Netflix has released a teaser trailer for Blonde starring Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe.
Directed by Andrew Dominik (The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford) and based on the novel by Joyce Carol Oates, Blonde is described as a story which reimagines the Hollywood icon and “blurs the lines of fact and fiction”.
A synopsis reads: “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.”
Along with de Armas, the film’s cast includes Bobby Cannavale, Adrien Brody, Julianne Nicholson, Xavier Samuel and Evan Williams.
Speaking to Netflix Queue about the project, de Armas said: “Andrew’s ambitions were very clear from the start – to present a version of Marilyn Monroe’s life through her lens.
“He wanted the world to experience what it actually felt like to not only be Marilyn, but also Norma Jeane. I found that to be the most daring, unapologetic, and feminist take on her story that I had ever seen.”
She added: “We worked on this film for hours, every single day for almost a year. I read Joyce’s novel, studied hundreds of photographers, 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.”
Blonde has attracted attention in recent months for acquiring a restrictive NC-17 rating in the US. As reported by Screendaily in February, editor Jennifer Lame (Tenet) was brought in early last year to “curb the excesses of the movie”.
Speaking at the time about the rating, Dominik said: “It’s a demanding movie. If the audience doesn’t like it, that’s the fucking audience’s problem. It’s not running for public office.
“It’s an NC-17 movie about Marilyn Monroe, it’s kind of what you want, right? I want to go and see the NC-17 version of the Marilyn Monroe story.”
Blonde is released on Netflix on September 23, 2022.
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