An official trailer for the Marilyn Monroe biopic, Blonde, was released on July 28. Many viewers were outraged that Ana de Armas, who embodies the Hollywood icon in the play, had a Cuban accent that didn’t go well with Monroe’s voice. Now Monroe’s estate is defending the actress.
Marilyn Monroe’s estate defends Ana de Armas
While the film is not authorized by Monroe’s estate, the group stands by de Armas’ cast. Marc Rosen, President of Entertainment, Authentic Brands Group (ABG) and owner of the Marilyn Monroe Estate, stated, “Marilyn Monroe is a unique Hollywood and pop culture icon that transcends generations and history. Any actor who steps into this role knows they have to step into big shoes. The trailer alone shows that Ana was a great choice as she captures Marilyn’s glamour, humanity and vulnerability. We can’t wait to see the film in its entirety!”.
De Armas on her dialect coaching: “My brain was broken”
De Armas told the Times of London that she worked on her Monroe accent for the Andrew Dominik-directed film for nearly a year before filming began. The actress said: “It took me nine months of dialect coaching, practice and some ADR sessions [um den Akzent richtig hinzubekommen]. It was a great ordeal, so exhausting. My brain was broken.”
She also told Vanity Fair in 2020 that Dominik’s decision to cast a Cuban actress as an American icon was “groundbreaking.” “I only had to audition once for Marilyn and Andrew said, ‘It’s you,’ but I had to audition for everyone else. The producers. The financiers. I always had people I had to convince. But I knew I could do it. Playing Marilyn was groundbreaking. A Cuban plays Marilyn Monroe. I wanted it so bad You see the famous photo of her and she’s smiling in that moment, but that’s just a glimpse of what she was really going through at the time,” De Armas explained.
Blonde is coming to Netflix
Blonde is based on the 1999 novel of the same name by Joyce Carol Oates. The drama follows the life of Monroe from her childhood as Norma Jeane to her rise to stardom. Supporting cast includes Bobby Cannavale, Adrien Brody, Julianne Nicholson, Xavier Samuel and Evan Williams. The film will debut in competition at the Venice International Film Festival.
Blonde is scheduled to premiere on Netflix worldwide starting September 28th. Watch the official trailer for the film here: