Marilyn Monroe Estate Defends Ana de Armas’ Casting in ‘Blonde’
The Marilyn Monroe Estate has released a statement supporting the casting of Ana de Armas as the Hollywood icon in upcoming film Blonde. The statement, released by Variety, comes after a backlash to the trailer released last week, which revealed that the Cuban/Spanish actress’ accent does not entirely mimic Monroe’s breathy voice.
Although Andrew Dominik’s film, based on a novel by Joyce Carol Oates, is not officially authorized by Monroe’s estate, it affirms that it still stands by de Armas’ casting.
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“Marilyn Monroe is a singular Hollywood and pop culture icon that transcends generations and history,” said Marc Rosen, president of entertainment at Authentic Brands Group, which owns the Marilyn Monroe Estate. “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 Netflix film, which also stars Bobby Cannavale, Adrien Brody, Julianne Nicholson, Xavier Samuel, and Evan Williams, is set to premiere at the Venice Film Festival. It reimagines the life of Monroe, from her childhood to her stardom.
“Andrew’s ambitions were very clear from the start — to present a version of Marilyn Monroe’s life through her lens,” de Armas told Netflix Queue of the film. “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.”
The actress recently confirmed to The Times that she spent almost a year working on her accent for “Blonde” before filming started. “It took me nine months of dialect coaching, and practicing and some ADR sessions [to get the accent right],” she said. “It was a big torture, so exhausting. My brain was fried.”
Blonde will stream on Netflix on Sept. 28.
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