News

Last Updated on December 26, 2024

Plot: Famed opera singer Maria Callas retreats to Paris in the 1970s after a glamorous yet tumultuous life in the public eye.

Review: Pablo Larrain‘s loose trilogy about famous twentieth-century women, beginning with 2016’s Jackie and 2021’s Spencer, comes to a close with Maria. Based on the life of revered opera singer Maria Callas, Larrain’s biopic focuses on the least recognizable of the three women. That Callas’ notoriously short life is not as easily remembered compared to Jackie Kennedy or Princess Diana affords Maria the ability to examine the singer’s life from a vantage point that is less sterile and distant than the previous two films. With a direct connection to Jackie, Maria retains some of the languid pacing and uneven creative choices that prevented Larrain’s prior biopics from being as strong as they could have been. However, after solid performances from Natalie Portman and Kristen Stewart,...

Maria is finally streaming on Netflix after months of Oscar buzz surrounding Angelina Jolie’s performance — but what are Jolie’s chances of finally winning Best Actress? After Jackie and Spencer, Maria is director Pablo Larraín’s latest biopic chronicling the tragic life of a significant woman from 20th-century history, completing his unofficial trilogy. This one stars Jolie as opera singer Maria Callas, alongside Haluk Bilginer as Aristotle Onassis and Caspar Phillipson as John F. Kennedy. The trailer for Maria dropped in September, and Jolie’s fans have been eagerly awaiting the film’s Netflix release ever since.

When Maria premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival earlier this year, it received mostly positive reviews, with critics singling out Jolie’s performance for particular praise. This has led to widespread Oscar buzz around Jolie’s turn in Maria. After being released in select theaters across the U.S. on...

Angelina Jolie stars as Maria's eponymous character, Maria Callas, a renowned opera singer in the middle of the 20th century. The 2024 biographical psychological drama film, directed by Pablo Larraín and written by Steven Knight, follows the later years of Callas' life, which were mostly spent in Paris, France, away from the public eye. Callas experienced a lot of turmoil over the course of her 53 years of living. However, Maria director Larraín wanted to focus on the ending of the opera singer's story rather than chronicle every single detail of her life and career.

Maria is the final installment in Pablo Larraín's trilogy chronicling important women of the 20th century, following in the footsteps of Jackie (Jackie Kennedy) and Spencer (Princess Diana).

Maria is Jolie's first movie in three years as her role on the big screen was as Thena in the 2021 Marvel Cinematic Universe film Eternals. As one might suspect,...

Stars: Caspar Phillipson, Katharina Sporrer, Christopher de Courcy-Ireland, Danny Thykær, Adam Kitchen | Written and Directed by Jonas Kvist Jensen

A woman finds herself kidnapped and entrapped in the enclosed space of a speeding car’s trunk, wearing her wedding dress, and with her phone as the only available tool. The situation deteriorates gradually as a failed escape attempt costs the life of an innocent bystander. With the clock ticking towards a slow death from heat exhaustion in the Texas desert, a psychotic kidnapper at the wheel, Amanda is forced to make her own luck in the end. A dangerous game of questions and deadly consequences – to be played over the phone with the mysterious kidnapper – seems the only way to maybe discover his true identity, get help, or escape.

A Danish horror film featuring only two characters at its centre, The Girl in the Trunk is another example of the claustrophobic,...

US-based OneTwoThree Media has inked sales on Vardan Tozija’s M following its best film win at UK genre festival Grimmfest.

The film has sold to the US, where it is titled Beyond The Wasteland (Well Go USA), France and French-speaking territories (Condor Distribution), Germany and German-speaking territories (Meteor Film), Latin America (A2 Filmes), Cis (Treblo Media), Australia (Bounty Entertainment), Korea (Jaye Entertainment), Japan (Pflug) and the Philippines (Crystalsky Multimedia).

Set in a near-future world ravaged by a virus, M follows a young man who must journey through this shattered environment amid the remnants of humanity. It debuted at Cinedays...

Lives of historical figures often get cinematic treatment to tell sweeping tales of real life events, and Ali Abbasi’s The Apprentice captures former president Donald Trump in a key moment before the 2024 presidential election. Starring Sebastian Stan as Trump, Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn and Maria Bakalova as Trump’s first wife Ivanka, the film marks the latest in a catalog of films that explore the lives of political people. From United States Presidents to their wives and First Ladies, to Supreme Court Justices to scientists and brilliant minds, nobody is off limits, especially if the stories are triumphant. Others have more tragic endings.

The 2024 Academy Awards showed just how popular a biopic can be amongst voters with Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer netting Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor. Actors and actresses do almost anything to become the real-life person they portray in a biopic, from working with...

