.a. Joe DiMaggio, the New York Yankees participant who was Marilyn’s second husband. Bobby is thought for his Emmy-winning position on Boardwalk Empire. He can also be a Tony nominee.
- Julianne Nicholson performs Gladys Pearl Baker, Marilyn’s mom. Julianne not too long ago gained an Emmy for her position within the restricted sequence Mare of Easttown.
- Caspar Phillipson performs John F. Kennedy. This isn’t the primary time Caspar has performed the previous President. The Danish actor performed JFK within the 2016 movie Jackie.
- Toby Huss performs Allan “Whitey” Snyder, Marilyn’s private make-up artist. Toby simply wrapped his multi-season position as Edward Dickinson within the Apple TV+ sequence Dickinson. He’s additionally identified for his voice-over work.
- Xavier Samuel performs Charles “Cass” Chaplin Jr., Charlie Chaplin’s son who was rumored to have had an affair with Marilyn. Xavier rose to fame along with his position in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.
- Evan Williams performs Edward G. Robinson Jr. Edward was Marilyn’s co-star in Some Like It Hot. Evan is thought for his roles in Degrassi: The Next Generation and Versailles.
- Sara Paxton performs Miss Flynn. Sara rose to fame within the early 2000s together with her roles in Return to Halloweentown, Aquamarine, and Sydney White.
Additional stars embody Scoot McNairy, Lily Fisher, David Warshofsky, Spencer Garrett, Rebecca Wisocky, Dan Butler, and Garret Dillahunt. Blonde has been within the works for over a decade. Naomi Watts was initially set to star as Marilyn in 2010. Fast-forward to 2014 and Jessica Chastain changed Naomi as Marilyn. Filming by no means materialized, and the film was placed on maintain. In 2019, Ana was in negotiations to take over the position from Jessica. And the remainder is historical past.
“I only had to audition for Marilyn once and Andrew [Dominik] said ‘It’s you,’ but I had to audition for everyone else,” Ana informed Vanity Fair. “The producers. The money people. I always have people I needed to convince. But I knew I could do it. Playing Marilyn was groundbreaking. A Cuban playing Marilyn Monroe. I wanted it so badly.”
Ana was extraordinarily devoted to her portrayal of Marilyn. She revealed in an interview with Netflix Queue that she spent between two-and-a-half and three hours on daily basis in hair and make-up throughout the film’s 47-day shoot. She mentioned the solid and crew “worked on this film for hours, every single day for almost a year. I read Joyce’s novel, studied hundreds of photographs, videos, audio recordings, films — anything I could get my hands on. Every scene is inspired by an existing photograph. We’d pore over every detail in the photo and debate what was happening in it. The first question was always, ‘What was Norma Jeane feeling here?’ We wanted to tell the human side of her story. Fame is what made Marilyn the most visible person in the world, but it also made Norma the most invisible.”
Who Is Behind the Scenes?
Blonde was written and directed by Andrew Dominik. Andrew beforehand directed The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and Killing Them Softly. Producers embody Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Tracey Landon, and Scott Robertson.
‘Blonde’ At Venice Film Festival
Blonde premiered on the Venice Film Festival on September 8. Ana wore a beautiful plunging pink floor-length robe designed by Louis Vuitton to occasion. The actress cried after receiving a 14-minute standing ovation from the group, who raved about her efficiency within the Marilyn Monroe biopic. During the press convention for the movie, Ana revealed that she felt Marilyn’s ghost in her presence after they filmed the film.
“I truly believe that she was very close to us. She was with us,” Ana mentioned to the reporters. “I think she was happy. She would also throw things off the wall sometimes and get mad if she didn’t like something. Maybe this sounds very mystical, but it is true. We all felt it.”
What’s The Movie’s Story?
Netflix’s official description of Blonde reads: “Based on the bestselling novel by Joyce Carol Oates, Blonde boldly reimagines the life of one of Hollywood’s most enduring icons, Marilyn Monroe. From her volatile childhood as Norma Jeane, through her rise to stardom and romantic entanglements, Blonde blurs the lines of fact and fiction to explore the widening split between her public and private selves.”
Blonde’s director famous that he’s switching issues up along with his newest movie. “Blonde‘s interesting because it has very little dialogue in it,” Andrew informed The Film Stage. “My previous three movies have relied on a lot of talking and I don’t think there’s a scene in Blonde that’s longer than two pages. I’m really excited about doing a movie that’s an avalanche of images and events. It’s just a different way. It’s a different thing for me to do. And the main character is female. My films are fairly bereft of woman and now I’m imagining what it’s like to be one.”
