Blonde
Short description
Blonde is a fictionalized portrait of Marilyn Monroe, tracing the life of Norma Jeane from an unstable childhood through her emergence as one of Hollywood's most photographed women. Based on Joyce Carol Oates's novel, the film moves between the public image she projected on screen and the private life behind it, following her relationships with men and the toll that fame and constantly shifting roles take on her sense of self. Andrew Dominik wrote and directed the film, which stars Ana de Armas as Norma Jeane and Marilyn, alongside Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale, Julianne Nicholson, Sara Paxton and Lucy DeVito. It was produced by Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner through Plan B Entertainment.
The film belongs to the later part of Dominik's directing career, arriving between Killing Them Softly and his 2025 Bono: Stories of Surrender, and it followed The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Made for a reported 22 million USD, it runs 167 minutes.
Blonde drew a mixed response from both critics and audiences. Its critics' rating stands at 5.5/10 from 319 reviews, close to its IMDb score of 5.4/10 from around 78,000 votes and its TMDB rating of 5.9/10 from 1,572 votes, indicating that the film's approach to its subject divided viewers as much as it did reviewers.
What's left behind the scenes
- Naomi Watts and Jessica Chastain were considered for the lead role.
- The film does not claim biographical accuracy and contains numerous artistic liberties.
- Ana de Armas said that she spent 9 months perfecting Marilyn Monroe’s American accent. After a preview screening in 2021, audiences complained that she spoke “like a Cuban.” Director Andrew Dominik stated in an interview that the actress’s sound was made more American during post-production.
- The opening scenes of the film were shot in the apartment where Marilyn Monroe once lived with her mother. Monroe’s death was filmed in the same place where she actually died. Work on the film began on August 4, 2019, the anniversary of Monroe’s death.
- Marilyn Monroe’s dog was played by Ana de Armas’s dog named Elvis.
- To resemble Marilyn Monroe, Ana de Armas had to wear a blonde wig, blue contact lenses, and special dental veneers.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