The emotional teaser trailer for the upcoming Netflix film Maria has been released. The trailer proudly displays the movie as an official selection in this year’s festival circuit, which includes the Venice Film Festival, the Telluride Film Festival, the New York International Film Festival and the BFI London Film Festival. The film stars Angelina Jolie as the titular character — Maria Callas. She is joined by Pierfrancesco Favino, Alba Rohrwacher, Valeria Golino, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Haluk Bilginer in the cast.

The official synopsis reads,

“Academy Award®-winner Angelina Jolie is Maria Callas, one of the most iconic performers of the 20th century in acclaimed director Pablo Larrain’s operatic Maria. The film follows the American-Greek soprano as she retreats to Paris after a glamorous and tumultuous life in the public eye. Maria reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days as the diva reckons with her identity and life.”

Pablo Larraín,...

Katharina Sporrer’s abducted runaway bride is credible but the rest of the cast are so stilted it sounds more like a radio play than a film

This claustrophobic thriller takes place almost entirely in the boot of a rented car moving down an empty Texas highway. Bride Amanda (Katharina Sporrer), still in her floofy white wedding dress, is trapped inside the vehicle, having been kidnapped at the parking garage where she was dropping off the rented car she used to run away from her own wedding. Luckily for both her and the film, she has her mobile phone to hand and manages to make some calls, first to what she thinks is emergency services, only to realise she’s actually speaking to her kidnapper (Caspar Phillipson). Who doesn’t hate it when that happens?

Despite the all-American setting and accents, this was made by a Danish film company, led by writer-director Jonas Kvist Jensen,...

Exclusive: Sunrise Films and Vertigo Releasing have acquired North American and UK distribution rights on the Danish horror-thriller The Girl in the Trunk. The film will be released on digital download across both territories on May 28.

Sunrise Films, the new internationally focused distribution label launched by Rupert Preston and Nigel Williams, will handle the North American release.

The pic was acquired from the Copenhagen-based REinvent International. The deal was negotiated between Vertigo Releasing’s head of US and international distribution Andrew Nerger and REinvent’s senior sales manager, Sanne Arlø.

Written and directed by Jonas Kvist Jensen (Brutal Incasso), the English-language film stars Caspar Phillipson and Katharina Sporrer (Genius) Jonas Kvist Jensen serves as writer-director. The film was produced by Morten Hjorth (Brutal Incasso), Jim Pedersen (Silverthread), Jannick Raunow (Revenge of the Necromancer), and Martin Mortensen Søe (The Black Hole).

The film follows a woman who finds herself...

Netflix plans to develop a JFK show following the conclusion of The Crown, potentially filling the void left by the popular biographical drama. The show will be based on the 2020 Fredrik Logevall biography JFK: Coming Of Age In The American Century, 1917-1956. Eric Roth, co-screenwriter of Killers of the Flower Moon, is attached to write and executive produce the limited series, which will trace JFK's life from his boyhood to his appointment to the Senate.

Netflix is planning a JFK show in the wake of the end of The Crown. The Crown is a historical, biographical drama tracing the life of the recently departed Queen Elizabeth II. Every two seasons has featured a different actor playing the Queen at a stage in her life, but the upcoming The Crown season 6, which sees Imelda Staunton in her second turn in the role, will conclude the run of the hit show,...

Blonde is a fictionalized depiction of Marilyn Monroe's life as one of the mid-20th century's biggest celebrities and film stars, whose famous roles include Some Like It Hot and The Seven Year Itch. Inspired by a Joyce Carol Oates novel, the movie stars Oscar nominee Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe. Both the film and the book it is based on are steeped in controversy, with Blonde receiving the infamous Nc-17 rating for "some sexual content" - a first for not only a Netflix original movie but for any streaming service exclusive film. Netflix's Blonde tells a fictionalized account of Marilyn Monroe's life as she rises to become one of the most famous celebrities ever. It focuses on her Hollywood stardom and addresses some of the legendary conspiracy theories surrounding Marilyn Monroe, such as an alleged affair with The President (Caspar Phillipson), based on John F. Kennedy, and...

The 2023 Screen Actors Guild Award nominations were announced on January 11 in film and television, as voted on by members of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation. Who will prevail in the category of Best Film Actress during Netflix’s YouTube ceremony on Sunday, February 26? This year’s five nominees are Cate Blanchett (“TÁR”), Viola Davis (“The Woman King”), Danielle Deadwyler (“Till”), Ana de Armas (“Blonde”) and Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”).

Scroll down to see Gold Derby’s 2023 SAG Awards Predictions for Best Film Actress, listed in order of their racetrack odds. Our SAG Awards odds are based on the combined forecasts of thousands of readers, including Experts we’ve polled from major media outlets, Editors who cover awards year-round for this website, Top 24 Users who did the best predicting the winners last time, All-Star Users who had the best prediction scores over the last two years, and the mass of...

Ana de Armas had zero difficulty finding streams of research to play Marilyn Monroe in Blonde. But learning what drove Norma Jean, the delicate and insecure woman behind the public persona, was an entirely different challenge.

