Get ready to celebrate the legends of sports in “Greatest Sports Legends: Then and Now,” airing this Saturday at 5:00 Am on ABC! In Season 3 Episode 25, viewers will be treated to a nostalgic journey through the lives and careers of iconic athletes who left an indelible mark on their respective sports.
From the towering presence of basketball star Wilt Chamberlain to the unmatched skill of baseball legends Ted Williams and Joe Dimaggio, this episode pays tribute to the trailblazers who shaped the landscape of sports history. Through archival footage and insightful commentary, viewers will gain a deeper appreciation for the enduring legacy of these sporting icons.
Join host as they take you on a captivating exploration of the triumphs, challenges, and enduring impact of these legendary athletes. Whether you’re a die-hard sports fan or simply appreciate the power of athletic greatness, “Greatest Sports Legends: Then and Now” promises to inspire and entertain.
From the towering presence of basketball star Wilt Chamberlain to the unmatched skill of baseball legends Ted Williams and Joe Dimaggio, this episode pays tribute to the trailblazers who shaped the landscape of sports history. Through archival footage and insightful commentary, viewers will gain a deeper appreciation for the enduring legacy of these sporting icons.
Join host as they take you on a captivating exploration of the triumphs, challenges, and enduring impact of these legendary athletes. Whether you’re a die-hard sports fan or simply appreciate the power of athletic greatness, “Greatest Sports Legends: Then and Now” promises to inspire and entertain.
- 4/27/2024
- by Jules Byrd
- TV Everyday
Norby Walters, a music agent who worked with Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Marvin Gaye, Kool & the Gang and Public Enemy before gaining renown in Hollywood for his annual “Night of 100 Stars” Oscar party and weekly poker game, has died. He was 91.
Walters died Dec. 10 of natural causes at an assisted living facility in Burbank, his son, producer Gary Michael Walters (Whiplash), told The Hollywood Reporter.
Walters hosted his first Oscar night gala in 1990 and the last in 2017, most often inside the Beverly Hilton’s Crystal Ballroom. Among those who attended were Shirley Jones, Robert Forster, Charles Bronson, Patricia Neal, Richard Dreyfuss, Eva Marie Saint, Martin Landau, Louis Gossett Jr., J.K. Simmons, Cliff Robertson, Red Buttons, Jon Voight and Allison Janney.
Walters for years also presided over a weekly poker game at his West Hollywood high-rise condo. The low-stakes $2 game was, his son said, “designed to be a place where actors could kibbutz,...
Walters died Dec. 10 of natural causes at an assisted living facility in Burbank, his son, producer Gary Michael Walters (Whiplash), told The Hollywood Reporter.
Walters hosted his first Oscar night gala in 1990 and the last in 2017, most often inside the Beverly Hilton’s Crystal Ballroom. Among those who attended were Shirley Jones, Robert Forster, Charles Bronson, Patricia Neal, Richard Dreyfuss, Eva Marie Saint, Martin Landau, Louis Gossett Jr., J.K. Simmons, Cliff Robertson, Red Buttons, Jon Voight and Allison Janney.
Walters for years also presided over a weekly poker game at his West Hollywood high-rise condo. The low-stakes $2 game was, his son said, “designed to be a place where actors could kibbutz,...
- 12/21/2023
- by Mike Barnes and Borys Kit
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“You can observe a lot by watching.”
Although attributed to the late Major League Baseball Hall of Famer/wit/pitchman Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra, one could imagine Albert Maysles, Frederick Wiseman or other legends of the observational/vérité strand of documentary positing this as a driving theme of a keynote address. Such is the understated prowess of this often misunderstood cultural icon, whose considerable achievements both on and off the field warrant a worthy documentary profile.
Enter filmmaker Sean Mullin, whose canon has consisted primarily of fiction features. Back in 2018, his producer, Peter Soboloff, was impressed with Rbg, about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, about television icon Fred Rogers, and he suggested that Mullin consider Yogi Berra as a protagonist. Soboloff then introduced Mullin to the Berra family.
Yogi Berra
“I’d done my research by the time I met with them,” says Mullin,...
Although attributed to the late Major League Baseball Hall of Famer/wit/pitchman Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra, one could imagine Albert Maysles, Frederick Wiseman or other legends of the observational/vérité strand of documentary positing this as a driving theme of a keynote address. Such is the understated prowess of this often misunderstood cultural icon, whose considerable achievements both on and off the field warrant a worthy documentary profile.
Enter filmmaker Sean Mullin, whose canon has consisted primarily of fiction features. Back in 2018, his producer, Peter Soboloff, was impressed with Rbg, about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, about television icon Fred Rogers, and he suggested that Mullin consider Yogi Berra as a protagonist. Soboloff then introduced Mullin to the Berra family.
Yogi Berra
“I’d done my research by the time I met with them,” says Mullin,...
- 12/12/2023
- by Tom White
- Deadline Film + TV
There is not a more dependable movie genre in 2023 than horror. They can be made quickly and cheaply, starring up-and-coming teens and twenty-somethings, with the occasional appearance from a B-list (at most) actor whose presence lends the project a shred of credibility. They can also be released at any time of the year. In 2023, "M3GAN" cleaned up in January, "Scream VI" carved out a significant chunk of change in March, while the A24 sleeper hit "Talk to Me" entranced scare-seeking audiences throughout July and August.
Beginning with the release of "Paranormal Activity," Jason Blum and his Blumhouse Productions have been churning out durable franchises like "Insidious" and "The Purge," while taking chances on original visions from ambitious filmmakers like Jordan Peele ("Get Out") and Scott Derrickson ("The Black Phone"). Blumhouse has certainly produced its share of clunkers, but its batting average is Joe Dimaggio-esque. Rather than swing for the fences,...
Beginning with the release of "Paranormal Activity," Jason Blum and his Blumhouse Productions have been churning out durable franchises like "Insidious" and "The Purge," while taking chances on original visions from ambitious filmmakers like Jordan Peele ("Get Out") and Scott Derrickson ("The Black Phone"). Blumhouse has certainly produced its share of clunkers, but its batting average is Joe Dimaggio-esque. Rather than swing for the fences,...
- 12/3/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Exclusive: Scott Bakula will return to the New York stage this winter in an Off Broadway, world premiere production of the new musical The Connector, conceived and directed by Daisy Prince with music and lyrics by Tony winner Jason Robert Brown (Parade) and a book by Jonathan Marc Sherman.
A production of the acclaimed Off Broadway non-profit company McC Theater, The Connector will begin performances at McC Theater’s Newman Mills Theater on January 12, 2024, with an opening night set for February 6. The limited engagement will run through February 18, 2024.
Set in the rapidly changing media and magazine worlds of the late 1990s (the title refers to a revered publication), The Connector also will feature choreography by Karla Puno Garcia, co-choreographer of the Broadway-found Days of Wine and Roses.
