On June 16, Netflix released the first teaser trailer for Blonde, a luxurious minute-long preview filmed almost entirely in black and white. The upcoming biopic directed by Andrew Dominik (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Killing Them Softly) is based on Joyce Carol Oates’s 2000 bestselling novel of the same name. With Brad Pitt working as a producer, as well as a star-studded cast including Ana de Armas (No Time To Die, Knives Out) and Adrian Brody (The Pianist, The Grand Budapest Hotel), there are plenty of reasons for this film to generate Oscars hype.
The trailer will leave you captivated
The preview opens with an intimate shot of Ana de Armas as the character of Marilyn Monroe, sobbing at her dressing table. Prompted by an ominous rendition of the infamous “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend”, intrusive flashbulbs and a flirtatious sequence of Monroe’s iconic white dress from The Seven Year Itch blowing up in the breeze, the actor is mythically resurrected. Also captured is her dancing at a scene from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and giggling at herself in the mirror. The short trailer proves itself immediately, the resemblance between the Cuban actress and the American sex symbol suddenly unexpectedly uncanny.
The anticipated return of a star
It is almost 60 years after her death, and still the entertainment industry continually tries to resurrect the ’50s starlet. Just last month Andy Warhol’s 1964 pink and blue portrait pop art, that helped attain Monroe’s image for the next half century, sold at auction for $195m – the highest sum ever paid for a 20th-century piece of art.
Earlier last month also saw Kim Kardashian donning Monroe’s $4.8m dress to the New York Met Gala, the crystal-covered nude silk gown that she wore to sing Happy Birthday to John F Kennedy. This, however, appeared a less-than-successful tribute, with accusations of damage to the vintage gown and details of the extreme diet required to fit into the dress undoing the glamour. The discovery of the white fur coat requirement because Kardashian was unable to manage the zipper, further undid the result.
Blonde release date
The trailer didn’t leave us disappointed, but it did leave us waiting with a release date of later this year: September 23. It looks as though we are in for a long wait to truly critique and celebrate Armas’ portrait of the late American emblem of the ’50s sexual revolution.
Check out more Entertainment Now movie news, reviews and interviews here.