“It was important to find the emotional truth in this character,” she said Saturday at Deadline’s The Contenders Film: Los Angeles. “One of the biggest themes in this movie is the private and public self. Norma Jean was completely unseen. I wanted to capture the essence of that woman, to find the human underneath. It was a long process studying her and her films, to understand what she was feeling at all times, always thinking that Norma for the most part never thought she could live up to Marilyn. What people thought of her was not at all what she felt like.”

Related: The Contenders Film: Los Angeles – Deadline’s Full Coverage

The...

Click here to read the full article.

Blonde cinematographer Chayse Irvin has been left scratching his head over his Marilyn Monroe film that launched with a 14-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival, only to run into a buzzsaw of criticism for apparently exploiting the suffering of the screen icon, played by Ana de Armas.

Irvin tells The Hollywood Reporter that Blonde — as it graphically depicts the abuse and trauma inflicted on Monroe from her troubled childhood to a shock death at age 36 — was never intended as a celebratory biopic many may have expected.

Instead, Irvin and director Andrew Dominik deliberately set out with woozy imagery, alternating use of digital color and monochrome, varied aspect ratios and horror movie tropes to remain true to Joyce Carol Oates’ dream-like novel where, fusing fact and fiction, Monroe steadily spirals into despair.

“I remember Andrew saying that the film won’t be...

A Snoop Dogg biopic is currently in development with Menace II Society director Allen Hughes. The iconic Long Beach-based rapper originally rose to stardom after being featured on Dr. Dre's 1992 single "Deep Cover" as well as his follow-up album The Chronic. Since then, Snoop has released 20 albums and earned 17 Grammy nominations.

Per Deadline, a biopic about his life is currently in development with a screenplay by Black Panther and Wakanda Forever screenwriter Joe Robert Cole and Hughes attached to direct. The project, which will be the first film from his production company Death Row Pictures, will be a rap musical featuring tracks from his extensive songbook. Snoop, Hughes, and Sara Ramaker (Growing Up Hip Hop: Atlanta) will be producing.

Related: Day Shift Perfectly Honors The Lost Boys (With Snoop Dogg!)

Who Could Play Snoop Dogg?

The pedigree of the folks behind the camera on this biopic is beyond doubt.

Blonde, the Marilyn Monroe biopic, premiered on Netflix and it took the second spot on the charts. The Ana de Armas-starring movie got an 11-minute standing ovation when it was screened at the Venice Film Festival.

Despite glowing reviews for Blonde, the film directed by Andrew Dominik didn’t debut at the top of the streaming service’s chart. The biopic was watched for 37,340,000 hours, according to Netflix’s Global Top 10 chart.

Related Story Marilyn Monroe: Her Life And Career In Photos Related Story Netflix Buys Louis Van Gaal Doc; BBC Profiles Hans Zimmer; BFI Hires For UK Screen Fund – Global Briefs Related Story Netflix Cee Originals Chief Anna Nagler Sets Out Streamer's Stall In Region As Polish Drama Series 'High Water' Launches

Lou, starring Allison Janney, Jurnee Smollett and Logan Marshall-Green, reigned at the top in its second week available on the streaming platform. The Anna Foerster...

Joyce Carol Oates, who wrote the book on which Blonde is based, has given her verdict on the controversial adaptation.

The film stars Ana De Armas as Marilyn Monroe and features many imagined scenes from the star’s life.

Oates has since weighed in on the Netflix adaptation of her 1999 book, which presents a fictionalised take on the American icon’s life.

The author – who was not involved in the movie’s production – deemed it a “brilliant work of cinematic art obviously not for everyone”.

Since then, she has also defended director Andrew Dominik against criticism of sexism and misogyny in his portrayal of Monroe.

Since its release last week, the 18-rated movie has attracted huge controversy with many viewers criticising the film as being “exploitative” of the star.

It features multiple scenes of violent sexual assault and also depicts Monroe as having had two illegal abortions against her, scenes...

Netflix users are being left particulary outraged by a “horrifying” scene in new Marilyn Monroe film Blonde.

The controversial new movie from director Andrew Dominik was adapted from Joyce Carol Oates’s fictional book about Monroe, which was released in 2001.

For some time now, the project, which stars Knives Out actor Ana de Armas, has been hyped up as being a shocking watch, with the film being handed an Nc-17 age certificate in the US.

For those in the UK, this is similar to an 18 – but American directors tend to try and edit their films in order to avoid the certificate as, when cinema releases are concerned, it typically equates to less money at the box office.

Many may believe Blonde to be a standard biopic about Monroe, but the opposite is true: due to the source material, the film features several imagined scenes from the Hollywood star’s life,...

Netflix users are being left particulary outraged by a “horrifying” scene in new Marilyn Monroe film Blonde.

The controversial new movie from director Andrew Dominik was adapted from Joyce Carol Oates’s fictional book about Monroe, which was released in 2001.