In addition to Bakula, who will play a character named Conrad, the large cast of The Connector will include Sweeney Todd‘s Joanna Carpenter,...
A production of the acclaimed Off Broadway non-profit company McC Theater, The Connector will begin performances at McC Theater’s Newman Mills Theater on January 12, 2024, with an opening night set for February 6. The limited engagement will run through February 18, 2024.
Set in the rapidly changing media and magazine worlds of the late 1990s (the title refers to a revered publication), The Connector also will feature choreography by Karla Puno Garcia, co-choreographer of the Broadway-found Days of Wine and Roses.
In addition to Bakula, who will play a character named Conrad, the large cast of The Connector will include Sweeney Todd‘s Joanna Carpenter,...
- 10/5/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Conan O’Brien hosted Bob Woodruff's first annual Stand Up for Heroes: A Benefit for the Bob Woodruff Foundation in 2007.
Charities & foundations supported
Conan O'Brien has supported the following charities:
Als AssociationAutism SpeaksBob Woodruff FoundationChildren's Defense FundEntertainment Industry FoundationFarm SanctuaryFresh Air FundHope LivesLabels Are For JarsSkoll FoundationSt. Francis Food Pantries and SheltersSTILLERSTRONG Read more about Conan O'Brien's charity work and events. Related articles Stewart to Host Night Of Too Many StarsLook To The Stars Exclusive: The 60th Primetime Emmy AwardsBaseball Charity Match Benefits Joe Dimaggio Children’s HospitalJay Leno To Host Charity AuctionBruce Springsteen To Rock Autism Concert
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Copyright © 2023 Look To The Stars. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this via email or in your news reader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright, and we would be...
Charities & foundations supported
Conan O'Brien has supported the following charities:
Als AssociationAutism SpeaksBob Woodruff FoundationChildren's Defense FundEntertainment Industry FoundationFarm SanctuaryFresh Air FundHope LivesLabels Are For JarsSkoll FoundationSt. Francis Food Pantries and SheltersSTILLERSTRONG Read more about Conan O'Brien's charity work and events. Related articles Stewart to Host Night Of Too Many StarsLook To The Stars Exclusive: The 60th Primetime Emmy AwardsBaseball Charity Match Benefits Joe Dimaggio Children’s HospitalJay Leno To Host Charity AuctionBruce Springsteen To Rock Autism Concert
Advertise your company to our engaged yearly audience of millions →
Copyright © 2023 Look To The Stars. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this via email or in your news reader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright, and we would be...
- 8/25/2023
- Look to the Stars
Chicago – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio film reviews for the new biography documentaries “Stan Lee,” an overview of the Marvel Universe creator (on Disney+ since June 16th) and baseballer “Yogi Berra It Ain’t Over” (currently in select theaters and available for digital download).
Rating: 4.0/5.0
Stan Lee was born Stanley Lieber in New York City way back in 1922, and as a teenager accidentally became a writer at Timely Comics, a small rival to Superman’s National Comics in the late 1930s. Because World War 2 was on … which Stan would eventually serve in for one of the great stories in the doc … the boy wonder rose to editor at the tender age of 17. Post the war he would cement his legacy, convince the publishers to change the company to Marvel in the early 1960s, and began a revolution – with artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko – that would become the Marvel Universe.
Rating: 4.0/5.0
Stan Lee was born Stanley Lieber in New York City way back in 1922, and as a teenager accidentally became a writer at Timely Comics, a small rival to Superman’s National Comics in the late 1930s. Because World War 2 was on … which Stan would eventually serve in for one of the great stories in the doc … the boy wonder rose to editor at the tender age of 17. Post the war he would cement his legacy, convince the publishers to change the company to Marvel in the early 1960s, and began a revolution – with artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko – that would become the Marvel Universe.
- 6/21/2023
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Pat Cooper, the brash Italian-American stand-up from Brooklyn whose anger real and imagined provided fuel for a long career in comedy, has died. He was 93.
Cooper died Tuesday night at his home in Las Vegas, his wife, Emily Conner, announced.
A mainstay in nightclubs from Atlantic City to Las Vegas, Cooper opened for Ginger Rogers at the Desert Inn and Frank Sinatra at the Sands. He said he once refused to take out a joke about an upside-down St. Anthony statue that Sinatra wanted excised and never worked with the singer again.
Also known for his nonstop, rapid-fire delivery, Cooper appeared as himself on the 1996 Seinfeld episode “The Friars Club” — he participated in many a roast at that famed comedic establishment in midtown Manhattan — and made regular appearances on late-night talk shows, for Ed Sullivan and, starting in the 1980s, on Howard Stern’s radio program.
The bespectacled comic played...
Cooper died Tuesday night at his home in Las Vegas, his wife, Emily Conner, announced.
A mainstay in nightclubs from Atlantic City to Las Vegas, Cooper opened for Ginger Rogers at the Desert Inn and Frank Sinatra at the Sands. He said he once refused to take out a joke about an upside-down St. Anthony statue that Sinatra wanted excised and never worked with the singer again.
Also known for his nonstop, rapid-fire delivery, Cooper appeared as himself on the 1996 Seinfeld episode “The Friars Club” — he participated in many a roast at that famed comedic establishment in midtown Manhattan — and made regular appearances on late-night talk shows, for Ed Sullivan and, starting in the 1980s, on Howard Stern’s radio program.
The bespectacled comic played...
- 6/7/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Marilyn Monroe‘s star burned brightly and briefly before her untimely death in 1962 at age 36. Yet she managed to enter the pop culture lexicon with just a handful of films, becoming Hollywood’s most memorable sex symbol. In honor of her birthday, let’s take a look back at 15 of her greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1926, Monroe started off as a model before moving into acting with a series of bit parts, most notably in “All About Eve” and “The Asphalt Jungle,” both released in 1950. She became a leading lady with a trio of 1953 titles: the noir “Niagara,” the musical “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and the romantic comedy “How to Marry a Millionaire.”
She became iconic thanks to Billy Wilder‘s “The Seven Year Itch” (1955), in which she played a young woman tantalizing her married neighbor (Tom Ewell). Her image was forever burned into our memories thanks to...
Born in 1926, Monroe started off as a model before moving into acting with a series of bit parts, most notably in “All About Eve” and “The Asphalt Jungle,” both released in 1950. She became a leading lady with a trio of 1953 titles: the noir “Niagara,” the musical “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and the romantic comedy “How to Marry a Millionaire.”
She became iconic thanks to Billy Wilder‘s “The Seven Year Itch” (1955), in which she played a young woman tantalizing her married neighbor (Tom Ewell). Her image was forever burned into our memories thanks to...
- 5/27/2023
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Yogi Berra smiling. Photo credit: Getty. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
It doesn’t get any more delightful than the surprising, warm documentary about beloved baseball legend Yogi Berra, It Ain’T Over. Surprising? Yes, as this well-made bio documentary looks back at Yogi’s outstanding baseball career as player, something overshadowed and even forgotten by fans, as he became best known as a lovable pop culture icon and for his “Yogi-isms,” quotable phrases like “it’s deja vu all over again,” “when you come to a fork in the road, take it” and “it ain’t over until it’s over.” Yet Yogi Berra was a baseball player whose record put him among the greats of the game, As actor and baseball fan Billy Crystal put it, Yogi was “the most overlooked superstar in the history of baseball.”
The numbers are impressive, jaw-dropping even, considering what we might think we know about Yogi Berra.
It doesn’t get any more delightful than the surprising, warm documentary about beloved baseball legend Yogi Berra, It Ain’T Over. Surprising? Yes, as this well-made bio documentary looks back at Yogi’s outstanding baseball career as player, something overshadowed and even forgotten by fans, as he became best known as a lovable pop culture icon and for his “Yogi-isms,” quotable phrases like “it’s deja vu all over again,” “when you come to a fork in the road, take it” and “it ain’t over until it’s over.” Yet Yogi Berra was a baseball player whose record put him among the greats of the game, As actor and baseball fan Billy Crystal put it, Yogi was “the most overlooked superstar in the history of baseball.”
The numbers are impressive, jaw-dropping even, considering what we might think we know about Yogi Berra.
- 5/19/2023
- by Cate Marquis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
A beloved ballplayer and an iconic consumer device join a Hollywood satire by Charlie Day, an Emanuele Crialese film with Penelope Cruz and debuts from Sundance and Venice in a potentially strong specialty weekend that will test the appetite for indie film with no new franchise wide releases.
Sony Pictures Classics opens Sean Mullin’s Yogi Berra documentary It Ain’t Over on 100 screens in NY and LA with a big regional push for the legendary Yankee, including complimentary plus-one tickets on Thursday and Sunday at Regal, AMC and City Cinemas in the New York Tri-State area. The intimate portrait of a baseball genius, master of aphorism, pitchman and endearing human being, Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra, premiered at Tribeca last year (100% Certified Fresh). Berra’s granddaughter Lindsay Berra, with Joe Torre, Derek Jeter, Don Mattingly, Bob Costas, Vin Scully, Billy Crystal and others are loving guides to Berra’s unparalleled accomplishments...
Sony Pictures Classics opens Sean Mullin’s Yogi Berra documentary It Ain’t Over on 100 screens in NY and LA with a big regional push for the legendary Yankee, including complimentary plus-one tickets on Thursday and Sunday at Regal, AMC and City Cinemas in the New York Tri-State area. The intimate portrait of a baseball genius, master of aphorism, pitchman and endearing human being, Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra, premiered at Tribeca last year (100% Certified Fresh). Berra’s granddaughter Lindsay Berra, with Joe Torre, Derek Jeter, Don Mattingly, Bob Costas, Vin Scully, Billy Crystal and others are loving guides to Berra’s unparalleled accomplishments...
- 5/12/2023
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
On The Evening of Sept. 28, 1979, Caesars Palace in Las Vegas felt like the center of the universe. Sugar Ray Leonard was fighting Andy Price for the North American Boxing Federation welterweight title. In the crowd, sports legends like Joe Dimaggio and Joe Louis mingled with entertainers like Smokey Robinson and Cary Grant. Diana Ross sat ringside, next to Motown founder Berry Gordy. And in Price’s corner, amid the television cameras and cigar smoke, sat Price’s manager, Marvin Gaye, feeling like his whole life was on the line.
Gaye often spoke in boxing metaphors,...
Gaye often spoke in boxing metaphors,...
- 2/4/2023
- by Matthew Allan
- Rollingstone.com
It was 1983 when actor Scott Bakula made his debut on Broadway. He’d moved to New York City years before to chase his dream of acting, and it took time. His first role, however, was a big one. He played an icon on stage. Scott Bakula portrayed none other than famed baseball legend Joe Dimaggio; the man married to the even more legendary Marilyn Monroe for a moment. The production was Marilyn: An American Fable, and it was the role that opened the doors for him to play other roles off and on Broadway. Of course, those roles are not
What is Scott Bakula’s Net Worth in 2023?...
What is Scott Bakula’s Net Worth in 2023?...
- 1/26/2023
- by Tiffany Raiford
- TVovermind.com
Rockers go head-to-head with demons from hell in this battle of bands final issue musical event! With the The Roadie #4 being released on December 28 by Dark Horse Comics, we have an exclusive 5-page preview just for Daily Dead readers!
About the Series: Dark Horse Comics is proud to present the new dark horror action series The Roadie. From creators Tim Seeley and Fran Galan (Lucky Devil) comes this horror saga about nostalgia, heavy metal music, hell, and redemption.
More than thirty-five years after his heyday, a former heavy metal roadie must return to the backroads of America to do a job he thought he'd retired from: exorcist. But this time, he's not saving groupies and drunk bassists. He's trying to save his daughter.
"I wanted to tell the story of the 'unsung hero' of the 80s Satanic Panic era…,” Tim Seeley says, “the roadies who supported all those metal bands,...
About the Series: Dark Horse Comics is proud to present the new dark horror action series The Roadie. From creators Tim Seeley and Fran Galan (Lucky Devil) comes this horror saga about nostalgia, heavy metal music, hell, and redemption.
More than thirty-five years after his heyday, a former heavy metal roadie must return to the backroads of America to do a job he thought he'd retired from: exorcist. But this time, he's not saving groupies and drunk bassists. He's trying to save his daughter.
"I wanted to tell the story of the 'unsung hero' of the 80s Satanic Panic era…,” Tim Seeley says, “the roadies who supported all those metal bands,...
- 12/16/2022
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Click here to read the full article.
In re-creating the most famous of icons, one might think the approach would be to mimic the original. If only resurrecting Marilyn Monroe for director Andrew Dominik’s Blonde had been that simple. “Andrew said to me, ‘Don’t just put Marilyn’s makeup on Ana [de Armas]. You have to find Marilyn within Ana,’ ” says makeup department head Tina Roesler Kerwin.
With only a few weeks to prepare for the Netflix film, Kerwin and hair department head Jaime Leigh McIntosh’s first day of production was a photo shoot creating the still images that would show Marilyn’s rise to fame throughout the film. It was while putting together the more than three dozen looks that they were able to practice perfecting the two-and-a-half-hour process of transforming de Armas into Monroe. “A lot of it was erasing before we could rebuild,” says Kerwin. “Her...
In re-creating the most famous of icons, one might think the approach would be to mimic the original. If only resurrecting Marilyn Monroe for director Andrew Dominik’s Blonde had been that simple. “Andrew said to me, ‘Don’t just put Marilyn’s makeup on Ana [de Armas]. You have to find Marilyn within Ana,’ ” says makeup department head Tina Roesler Kerwin.
With only a few weeks to prepare for the Netflix film, Kerwin and hair department head Jaime Leigh McIntosh’s first day of production was a photo shoot creating the still images that would show Marilyn’s rise to fame throughout the film. It was while putting together the more than three dozen looks that they were able to practice perfecting the two-and-a-half-hour process of transforming de Armas into Monroe. “A lot of it was erasing before we could rebuild,” says Kerwin. “Her...
- 12/3/2022
- by Carita Rizzo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Even six decades after her untimely passing, Marilyn Monroe’s stardom has never faded. As the interest in her pop culture iconography continues to surge, so does the level of public respect for her talent. Her ubiquity puts any actress who portrays her under automatic scrutiny, as “Blonde” star Ana de Armas can certainly attest. Her embodiment of the seminal movie star in the Netflix film was an undertaking she “knew from the beginning [would] be very challenging.” Watch her and several more members of the “Blonde” cast and crew expound on her transformation in the exclusive video feature above.
Andrew Dominik’s “Blonde” is adapted from the Joyce Carol Oates novel of the same name, which is a work of biographical fiction about the actress who was born Norma Jeane Mortenson. De Armas says her “passion for this project came from understanding Norma” and that she took care to find “moments where Norma was there,...
Andrew Dominik’s “Blonde” is adapted from the Joyce Carol Oates novel of the same name, which is a work of biographical fiction about the actress who was born Norma Jeane Mortenson. De Armas says her “passion for this project came from understanding Norma” and that she took care to find “moments where Norma was there,...
- 11/21/2022
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
Friday night marked the finale of Bill Maher’s 20th season of Real Time on HBO, and the host wrapped up by bringing on a special Friend.
Matthew Perry, best known as Chandler Bing from the hit sitcom Friends, is out on the talk show circuit to flog his book, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir, which is doing so well, it’s beating Bono’s Surrender in Ireland.
Bill Maher was impressed with that last fact, likening Perry to “the Taylor Swift of writing.” However, later, he compared Perry to being the Joe Dimaggio of drug abuse, as Perry frankly admits is true in his book, which holds nothing back about his debauchery with substances.
“A lot did have you in the dead pool,” Maher said, while noting that Perry looked “amazing,” sporting a great tan and seeming rested.
As he was throughout in his book,...
Matthew Perry, best known as Chandler Bing from the hit sitcom Friends, is out on the talk show circuit to flog his book, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir, which is doing so well, it’s beating Bono’s Surrender in Ireland.
Bill Maher was impressed with that last fact, likening Perry to “the Taylor Swift of writing.” However, later, he compared Perry to being the Joe Dimaggio of drug abuse, as Perry frankly admits is true in his book, which holds nothing back about his debauchery with substances.
“A lot did have you in the dead pool,” Maher said, while noting that Perry looked “amazing,” sporting a great tan and seeming rested.
As he was throughout in his book,...
- 11/19/2022
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
What becomes a legend most? Well, in the case of Marilyn Monroe, it’s countless books, feature films, TV movies, limited series, documentaries and even a Broadway musical. “Blonde,” the latest film about the influential sex symbol, who starred in such films as 1953’s “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and 1959’s ‘Some Like it Hot” and tragically died at the age of 36 in 1962, has been polarizing critics and audiences since it premiered at the recent Venice Film Festival.
Based on Joyce Carol Oates’ best-selling 2000 novel, “Blonde” offers a fictionalized look at the troubled actress. Currently in theaters and streaming on Netflix, “Blonde” stars Ana de Armas. She has been singled out by critics for her work, but director Andrew Dominik (“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”) hasn’t been so lucky. “’Blonde’ has been conceived as a slow-motion death march,” said the L.A. Times Justin Chan.
The...
Based on Joyce Carol Oates’ best-selling 2000 novel, “Blonde” offers a fictionalized look at the troubled actress. Currently in theaters and streaming on Netflix, “Blonde” stars Ana de Armas. She has been singled out by critics for her work, but director Andrew Dominik (“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”) hasn’t been so lucky. “’Blonde’ has been conceived as a slow-motion death march,” said the L.A. Times Justin Chan.
The...
- 10/3/2022
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Click here to read the full article.
For BAFTA-nominated costume designer Jennifer Johnson (I, Tonya), working on Blonde was all about authenticity. Armed with a directive from writer-director Andrew Dominik — who would not approve a creation unless it was a perfect match — everything from the shades of Marilyn Monroe’s pink opera gloves to the placement of a pocket needed to be exact. Archival photos and films proved invaluable for the design of 100-plus costumes for Monroe along with those for 1,800 extras and supporting characters (including Joe Dimaggio, John F. Kennedy and Arthur Miller), which were a mixture of vintage and made-from-scratch items.
For an offscreen Monroe look, Jennifer Johnson remade capri pants found at L.A.’s Palace Costume.
Taking her cues from Joyce Carol Oates’ novel of the same name and Dominik’s script, Johnson’s goal was to convey the inner workings of the iconic screen siren...
For BAFTA-nominated costume designer Jennifer Johnson (I, Tonya), working on Blonde was all about authenticity. Armed with a directive from writer-director Andrew Dominik — who would not approve a creation unless it was a perfect match — everything from the shades of Marilyn Monroe’s pink opera gloves to the placement of a pocket needed to be exact. Archival photos and films proved invaluable for the design of 100-plus costumes for Monroe along with those for 1,800 extras and supporting characters (including Joe Dimaggio, John F. Kennedy and Arthur Miller), which were a mixture of vintage and made-from-scratch items.
For an offscreen Monroe look, Jennifer Johnson remade capri pants found at L.A.’s Palace Costume.
Taking her cues from Joyce Carol Oates’ novel of the same name and Dominik’s script, Johnson’s goal was to convey the inner workings of the iconic screen siren...
- 10/1/2022
- by Cathy Whitlock
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Blonde” has arrived on Netflix. The highly anticipated feature reimagines the life of screen legend Marilyn Monroe (played by “Knives Out” star Ana de Armas), based on the novel by Joyce Carol Oates.
Despite receiving an 11-minute standing ovation when it premiered at the Venice Film Festival, “Blonde” has been deluged with negative reviews, with critics complaining that the movie sends the “Some Like it Hot” star from one horrifically traumatic experience to another, with Monroe portrayed as a victim from start to finish.
In the film, Monroe is depicted as being abused by numerous people, including husband Joe Dimaggio (played by Bobby Cannavale).
Read More: Marilyn Monroe Biopic ‘Blonde’ Starring Ana De Armas Gets 11-Minute Standing Ovation
Also starring is Adrien Brody as Monroe’s subsequent husband, playwright Arthur Miller, perhaps the only character in the movie who doesn’t treat her abusively.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Brody addressed the criticism,...
Despite receiving an 11-minute standing ovation when it premiered at the Venice Film Festival, “Blonde” has been deluged with negative reviews, with critics complaining that the movie sends the “Some Like it Hot” star from one horrifically traumatic experience to another, with Monroe portrayed as a victim from start to finish.
In the film, Monroe is depicted as being abused by numerous people, including husband Joe Dimaggio (played by Bobby Cannavale).
Read More: Marilyn Monroe Biopic ‘Blonde’ Starring Ana De Armas Gets 11-Minute Standing Ovation
Also starring is Adrien Brody as Monroe’s subsequent husband, playwright Arthur Miller, perhaps the only character in the movie who doesn’t treat her abusively.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Brody addressed the criticism,...
- 9/30/2022
- by Brent Furdyk
- ET Canada
Dir: Andrew Dominik. Starring: Ana de Armas, Julianne Nicholson, Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale. Cert 18, 165 minutes
Never mind the diamonds. I’ll tell you who isn’t a girl’s best friend: Andrew Dominik, the writer-director of Blonde, a merciless, dull, over-long riff on Marilyn Monroe. Across its lengthy running time, the Hollywood star has a time of it. She is nearly drowned by her mother. Raped at an audition. Forced into an abortion. Harangued by the unborn foetus she’s about to abort. Attacked by a husband she calls “daddy”. It’s no exaggeration to say that she cries in almost every scene. To borrow a phrase, if you can’t handle Marilyn Monroe as an adult woman in possession of agency, you sure as hell don’t deserve to make an almost-three-hour film about her.
But Blonde is not a bad film because it is degrading, exploitative and misogynist,...
Never mind the diamonds. I’ll tell you who isn’t a girl’s best friend: Andrew Dominik, the writer-director of Blonde, a merciless, dull, over-long riff on Marilyn Monroe. Across its lengthy running time, the Hollywood star has a time of it. She is nearly drowned by her mother. Raped at an audition. Forced into an abortion. Harangued by the unborn foetus she’s about to abort. Attacked by a husband she calls “daddy”. It’s no exaggeration to say that she cries in almost every scene. To borrow a phrase, if you can’t handle Marilyn Monroe as an adult woman in possession of agency, you sure as hell don’t deserve to make an almost-three-hour film about her.
But Blonde is not a bad film because it is degrading, exploitative and misogynist,...
- 9/30/2022
- by Jessie Thompson
- The Independent - Film
Click here to read the full article.
By the time Adrien Brody arrives as Arthur Miller in Andrew Dominik’s nearly three-hour Marilyn Monroe biopic, Blonde, the audience is apt to be relieved when the famous writer betrays the Hollywood icon by breaking a cherished promise — only because virtually everyone else in the film has already abused and exploited the actress in vastly more horrible ways. As the movie’s split critical response indicates, Blonde is a tough and divisive watch. But it’s hard to imagine that wasn’t Dominik’s intention.
The director’s first narrative film since his 2012 Brad Pitt crime thriller Killing Them Softly, 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 spent 11 years developing the film and trying to bring it to fruition. With a fully...
By the time Adrien Brody arrives as Arthur Miller in Andrew Dominik’s nearly three-hour Marilyn Monroe biopic, Blonde, the audience is apt to be relieved when the famous writer betrays the Hollywood icon by breaking a cherished promise — only because virtually everyone else in the film has already abused and exploited the actress in vastly more horrible ways. As the movie’s split critical response indicates, Blonde is a tough and divisive watch. But it’s hard to imagine that wasn’t Dominik’s intention.
The director’s first narrative film since his 2012 Brad Pitt crime thriller Killing Them Softly, 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 spent 11 years developing the film and trying to bring it to fruition. With a fully...
- 9/29/2022
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Stars: Ana de Armas, Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale, Garret Dillahunt, Sara Paxton | Written and Directed by Andrew Dominik
Blonde reimagines the life of one of Hollywood’s most enduring icons, Marilyn Monroe. From her volatile childhood as Norma Jeane, through her rise to stardom and romantic entanglements, Blonde blurs the lines of fact and fiction to explore the widening split between her public and private selves.
Andrew Dominik‘s Blonde is perhaps the boldest and most daring mainstream movie of the year, even though it’s not really mainstream. It has a nice, big cast filled with tons of huge names and has lots of recognizable talent behind the camera, but it’s one of the most unconventional movies of the entire year.
Dominik’s films are practically known for causing discourse at this point. If you go into one of his films expecting some straightforward, by the book story,...
Blonde reimagines the life of one of Hollywood’s most enduring icons, Marilyn Monroe. From her volatile childhood as Norma Jeane, through her rise to stardom and romantic entanglements, Blonde blurs the lines of fact and fiction to explore the widening split between her public and private selves.
Andrew Dominik‘s Blonde is perhaps the boldest and most daring mainstream movie of the year, even though it’s not really mainstream. It has a nice, big cast filled with tons of huge names and has lots of recognizable talent behind the camera, but it’s one of the most unconventional movies of the entire year.
Dominik’s films are practically known for causing discourse at this point. If you go into one of his films expecting some straightforward, by the book story,...
- 9/29/2022
- by Caillou Pettis
- Nerdly
Dir: Andrew Dominik. Starring: Ana de Armas, Julianne Nicholson, Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale. Cert 18, 165 minutes
Never mind the diamonds. I’ll tell you who isn’t a girl’s best friend: Andrew Dominik, the writer-director of Blonde, a merciless, dull, over-long riff on Marilyn Monroe. Across its lengthy running time, the Hollywood star has a time of it. She is nearly drowned by her mother. Raped at an audition. Forced into an abortion. Harangued by the unborn foetus she’s about to abort. Attacked by a husband she calls “daddy”. It’s no exaggeration to say that she cries in almost every scene. To borrow a phrase, if you can’t handle Marilyn Monroe as an adult woman in possession of agency, you sure as hell don’t deserve to make an almost-three-hour film about her.
But Blonde is not a bad film because it is degrading, exploitative and misogynist,...
Never mind the diamonds. I’ll tell you who isn’t a girl’s best friend: Andrew Dominik, the writer-director of Blonde, a merciless, dull, over-long riff on Marilyn Monroe. Across its lengthy running time, the Hollywood star has a time of it. She is nearly drowned by her mother. Raped at an audition. Forced into an abortion. Harangued by the unborn foetus she’s about to abort. Attacked by a husband she calls “daddy”. It’s no exaggeration to say that she cries in almost every scene. To borrow a phrase, if you can’t handle Marilyn Monroe as an adult woman in possession of agency, you sure as hell don’t deserve to make an almost-three-hour film about her.
But Blonde is not a bad film because it is degrading, exploitative and misogynist,...
- 9/29/2022
- by Jessie Thompson
- The Independent - Film
“Blonde” is now streaming on Netflix after first premiering at the 2022 Venice Film Festival, and initial reviews have praised Ana De Armas’ performance as Norma Jeane Baker, known more broadly to the world as Marilyn Monroe.
