Ana de Armas at the Venice Film Festival for 'Blonde'. Image Source: SFGate
Ana de Armas shares her experience working on ‘Blonde’.
Ana de Armas, who will be appearing as Marilyn Monroe in her upcoming Netflix movie, "Blonde," walked the red carpet of the 2022 International Venice Film Festival alongside producer-actor Brad Pitt for the world premiere of the movie and during the press conference spoke about her experience while working on the movie.
According to reports from Reuters, Ana de Armas said that she truly believes that Marilyn Monroe was very close to them as they were filming and stated that she was all she thought about, dreamt about, and talked about, and she felt like she was with her and it was a beautiful experience.
The actress shared that the ghost of Marilyn Monroe made her feelings known if she was not happy with the way they were portraying her on-screen and revealed that she would also throw things off the wall sometimes and get mad if she was not happy with the way they were showcasing her on-screen. Ana said that maybe this will sound very mystical to a lot of people, but it is true as the ones working on the movie felt it.
Andrew Dominik, the writer, and director of the movie, which is based on the novel Joyce Carol Oates 2000 novel of the same name, said that they filmed the movie in the same apartment where Marilyn Monroe lived with her mentally ill mother and filmed the scene of her passing away in the actual room where Marilyn Monroe died. Andrew said that it took on elements of being like a séance and shared that the filming of the movie began the same day Marilyn Monroe passed away from an overdose at the age of 36 in 1962.
Blonde premiered at the Venice Film Festival and was met by an 14-minute standing ovation from the audience. Ana de Armas previously explained to L’Officiel that she was not interested in imitating Marilyn Monore but she was more interested in her feelings, her journey, insecurities, and voice in a sense that she did not have one. Andrew Dominik also said ahead of the premiere of the movie that he had been trying to make Blonde for over a decade but something or the other was not working out but then Ana de Armas walked in and he added that it was like love at first sight stating that when the right person walks in, you just know.
Ana de Armas said that when she got onboard with the movie she was not very much aware about Marilyn Monroe clarifying that she was aware of some of her movies but while working on Blonde, it was a huge discovery and learning process for her. Ana said that in the recreations where she played Marilyn, they wanted to honor the late actress, but she also had a lot of freedom to develop the true lady below that persona adding further that it was about connecting with her, her sorrow, and her trauma, and it was about understanding and empathizing with her.The actress concluded if one would overlook the fact that she is a movie star, she is simply a woman, like her, the same age. For this endeavor, Ana said that she was aware that she had to be vulnerable, open herself, and visit dark, uncomfortable areas.
Since 2012, the movie has been in production, and Jessica Chastain and Naomi Watts were previously considered for the lead parts. Adrien Brody, Julianne Nicholson, Bobby Cannavale, Caspar Phillipson, Toby Hus, and others will be appearing with Ana de Armas. Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Tracey Landon, and Scott Robertson all serve as producers for the movie, which is made by Plan B Entertainment.
"Blonde" premieres on Netflix on September 28.