For some time now, the project, which stars Knives Out actor Ana de Armas, has been hyped up as being a shocking watch, with the film being handed an Nc-17 age certificate in the US.

For those in the UK, this is similar to an 18 – but American directors tend to try and edit their films in order to avoid the certificate as, when cinema releases are concerned, it typically equates to less money at the box office.

Many may believe Blonde to be a standard biopic about Monroe, but the opposite is true: due to the source material, the film features several imagined scenes from the Hollywood star’s life,...

Planned Parenthood have criticised Netflix movie Blonde as “anti-abortion propaganda”.

The 18-rated film, based on the novel of the same name by Joyce Carol Oates, features many imagined scenes from the star’s life. It has attracted huge controversy since it was released on the streaming giant earlier this week.

Blonde is not a standard biopic, and people have criticised the film as “traumatic” viewing, arguing it is “exploitative” of Monroe, highlighting in particular the multiple scenes of sexual assault that occur throughout.

Many people have also singled out the movie’s treatment of abortion. Blonde depicts Monroe as having had two illegal abortions against her will.

In one scene that has been shared and criticised widely on social media, CGI is used to portray Monroe’s foetuses, which look like fully formed babies, speaking to her.

“You won’t hurt me this time, will you?” a foetus asks Monroe.

Netflix users are being left particulary outraged by a “horrifying” scene in new Marilyn Monroe film Blonde.

The controversial new movie from director Andrew Dominik was adapted from Joyce Carol Oates’s fictional book about Monroe, which was released in 2001.

For some time now, the project, which stars Knives Out actor Ana de Armas, has been hyped up as being a shocking watch, with the film being handed an Nc-17 age certificate in the US.

For those in the UK, this is similar to an 18 – but American directors tend to try and edit their films in order to avoid the certificate as, when cinema releases are concerned, it typically equates to less money at the box office.

Many may believe Blonde to be a standard biopic about Monroe, but the opposite is true: due to the source material, the film features several imagined scenes from the Hollywood star’s life,...

[Warning: The following contains Major spoilers for Blonde.] When Netflix‘s Blonde received an Nc-17 rating, it initially caused shockwaves. It’s very rare for a movie to receive this rating — given to films with content the Motion Picture Academy finds to be “only suitable for ages 18 and older” — but after watching the fictionalized biopic of the late, great Marilyn Monroe (based on the acclaimed fictional Joyce Carol Oates novel), the rating makes perfect sense. Andrew Dominik and star Ana de Armas (whose acting is truly impressive in this — she carries the entire thing) spoke out against the film’s rare rating, arguing it doesn’t present anything not already discussed in public discourse. Writer/director Dominik theorizes that an oral sex scene between de Armas’ Marilyn and Caspar Phillipson‘s JFK could be what landed them the rough rating, in part perhaps because of the way it depicts an American president. “It’s hard to say,...

Ana de Armas’ upcoming portrayal of Marilyn Monroe, or Norma Jeane as she was known by in terms of birth name, will finally arrive on Netflix this week after premiering at the 2022 Venice Film Festival. De Armas went under intense preparation that included voice coaching as well as cosmetic makeup to fully embody the pop culture icon for a film that’s more impressionistic than concerned with facts.

Directed by Andrew Dominik and produced by Brad Pitt, “Blonde” boasts a runtime of 2 hours and 47 minutes and is based on the Joyce Carole Oates historical fiction book of the same name. Reviews of the film highlight the way the film examines Norma Jeane’s trauma as well as de Armas’ performance.

Fans of Ana De Armas or Marilyn Monroe herself may be wondering how to watch “Blonde,” and we’ve gathered the details below.

Also Read:

From ‘Blonde’ to ‘Gutsy':...

Chicago – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on Wbgr-fm on September 22th, 2022, reviewing “Blonde,” the latest biography film of Marilyn Monroe. In select theaters now, streaming on Netflix on September 28th.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

Norma Jean Mortenson Aka Marilyn Monroe (Ana de Armas) was born in 1926, was the product of an abandoned father, a mother (Julianne Nicholson) with mental health issues and was raised in a series of foster homes. After an early marriage and a career start posing for cheesecake pictures, she ended up in the Hollywood system and became one of the most famous … if not the most famous … movie star of the 20th Century, marrying Joe Dimaggio (Bobby Cannavale) and playwright Arther Miller (Adrien Brody) along the way, before being destroyed by the same Hollywood system that made her a star.

“Blonde” is currently in select theaters, and will stream on Netflix beginning September 28th.

Blonde Review — Blonde (2022) Film Review, a movie directed by Andrew Dominik, written Andrew Dominik and Joyce Carol Oates and starring Ana de Armas, Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale, Julianne Nicholson, Caspar Phillipson, Xavier Samuel, Toby Huss, Catherine Dent, Evan Williams, Sara Paxton, Lucy DeVito, Garret Dillahunt, Scoot McNairy, Rebecca Wisocky, Haley Webb, Eden [...]

