When the teaser for Netflix’s NC-17 Marilyn Monroe movie Blonde landed, there was much rejoicing over how much star Ana de Armas looked like the star of Some Like It Hot. As for how she sounded? That was a bit more contentious. While de Armas nailed Monroe’s breathy, purry delivery while in movies and in public, some complained that they could still hear traces of the actress’ Cuban accent. If you felt that way, then the estate of Marilyn Monroe has some thoughts.
“Marilyn Monroe is a singular Hollywood and pop culture icon that transcends generations and history,” Marc Rosen, president of entertainment at Authentic Brands Group (ABG), which owns the Marilyn Monroe Estate, told 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!”
The actress worked hard to sound like Monroe. “It took me nine months of dialect coaching, and practicing and some ADR sessions [to get the accent right],” she told The Times of London earlier this year. “It was a big torture, so exhausting. My brain was fried.”
For the record, Blonde is no straight biopic. Based on the novel by Joyce Carol Oates, it’s a fictionalized account of the screen legend, who died of a barbiturate overdose at 36. Its director, Andrew Dominik (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Killing Them Softly) has proudly boasted that it has something “to offend everyone.”
Meanwhile, Monroe was back in the news earlier this year, when Kim Kardashian wore one of her iconic dresses, and may have damaged it in the process — accusations she has denied.
Blonde hits Netflix on September 28.
(Via Variety)