“Blonde” is based on the historical fiction book of the same title by Joyce Carol Oates, and it follows her beginnings of fame from her childhood and abrupt placement in an orphanage after her mother is sent to a mental hospital. Her career in Holywood leads to involvement with Charlie Chaplin Jr. (Xavier Samuel) and Edward G. Robinson Jr. (Evan Williams) before marrying retired baseball player Joe Dimaggio (Bobby Cannavale) and then “The Crucible” playwright Arthur Miller (Adrien Brody).
For a full rundown of who plays who, check out our complete “Blonde” cast and character guide below.
“Blonde” is based on the historical fiction book of the same title by Joyce Carol Oates, and it follows her beginnings of fame from her childhood and abrupt placement in an orphanage after her mother is sent to a mental hospital. Her career in Holywood leads to involvement with Charlie Chaplin Jr. (Xavier Samuel) and Edward G. Robinson Jr. (Evan Williams) before marrying retired baseball player Joe Dimaggio (Bobby Cannavale) and then “The Crucible” playwright Arthur Miller (Adrien Brody).
For a full rundown of who plays who, check out our complete “Blonde” cast and character guide below.
- 9/28/2022
- by Dessi Gomez
- The Wrap
“There is no meaning to life apart from the movie story,” writes Joyce Carol Oates in the opening pages of “Blonde,” “and there is no movie story apart from the darkened movie theater.” If it was inevitable that Oates’ novel about Marilyn Monroe would be made into a movie, it’s also a little ironic that that movie was made by Netflix — suffice to say that few who see “Blonde” will do so in a darkened movie theater. How many potential viewers are scared off by its runtime of 167 minutes is impossible to say, but there is a good reason for its protracted length: The book is similarly imposing at 738 pages. A finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, Blonde was released in 2000 and adapted once before — not that the CBS miniseries starring Poppy Montgomery garnered nearly as much attention as this new version has.
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- 9/28/2022
- by Michael Nordine
- Variety Film + TV
Separating fact from fiction is tricky in the new Marilyn Monroe drama Blonde.
The Netflix film, which stars Ana de Armas in its central role, doesn’t take the familiar form of a Hollywood biopic steeped in research. Instead it’s based on the best-selling Joyce Carol Oates novel of the same name from 2000, itself a highly fictionalised work emphasising the ways in which Marilyn was victimised across her life.
Similarly, the film controversially depicts some of the most traumatic moments of the Hollywood actor’s life, from her Los Angeles childhood in the 1920s and 30s to her death at the age of 36. But like any fictionalisation of a real person’s life, it raises as many questions as it attempts to answer.
Here is how some of Blonde’s most shocking storylines compare to what really happened.
Was Marilyn Monroe abused as a child?
Blonde depicts Marilyn’s childhood as deeply unstable.
The Netflix film, which stars Ana de Armas in its central role, doesn’t take the familiar form of a Hollywood biopic steeped in research. Instead it’s based on the best-selling Joyce Carol Oates novel of the same name from 2000, itself a highly fictionalised work emphasising the ways in which Marilyn was victimised across her life.
Similarly, the film controversially depicts some of the most traumatic moments of the Hollywood actor’s life, from her Los Angeles childhood in the 1920s and 30s to her death at the age of 36. But like any fictionalisation of a real person’s life, it raises as many questions as it attempts to answer.
Here is how some of Blonde’s most shocking storylines compare to what really happened.
Was Marilyn Monroe abused as a child?
Blonde depicts Marilyn’s childhood as deeply unstable.
- 9/28/2022
- by Amanda Whiting
- The Independent - TV
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':...
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':...
- 9/27/2022
- by Dessi Gomez
- The Wrap
"Blonde," the new movie starring Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe, is more inspired by the legendary actor's story than it is a retelling of her life. However, there are parts that stick pretty close to the facts we know about her.
The film is an adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates's novel of the same name, and director Andrew Dominik told BFI in an interview published Sept. 27 that the decision to adapt the novel is why there are so many factual changes to the story he tells. He explained, "I've read everything there is to read about Marilyn Monroe. I've met people that knew her. I've done an enormous amount of research. But in the end, it's about the book. And adapting the book is really about adapting the feelings that the book gave me. I see the film, in some ways, as Joyce's vision of Marilyn, which is also really Joyce.
The film is an adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates's novel of the same name, and director Andrew Dominik told BFI in an interview published Sept. 27 that the decision to adapt the novel is why there are so many factual changes to the story he tells. He explained, "I've read everything there is to read about Marilyn Monroe. I've met people that knew her. I've done an enormous amount of research. But in the end, it's about the book. And adapting the book is really about adapting the feelings that the book gave me. I see the film, in some ways, as Joyce's vision of Marilyn, which is also really Joyce.
- 9/27/2022
- by Victoria Edel
- Popsugar.com
Joyce Carol Oates has reacted to Blonde’s Nc-17 rating, saying that what Marilyn Monroe really went through is “much worse” than anything shown in the film.
The new Netflix psychological drama biopic starring Ana de Armas as the late Hollywood icon is based on Oates’ 2000 novel of the same name.
Since its theatrical release, it’s received mixed critical reviews, with The Independent’s Amanda Whiting arguing that “Blonde isn’t a movie about Marilyn Monroe’s exploitation, but a new low watermark in Hollywood’s treatment of her – a sex object reduced to a sex organ”.
However, it’s received a lot of attention for its rating for sexual content in the US, which means no one under the age of 17 can see it, and with which de Armas has strongly disagreed.
In a recent interview with The New Yorker, Oates said that while she didn’t “have...
The new Netflix psychological drama biopic starring Ana de Armas as the late Hollywood icon is based on Oates’ 2000 novel of the same name.
Since its theatrical release, it’s received mixed critical reviews, with The Independent’s Amanda Whiting arguing that “Blonde isn’t a movie about Marilyn Monroe’s exploitation, but a new low watermark in Hollywood’s treatment of her – a sex object reduced to a sex organ”.
However, it’s received a lot of attention for its rating for sexual content in the US, which means no one under the age of 17 can see it, and with which de Armas has strongly disagreed.
In a recent interview with The New Yorker, Oates said that while she didn’t “have...
- 9/27/2022
- by Inga Parkel
- The Independent - Film
Netflix’s fictionalized take on the life and career of Marilyn Monroe, “Blonde,” hits the streamer on Wednesday, September 26. Based on Joyce Carol Oates‘ novel of the same name, Ana de Armas stars as the legendary actress who tragically died at the age of 36. The film was screened to great acclaim at the Venice Film Festival on September 8, earning a standing ovation that lasted 14 minutes. The cast includes Oscar winner Adrien Brody, Emmy winner Bobby Cannavale, and Emmy winner Julianne Nicholson. The film was written and directed by Andrew Dominik.
With a Rotten Tomatoes score of 52, the critics consensus reads, “‘Blonde’ can be hard to watch as it teeters between commenting on exploitation and contributing to it, but Ana de Armas’ luminous performance makes it difficult to look away.”
See Ana de Armas stars as Marilyn Monroe in Netflix’s ‘Blonde’: Watch the trailer
Owen Gleiberman of Variety gives...
