“I play ‘Marilyn Monroe,’” Ana de Armas says in the new trailer for “Blonde,” an adaptation of the Joyce Carol Oates novel of the same name. The film centers on the complicated relationship Norma Jeane Baker aka Marilyn Monroe (de Armas) has with fame. “I know you’re supposed to get used to it, but I just can’t,” she explains.
The spot hints that Norma Jeane’s “start” in movies was plagued by casting couch sexual harassment. It also suggests that the public eye and her reputation as a sex symbol takes a toll on her personal life, mental health, and sense of identity. As Norma Jeane sees it, “Marilyn Monroe” is someone the audience created, a cipher they project their own expectations and biases onto.
“When I come out of my dressing room, I’m Norma Jeane,” the Hollywood icon emphasizes. “I’m still her when the camera is rolling. Marilyn Monroe only exists on the screen.”
De Armas had her breakout in 2019 mystery “Knives Out,” for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination. Her other credits include “Deep Water,” “No Time to Die,” and “The Gray Man.” It was recently reported that de Armas tapped “Promising Young Woman” filmmaker Emerald Fennell to punch up the script of one of her upcoming projects, “John Wick” spinoff “Ballerina.”
“It was really important for me to hire a female writer, because to that point when I got involved in the project, it was only the director, Len Wiseman, and another guy [Shay Hatten],” de Armas revealed. “And I was like, ‘That’s not going to work.’ So I interviewed, like, five or six female writers. We hired Emerald Fennell, which I was so proud of.”
Prior to its September 28 launch on Netflix, “Blonde” will screen in Competition at Venice Film Festival, which runs August 31-September 10.