Continue reading: Film Review: Blonde (2022): Andrew Dominik’s Harrowing Film Showcases Ana de Armas at Her Finest...

Ana de Armas plays Norma Jeane/Marilyn Monroe in Andrew Dominik’s Blonde. Photo: Netflix Based on Joyce Carol Oates’ Pulitzer Prize finalist novel of the same name, Blonde uses a work of biographical fiction to presumably seek deeper truths about the life of Marilyn Monroe. Unfortunately, director Andrew Dominik...

Ana de Armas’s transformation into Norma Jeane Mortensen and again into Marylin Monroe in “Blonde” lit all the expected fireworks at its Venice Film Festival debut on Thursday. Written and directed by the provocative Australian filmmaker Andrew Dominik, and based on a novel by Joyce Carol Oates, the Nc-17 rated movie, long in development, had many concerned about the liberties taken with the tragic facts of Monroe’s life. (Coming out so soon after “Elvis” really does make this a banner year for interpretive looks at mid-century American icons.)

After its near three hour running time, “Blonde” was met with a reported 14 minute standing ovation, the longest such prolonged huzzah of the fest, with audience members chanting “Ana! Ana!” In addition to de Armas in the lead, Bobby Canavale co-stars as Joe Dimaggio, Adrien Brody as Arthur Miller, Caspar Phillipson as John F. Kennedy, and Julianne Nicholson as Marilyn/Norma’s mother.

Click here to read the full article.

Andrew Dominik’s long-gestating Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde received a reception Thursday night at its Venice world premiere that somehow managed to be both rapturous and stunned. The contradictory nature of that response reflects the divisiveness that will most likely follow the harrowing Nc-17 movie into awards season.

The Venice audience responded with rousing applause and a heap of appreciation as the nearly three-hour-long film came to a close, rising to give Dominik and his cast a standing ovation lasting around 14 minutes, the longest of the festival so far. The most exuberant moments of appreciation seemed to come when the attention was focused on star Ana de Armas, whose fully committed performance as Marilyn Monroe is certain to spark Oscar speculation. By the end of the ovation, Dominik and his full cast were in tears.

The epic biopic, which also marks Dominik’s...

The Netflix film “Blonde” has received its first reviews, and critics are celebrating Ana de Armas’ commitment to the role while questioning the techniques of the film itself.

Directed by Andrew Dominik and rated Nc-17, the film adapts Joyce Carol Oates’ novel of the same name. Alongside de Armas, cast members include Bobby Cannavale, Adrien Brody, Garret Dillahunt, Julianne Nicholson, Sara Paxton, Lucy DeVito and Scoot McNairy.

Some critics appreciate the different approach to the biopic of the woman born Norma Jeane Mortenson. Others find the mostly black and white film devoid of any resonance as to the bigger picture of who Marilyn Monroe actually was as a person.

Also Read:

Brad Pitt Praises Ana de Armas’ ‘Phenomenal’ Performance as Marilyn Monroe in ‘Blonde,’ Despite Accent Backlash

Sophie Monks Kaufman of IndieWire writes that Dominik doesn’t quite give enough effort in saying or showing something about the pop culture icon.

Click here to read the full article.

You might feel like you need a shower after Blonde, but hey, at least it’s not bland. In his first narrative feature in 10 years, Andrew Dominik brings intoxicating visual style and a voyeuristic leer to Joyce Carol Oates’ 700-plus page biographical fiction novel of the same name. A mythic fable about Marilyn Monroe as an unwanted child desired by millions, passed around by men as she desperately searched for someone to call “Daddy” on her path to self-destruction, this is a treatise on celebrity and the sex symbol that blurs not only reality with fantasy but also empathy with exploitation. Either despite or because of all that, it’s a must-see.

There’s a lot of great stuff here, particularly a raw performance from Ana de Armas that strips the most examined woman in pop-culture history bare, literally and metaphorically. But as...

Click here to read the full article.

Just as the uncommonly strong and scandal-filled 79th edition of the Venice Film Festival was beginning to wind down, Andrew Dominik’s wildly ambitious Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde arrived on the scene Thursday to reignite discussion. The director and his cast — including star Ana de Armas — spoke about the Nc-17-rated film’s creation shortly after its very first press screenings.

“I did this movie to push myself, because I thought it was a gift,” de Armas said of her decision to take on the daunting task of playing the Hollywood icon. “And this movie changed my life,” she added.

Nearly three hours long, Blonde is based on Joyce Carol Oates’ acclaimed, 700-page novel of the same name, which The New Yorker once dubbed “the definitive study of American celebrity.” Dominik, known for his visually arresting films The Assassination of Jesse James (2007) and...

Blonde director Andrew Dominik and his star Ana De Armas very much felt the presence of Marilyn Monroe while making the long-awaited biopic that has its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival tonight.