With a Rotten Tomatoes score of 52, the critics consensus reads, “‘Blonde’ can be hard to watch as it teeters between commenting on exploitation and contributing to it, but Ana de Armas’ luminous performance makes it difficult to look away.”
See Ana de Armas stars as Marilyn Monroe in Netflix’s ‘Blonde’: Watch the trailer
Owen Gleiberman of Variety gives...
- 9/26/2022
- by Vincent Mandile
- Gold Derby
Joyce Carol Oates has reacted to Blonde’s Nc-17 rating, saying that what Marilyn Monroe really went through is “much worse” than anything shown in the film.
The new Netflix psychological drama biopic starring Ana de Armas as the late Hollywood icon is based on Oates’ 2000 novel of the same name.
Since its theatrical release, it’s received mixed critical reviews, with The Independent’s Amanda Whiting arguing that “Blonde isn’t a movie about Marilyn Monroe’s exploitation, but a new low watermark in Hollywood’s treatment of her – a sex object reduced to a sex organ”.
However, it’s received a lot of attention for its rating for sexual content in the US, which means no one under the age of 17 can see it, and with which de Armas has strongly disagreed.
In a recent interview with The New Yorker, Oates said that while she didn’t “have...
The new Netflix psychological drama biopic starring Ana de Armas as the late Hollywood icon is based on Oates’ 2000 novel of the same name.
Since its theatrical release, it’s received mixed critical reviews, with The Independent’s Amanda Whiting arguing that “Blonde isn’t a movie about Marilyn Monroe’s exploitation, but a new low watermark in Hollywood’s treatment of her – a sex object reduced to a sex organ”.
However, it’s received a lot of attention for its rating for sexual content in the US, which means no one under the age of 17 can see it, and with which de Armas has strongly disagreed.
In a recent interview with The New Yorker, Oates said that while she didn’t “have...
- 9/26/2022
- by Inga Parkel
- The Independent - Film
Andrew Dominik’s gothic portrait of the inner life of Marilyn Monroe – an extraordinary Ana de Armas – is a fever dream of childhood trauma haunting adult life
How should we assess writer-director Andrew Dominik’s adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’s historical fiction novel about the inner life of Marilyn Monroe? Some have viewed it as a biopic and judged it accordingly, worrying about its (lack of) fidelity to the known details of Monroe’s life, and attempting to evaluate how accurately or (un)fairly it presents her strengths and weaknesses, on and off screen. Others have interpreted it as a more expressionist portrayal of the gap between private and public personae – a generic peep at the tears behind the smiling mask of celebrity. Yet at its heart this is a gothic melodrama, a fever dream of childhood trauma haunting adult life, replete with skin-crawlingly cruel visions of inquisitorial torture,...
How should we assess writer-director Andrew Dominik’s adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’s historical fiction novel about the inner life of Marilyn Monroe? Some have viewed it as a biopic and judged it accordingly, worrying about its (lack of) fidelity to the known details of Monroe’s life, and attempting to evaluate how accurately or (un)fairly it presents her strengths and weaknesses, on and off screen. Others have interpreted it as a more expressionist portrayal of the gap between private and public personae – a generic peep at the tears behind the smiling mask of celebrity. Yet at its heart this is a gothic melodrama, a fever dream of childhood trauma haunting adult life, replete with skin-crawlingly cruel visions of inquisitorial torture,...
- 9/25/2022
- by Mark Kermode, Observer film critic
- The Guardian - Film News
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.
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.
- 9/24/2022
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Blonde, the new Netflix film from Andrew Dominik, adds as much nuance to the idea of Marilyn Monroe as can be gleaned from a gynaecological exam. The bombshell movie star has long been established as a tragic figure, a woman who was abused by Hollywood studios, her husband Joe Dimaggio and, as a child, her unwell mother. Rather than challenge the conventional narrative, director Dominik’s nightmarish film, adapted from Joyce Carol Oates’s fictionalised 2000 novel, takes it somewhere even darker and even more invasive. If you want to understand Marilyn Monroe, it suggests, first you have to get inside her uterus.
This grim drama takes us into the previously unexplored depths of Marilyn Monroe’s vagina several times across its astonishing 2-hour-45-minute runtime. I won’t “spoil” them all, but in the film’s first hour, we watch Monroe, played with distressing frailty by Ana de Armas, excitedly...
This grim drama takes us into the previously unexplored depths of Marilyn Monroe’s vagina several times across its astonishing 2-hour-45-minute runtime. I won’t “spoil” them all, but in the film’s first hour, we watch Monroe, played with distressing frailty by Ana de Armas, excitedly...
- 9/22/2022
- by Amanda Whiting
- The Independent - Film
Playing a figure as distinct as Marilyn Monroe is going to be fraught under the best of circumstances. An actor must carefully consider their approach. Does one, for instance, attempt a straight imitation of Monroe? Is it better to look and sound correct, even if it's to the detriment of bringing one's own unique acting impulses into the equation? Or does one stray far from strict accuracy, allowing themselves to emote on a broader canvas, inviting accusations of historical infidelity?
These questions weighed heavily on Ana de Armas who played Monroe in Andrew Dominick's upcoming Netflix film "Blonde." De Armas, star of "Knock Knock," "Knives Out," and featured in a notable fight sequence in "No Time to Die," plays a highly fictionalized version of Monroe in a stylized retelling of the star's life and death. Reviews for "Blonde" are already mixed, with some critics praising its willingness to take risks,...
These questions weighed heavily on Ana de Armas who played Monroe in Andrew Dominick's upcoming Netflix film "Blonde." De Armas, star of "Knock Knock," "Knives Out," and featured in a notable fight sequence in "No Time to Die," plays a highly fictionalized version of Monroe in a stylized retelling of the star's life and death. Reviews for "Blonde" are already mixed, with some critics praising its willingness to take risks,...
- 9/22/2022
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Blonde, the new Netflix film from Andrew Dominik, adds as much nuance to the idea of Marilyn Monroe as can be gleaned from a gynaecological exam. The bombshell movie star has long been established as a tragic figure, a woman who was abused by Hollywood studios, her husband Joe Dimaggio and, as a child, her unwell mother. Rather than challenge the conventional narrative, director Dominik’s nightmarish film, adapted from Joyce Carol Oates’s fictionalised 2000 novel, takes it somewhere even darker and even more invasive. If you want to understand Marilyn Monroe, it suggests, first you have to get inside her uterus.
This grim drama takes us into the previously unexplored depths of Marilyn Monroe’s vagina several times across its astonishing 2-hour-45-minute runtime. I won’t “spoil” them all, but in the film’s first hour, we watch Monroe, played with distressing frailty by Ana de Armas, excitedly...
This grim drama takes us into the previously unexplored depths of Marilyn Monroe’s vagina several times across its astonishing 2-hour-45-minute runtime. I won’t “spoil” them all, but in the film’s first hour, we watch Monroe, played with distressing frailty by Ana de Armas, excitedly...