Blonde’s runtime is a whopping 2 hours and 46 minutes. For context, Avengers: Endgame was solely a tad longer at 3 hours and a pair of minutes. The film additionally has an NC-17 ranking, which implies nobody beneath 17 is admitted. An NC-17 ranking is larger than an R ranking and comprises extra grownup materials. Andrew admitted that the movie’s ranking by the MPAA caught him off guard.
“I was surprised,” he informed Vulture. “Yeah. I thought we’d colored inside the lines. But I think if you’ve got a bunch of men and women in a boardroom talking about sexual behavior, maybe the men are going to be worried about what the women think. It’s just a weird time. It’s not like depictions of happy sexuality. It’s depictions of situations that are ambiguous. And Americans are really strange when it comes to sexual behavior, don’t you think? I don’t know why. They make more porn than anyone else in the world.”
The director talked concerning the movie’s sexual content material and confirmed a rape scene that was in Joyce’s novel will seem within the movie. “It’s controversial, there’s a bit for them to swallow,” Andrew informed Screen. “It’s a demanding movie — it is what it is, it says what it says. And if the audience doesn’t like it, that’s the f**king audience’s problem. It’s not running for public office.”
He referred to as the ranking a “bunch of horsesh*t… That’s just the ratings board being political.” He additionally mentioned, “If I look at an episode of Euphoria, it’s far more graphic than anything going on in Blonde.”
What Is The Movie’s Budget?
Blonde had a funds of $22 million. The film was filmed in Los Angeles. Andrew revealed that he’s not involved about Netflix’s emotions about his $22 million movie.
“Netflix is a big business with much bigger fish to fry than Blonde, in terms of where they spend their money,” Andrew informed Vulture. “They’re paying $400 million for movies. A little $22 million movie, it’s not going to break the bank for Netflix.”
What Are People Saying About The Movie?
Back in 2020, writer Joyce Carol Oates revealed she had seen a tough minimize of Blonde. She referred to as the movie “startling, brilliant, very disturbing, and [perhaps most surprisingly] an utterly ‘feminist’ interpretation.” She famous that she’s “not sure that any male director has ever achieved” that earlier than.
(only a parenthetical apart–I’ve seen the tough minimize of Andrew Dominick’s adaptation & it’s startling, good, very disturbing & [perhaps most surprisingly] an completely “feminist” interpretation… unsure that any male director has ever achieved something this.) https://t.co/zUubjH5yqV
— Joyce Carol Oates (@JoyceCarolOates) August 10, 2020
Jamie Lee Curtis, Ana’s Knives Out co-star whose father, Tony Curtis, starred in Some Like It Hot with Marilyn, had nothing however reward for Ana. “I remember when she showed me a video of her screen tests for Blonde,” Jamie informed Vanity Fair. “I dropped to the floor. I couldn’t believe it. Ana was completely gone. She was Marilyn.”
Casey Affleck, the brother of Ana’s ex Ben Affleck, informed Entertainment Tonight that he predicts Ana will “win an Oscar next year” for her efficiency as Marilyn. “I saw her performance as Marilyn Monroe in this movie called Blonde, which hasn’t come out, and I would bet a lot that she’s gonna pick up every single award,” he mentioned. “She’s gonna have a good year. I’m not too worried about her.”
Ana’s efficiency obtained some criticism attributable to her accent not matching Marilyn’s voice. However, the Marilyn Monroe Estate publicly defended Ana, regardless of not authorizing the movie. “Marilyn Monroe is a singular Hollywood and pop culture icon that transcends generations and history,” mentioned Marc Rosen, president of leisure at Authentic Brands Group, which owns the Marilyn Monroe Estate, per Variety. “Any actor that steps into that role knows they have big shoes to fill. Based on the trailer alone, it looks like Ana was a great casting choice as she captures Marilyn’s glamour, humanity and vulnerability. We can’t wait to see the film in its entirety!”
Audience Reaction
Blonde started trending on Twitter after its launch and obtained blended reactions from followers. “#BlondeNetflix is distasteful,” one fan tweeted. “Even if it is a fictionalized story, there can be some care put towards the film. There is this emotional detachment from Marilyn Monroe that makes this such a dark and graphic film. It’s actually disturbing how exploitative this is.”
Another fan referred to as the movie “unsettling” as a result of Marilyn was portrayed as “some sort of fictional doll.” Ana’s efficiency was praised by many followers, one of whom applauded the actress however criticized the producers for telling an “inauthentic” story. The movie was even known as a “disgusting porn” by another fan.
One more person who criticized the movie tweeted, “Everyone involved in #BlondeNetflix #Blondemovie should be made to go to her grave and apologize. None of the original light to contrast the darkness, her open sexuality is denied and made a never ending rape etc. Monroe documentaries, using her words, serve her better.”
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