Dominik told the Lido press corps this afternoon, “We were kind of chasing her ghost around… Her dust is everywhere in Los Angeles.”

‘Blonde’ Venice Film Festival Premiere Photo Gallery

Said De Armas, “I truly believe that she was very close to us, she was with us… She was all I thought about, she was all I dreamed about, she was all I could talk about. She was with me and it was beautiful. I think she was happy… Being in the same places that she was, filming in her house, it was a very strong sensation there was something in the air and I think she was approving of what we were doing.”

The long-gestating movie,...

Ana de Armas is calling out the continued double standard for Marilyn Monroe’s life and legacy.

The “Blonde” actress, who stars in Andrew Dominik’s portrait of late icon Monroe, addressed the Nc-17 rating received by the Netflix film. “Blonde” is set to premiere at the 2022 Venice Film Festival before debuting on the streamer September 28.

“I didn’t understand why that happened,” de Armas told L’Officiel. “I can tell you a number of shows or movies that are way more explicit with a lot more sexual content than ‘Blonde.’ But to tell this story it is important to show all these moments in Marilyn’s life that made her end up the way that she did. It needed to be explained.”

She continued, “Everyone [in the cast] knew we had to go to uncomfortable places. I wasn’t the only one.”

Writer/director Dominik previously told Vulture that the film “colored inside...

Click here to read the full article.

Ana de Armas offers up a taste of the darker side of Hollywood, its adoring and obsessive crowds and incessantly flashing photo bulbs as Marilyn Monroe in the second look at Andrew Dominik’s Marilyn Monroe pic Blonde.

Netflix released a second trailer for the upcoming Nc-17 feature film, based on the bestselling novel by Joyce Carol Oates on Thursday, giving viewers a closer look at how the Dominik-written and -directed film will explore the more unsavory parts of Monroe’s professional and private life.

“I’ve played Marilyn Monroe, Marilyn Monroe, Marilyn Monroe,” de Armas can be heard saying over the montage of footage of the woman born as Norma Jeane struggling with the effects of her public image. “I can’t face doing another scene with Marilyn Monroe.”

As de Armas narrates, images of Monroe in her most popular projects...

Marilyn Monroe is forging her way through the “Asphalt Jungle” of Hollywood, one misstep at a time.

The trailer for Andrew Dominik’s “Blonde” reimagines the late screen legend’s legacy, with Ana de Armas transforming into a portrait of Monroe. The “Some Like It Hot” star’s love stories with “The Ex-Athlete” Joe Dimaggio (Bobby Cannavale), “The Playwright” Arthur Miller (Adrien Brody), and infamously “The President” John F. Kennedy (Caspar Phillipson) frame the feature, adapted from Joyce Carol Oates’ novel “Blonde.” The film premieres September 28 on Netflix.

Julianne Nicholson, Xavier Samuel, and Evan Williams also star, with Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Tracey Landon, and Scott Robertson all serving as producers.

Writer-director Dominik previously teased that “Blonde” is “critical of American sacred cows” like the aforementioned male titans. The “Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” visionary formerly confirmed disturbing sexual assault sequences and categorized the...

Netflix has released some striking new images of Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe in Netflix’s Blonde, which will debut at the Venice Film Festival.

Among the images revealed exclusively in Vanity Fair are one of de Armas with Adrien Brody, who portrays her husband Arthur Miller in the buzzed about feature.

Also released is an image of de Armas being filmed by director Andrew Dominik while she is alongside actor Bobby Cannavale as Joe Dimaggio.

Nc-17 rated Blonde is one of the most anticipated films of the fall season. Dominik wrote and directed the film based on the novel by Joyce Carol Oates, and the film blends fact and fiction to reimagine the life of the great Hollywood star, exploring the split between Monroe’s public and private selves.

In addition to de Armas, the cast includes Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale, Caspar Phillipson, Evan Williams, Toby Huss, Julianne Nicholson,...

Netflix just dropped the first look at Blonde, and what an uncanny look it is. In this new teaser trailer for the Andrew Dominik-directed film starring Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe, the Hollywood icon is initially depicted as a tearful bundle of nerves, praying that some mysterious “she” won’t abandon her. As her make-up is applied and Monroe transforms into a smiling, radiant star, we realize exactly who she’s has been waiting for.

Dominik wrote and directed Blonde based on the novel by Joyce Carol Oates, and the film blends fact and fiction to reimagine the life of the great Hollywood star, exploring the split between Monroe’s public and private selves.

In addition to de Armas, the cast includes Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale, Caspar Phillipson, Evan Williams, Toby Huss, Julianne Nicholson, Lily Fisher, Sara Paxton, David Warshofsky, Xavier Samuel, Michael Masini, Spencer Garrett, Chris Lemmon,...

The first footage of “Blonde,” starring Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe, has arrived. And in it, she’s nervously waiting for an important arrival herself.

The black-and-white footage largely focuses on one scene, in which the starlet is in the makeup chair, but crying uncontrollably. As she pleads with her mirror, “Please come. Don’t abandon me,” she’s assured by an offscreen voice that “she” is coming.

It appears that “she” is actually Marilyn herself as, at the end of the footage, Norma Jeane Mortenson disappears, and Marilyn Monroe fully comes to the surface. You can watch the full teaser for “Blonde” in the video here and above.

Interspersed in the teaser are glimpses of some other iconic Marilyn moments, including the photo op in which she stood over a steam grate in her beloved white dress. Of course, the footage is underscored by one of Marilyn Monroe...

(Welcome to The Daily Stream, an ongoing series in which the /Film team shares what they've been watching, why it's worth checking out, and where you can stream it.)

The Movie: "Jackie"

Where You Can Stream It: Tubi

The Pitch: Imagine losing someone in the most violent way. Someone you love. Someone you're having relationship issues with. Someone who means the world to you, infuriates you, and brings you every high and low. Then imagine losing them in front of the entire world. 

"Jackie" is a portrait of the marriage of President John F. Kennedy (Caspar Phillipson) and Jacqueline Kennedy (Natalie Portman), President Kennedy's assassination, and the aftermath through the...

The post The Daily Stream: Jackie, a Portrait of Grief and Grace appeared first on /Film.

After months of rumors and kerfuffle over the rating of the Ana de Armas Marilyn Monroe film “Blonde,” the movie has now officially been rated Nc-17 by the MPA for “some sexual content.”

“Blonde” also appears to be Netflix’s first original movie to land the ultra rare Nc-17 rating. And an individual with knowledge of the film said that “Blonde” has some adult, mature content and that the film’s writer and director Andrew Dominik did not want to compromise some of the more intense elements of the iconic actress’ life.

Rumors had swirled throughout the project’s development that Netflix may have been uncomfortable with some of the content, and after production was completed in 2019 the streamer held onto the film for some time. At long last, “Blonde” has been confirmed for release in 2022.

Dominik even addressed controversy over the film’s content in February, telling ScreenDaily, “It...

Director Andrew Dominik’s upcoming Marilyn Monroe biopic “Blonde,” starring Ana de Armas as the screen siren and based on Joyce Carol Oates’ 2000 book, stirred controversy last year for a rumored Nc-17 rating. In a recent sit-down with Screen Daily, he confirmed the film’s Nc-17 rating but called outcry when the rumors started last year “horsesh*t.”

The “Killing Them Softly” director added, “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.”

Some of that excess may include a reported scene featuring menstrual cunnilingus, which Dominik said is just a “hilarious” rumor. A rape scene involving a studio executive, played by David Warshofsky, is confirmed, and comes from Oates’ book.

“It’s a demanding movie,” Dominik said. “If the audience doesn’t like it, that’s the fucking audience’s problem.

At long last, 2022 looks to be the time of Blonde. Placing high on our most-anticipated films of the year, Andrew Dominik’s Marilyn Monroe drama starring Ana de Armas was shot back in 2019 but delayed as rumors swirled that Netflix wasn’t quite sure what they had on their hands. Dominik has finally cleared the air.

Speaking to Screen Daily, Dominik responded to reports that it may be rated Nc-17, which the MPA hasn’t confirmed yet but he believes is a “horseshit” decision. “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,” he added. “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.”

Dominik hopes it will premiere out-of-competition at Cannes,...

Louis Næss-Schmidt and Jesper Christensen in Nicolaj Kopernikus’s Oscar-shortlisted Live Action Short Film Stenofonen

Nicolaj Kopernikus’s Oscar-shortlisted Live Action Short Film Stenofonen, produced by two-time Oscar winner Kim Magnusson (Anders Walter’s Helium and Anders Thomas Jensen’s Election Night), scored by Halfdan E and shot by Henrik Kristensen, stars Louis Næss-Schmidt (The Chestnut Man), Jesper Christensen, Lars Ranthe, Patricia Schumann, Joachim Fjelstrup, Caspar Phillipson, and Kopernikus.

Nicolaj Kopernikus with Kim Magnusson and Anne-Katrin Titze: “I was so happy that my son said yes to playing my father as a 12-year-old kid back in the 1950s.”

In the first installment of my conversation with Nicolaj Kopernikus and Kim Magnusson we discuss father/son relationships on and off the set, casting Caspar Phillipson as the Hallo-Hallo radio host, a special photograph, the location of the beach, cutting a line from the script, and the missing magic tricks.

There are...

In a pandemic-free alternate reality there’s a chance we may have gotten Andrew Dominik’s long-gestating Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde this year, but Netflix has decided to unveil the film––which stars Ana de Armas in the lead role––in 2021. While we likely won’t be hearing much about it for the rest of the year, an update has now come in from someone close to the production.

Joyce Carol Oates, whose 1999 novel is the basis for Dominik’s script, has revealed on Twitter that she’s screened a cut of the film and shared some high praise. “I have seen the rough cut of Andrew Dominik’s adaptation & it is startling, brilliant, very disturbing & [perhaps most surprisingly] an utterly “feminist” interpretation,” the author said. “[I’m] not sure that any male director has ever achieved anything [like] this.”

While any comments with someone with a vested interest in the project should be taken with a grain of salt,...

Exclusive: Production is currently underway on the Netflix and Plan B-produced Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde, which has Ana de Armas starring as Hollywood icon. The Andrew Dominik-helmed film has added Garret Dillahunt, Scoot McNairy, Lucy DeVito, Michael Masini, and Spencer Garrett to the cast.

In addition, Chris Lemmon, Rebecca Wisocky, Ned Bellamy, and Dan Butler have joined previously announced Bobby Cannavale, Julianne Nicholson, Lily Fisher, Evan Williams, Xavier Samuel, Caspar Phillipson, Toby Huss, Sara Paxton, and David Warshofksy.

The film, which is shooting in Los Angeles, is based on a bestselling novel, Blonde, from five-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Joyce Carol Oates.

Andrew Dominik has spent the better half of the decade trying to get his Marilyn Monroe biopic off the ground and, thanks to Netflix, it’s now becoming a reality. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford director found his star in Ana de Armas this past spring and now production is getting underway in Los Angeles.

THR has details on the full cast which includes two of Monroe’s husbands–Adrien Brody as Arthur Miller and Bobby Cannavale as Joe Dimaggio–as well as Julianne Nicholson, Caspar Phillipson, Toby Huss, Sara Paxton, David Warshofsky, Lily Fisher, Evan Williams, and Xavier Samuel. Cinematographer Chayse Irvin (BlacKkKlansman) has also come on board to shoot the film.

Based on the Joyce Carol Oates novel, Dominik told us, “Blonde‘s interesting because it has very little dialogue in it. My previous three movies have relied on a lot of talking...

As it heads into production in Los Angeles, Netflix's Marilyn Monroe movie Blonde has rounded out its cast.

As previously announced, Ana de Armas will play the Some Like It Hot actress, leading a cast that will include Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale and Julianne Nicholson.

Jackie actor Caspar Phillipson, Toby Huss, Sara Paxton and David Warshofsky will also appear in the feature, along with Lily Fisher (General Hospital), Evan Williams (Versailles) and Xavier Samuel (Adore).

The Assassination of Jesse James' Andrew Dominik wrote and will direct the movie. 

Blonde is based on the novel of the same name by Joyce Carol ...

As it heads into production in Los Angeles, Netflix's Marilyn Monroe movie Blonde has rounded out its cast.

As previously announced, Ana de Armas will play the Some Like It Hot actress, leading a cast that will include Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale and Julianne Nicholson.

Jackie actor Caspar Phillipson, Toby Huss, Sara Paxton and David Warshofsky will also appear in the feature, along with Lily Fisher (General Hospital), Evan Williams (Versailles) and Xavier Samuel (Adore).

The Assassination of Jesse James' Andrew Dominik wrote and will direct the movie. 

Blonde is based on the novel of the same name by Joyce Carol ...

HBO and BBC period drama Gentleman Jack has been handed a second season. Sally Wainwright’s Suranne Jones-fronted series will return for another eight-part run.

It comes as the Lookout Point-produce drama is still on the air. The series debuted on HBO on April 22 in its new Monday night slot and on the BBC on May 19. It became the BBC’s biggest new drama launch of the year with an average overnight audience of 5.1 million viewers.

Written by Happy Valley creator Wainwright, it tells the story of Anne Lister, played by Jones, who had a passion for life and a mind for business, and bucked society’s expectations at every turn.

Gentleman Jack focuses on Regency landowner Lister in the period drama, which is set in 1832 Halifax, West Yorkshire. She is determined to transform the fate of her faded ancestral home, Shibden Hall, by reopening the coal mines and marrying well.

Gentleman Jack has become the BBC’s biggest new drama launch of the year and the British broadcaster most successful new scripted series since Jenna Coleman-fronted psychological thriller The Cry.

The HBO co-production, which stars Suranne Jones, scored an average of 5.1M viewers with a peak of 5.6M on Sunday night in a 9pm slot. It secured an average share of 27.2% across the hour.

This comes after Coleman’s Australian-set drama averaged 5.7M viewers last year with a peak of 6.3M, compared with Bodyguard’s opening audience of 6.7M last year.

Gentleman Jack launched on April 22 in HBO’s new Monday night slot. It is created, written and co-directed by Happy Valley’s Sally Wainwright. The drama, which is produced by War and Peace producer Lookout Point, tells the story of a woman who had a passion for life and a mind for business, and bucked society’s expectations at every turn.