- 9/22/2022
- by Amanda Whiting
- The Independent - Film
A few years back, Ana de Armas needed to convince Netflix that she could be Marilyn Monroe.
She was already the first choice of director Andrew Dominik, whose film “Blonde,” a surrealist vision of the life and death of the screen legend, had been reportedly cast with various leading ladies before alighting on de Armas, but “Knives Out” — the hit film in which the previously little-known performer sat at the center of the mystery — hadn’t yet come out. In 2019, few knew her name.
De Armas brought her accent coach to the in-person screen test with Netflix. “I hadn’t had the training and the voice and everything,” says de Armas, who was born and raised in Cuba. “So my coach was crouching on the floor, under the table.” The stakes were high. “I just knew that everything we did that day was going to be the definitive test of...
She was already the first choice of director Andrew Dominik, whose film “Blonde,” a surrealist vision of the life and death of the screen legend, had been reportedly cast with various leading ladies before alighting on de Armas, but “Knives Out” — the hit film in which the previously little-known performer sat at the center of the mystery — hadn’t yet come out. In 2019, few knew her name.
De Armas brought her accent coach to the in-person screen test with Netflix. “I hadn’t had the training and the voice and everything,” says de Armas, who was born and raised in Cuba. “So my coach was crouching on the floor, under the table.” The stakes were high. “I just knew that everything we did that day was going to be the definitive test of...
- 9/21/2022
- by Daniel D'Addario
- Variety Film + TV
Glossy horror perpetuates the tradition of portraying the brilliant actor as an infantile, sacrificial sex-lamb on the altar of celebrity
Here is a horror film about the life of Marilyn Monroe, based on the novel by Joyce Carol Oates: a glossily expensive nightmare about the great movie actor as bleating sacrificial sex-lamb on the altar of celebrity. Andrew Dominik’s movie throbs with her radioactive victimhood.
It benefits from a showstopping central performance by Cuban-Spanish actor Ana de Armas, who eerily incarnates the legendary star with a weird little hint of Mia Farrow in Rosemary’s Baby, although it is Marilyn’s impending and repeated childlessness which is shown as the real emanation of evil. Like Polanski’s stricken heroine, she is surrounded by a secretly complicit male priest-caste: a brotherhood of misogyny, exploitation and rape, including doctors, agents, producers, directors, early lovers (the movie amplifies Hollywood-Babylon-type rumours about Charlie...
Here is a horror film about the life of Marilyn Monroe, based on the novel by Joyce Carol Oates: a glossily expensive nightmare about the great movie actor as bleating sacrificial sex-lamb on the altar of celebrity. Andrew Dominik’s movie throbs with her radioactive victimhood.
It benefits from a showstopping central performance by Cuban-Spanish actor Ana de Armas, who eerily incarnates the legendary star with a weird little hint of Mia Farrow in Rosemary’s Baby, although it is Marilyn’s impending and repeated childlessness which is shown as the real emanation of evil. Like Polanski’s stricken heroine, she is surrounded by a secretly complicit male priest-caste: a brotherhood of misogyny, exploitation and rape, including doctors, agents, producers, directors, early lovers (the movie amplifies Hollywood-Babylon-type rumours about Charlie...
- 9/21/2022
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
In the 60 years since her death at age 36, Marilyn Monroe has been immortalized by countless references and multiple onscreen portrayals of her ill-fated rise to stardom.
One of the world’s most iconic faces and tragic figures, Monroe overdosed on sleeping pills, with her death officially ruled a probable suicide. Yet Monroe’s high-profile relationships with ex-husbands Joe Dimaggio and Arthur Miller, and rumored affair with John F. Kennedy, further fueled conspiracy theories rooted in Monroe’s seductively breathy, infamous performance of “Happy Birthday, Mr. President.”
Born Norma Jean Baker, Monroe’s tumultuous upbringing included bouts in an orphanage after her mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Monroe modeled before inking an acting deal in 1946 with 20th Century Fox.
“I didn’t like the world around me because it was kind of grim. When I heard that this was acting, I said that’s what I want to be,” Monroe told...
One of the world’s most iconic faces and tragic figures, Monroe overdosed on sleeping pills, with her death officially ruled a probable suicide. Yet Monroe’s high-profile relationships with ex-husbands Joe Dimaggio and Arthur Miller, and rumored affair with John F. Kennedy, further fueled conspiracy theories rooted in Monroe’s seductively breathy, infamous performance of “Happy Birthday, Mr. President.”
Born Norma Jean Baker, Monroe’s tumultuous upbringing included bouts in an orphanage after her mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Monroe modeled before inking an acting deal in 1946 with 20th Century Fox.
“I didn’t like the world around me because it was kind of grim. When I heard that this was acting, I said that’s what I want to be,” Monroe told...
- 9/20/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Plot: An impressionistic depiction of the life of Marilyn Monroe (Ana de Armas), from her early days as Norma Jeane Mortenson to her eventual crowning as perhaps the biggest sex symbol of the 20th century.
Review: Andrew Dominik’s Blonde is a movie to wrestle with. It’s a work of art whose craft cannot be diminished, but it’s also an incredibly tough watch, ranking as one of the most intense, upsetting films in recent years. While the Nc-17 rating is ridiculous, it’s still not for the faint of heart, shining a light on the lurid side of celebrity and the psychological and physical cost of being a sex goddess.
One thing Blonde is not is a fact-based account of Marilyn Monroe’s life. Like the book by Joyce Carol Oates that it’s based on, the movie is an impressionistic fictionalization of Monroe’s life. Some of the more provocative moments,...
Review: Andrew Dominik’s Blonde is a movie to wrestle with. It’s a work of art whose craft cannot be diminished, but it’s also an incredibly tough watch, ranking as one of the most intense, upsetting films in recent years. While the Nc-17 rating is ridiculous, it’s still not for the faint of heart, shining a light on the lurid side of celebrity and the psychological and physical cost of being a sex goddess.
One thing Blonde is not is a fact-based account of Marilyn Monroe’s life. Like the book by Joyce Carol Oates that it’s based on, the movie is an impressionistic fictionalization of Monroe’s life. Some of the more provocative moments,...
- 9/20/2022
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
A mood of theatricality prevailed at this year’s edition – a bleak but furiously cinematic Marilyn Monroe biopic and a forbiddingly austere French courtroom drama being the most distinctive offerings
However stressful Venice can get – the sweat, the coffee queues, the ticketing system – it’s hard to feel disgruntled here for long. For a start, Venice has the world’s jolliest festival trailer, a gorgeously coloured animation of King Kong, acrobats and flying cowboys, all set to jangling ukulele. It puts you in a joyous mood at the start of every film, although it might not last when you’re confronted by something as brutally bleak as Andrew Dominik’s Blonde. Absolutely the hot ticket in the Venice competition, this is the much-awaited biopic of Marilyn Monroe, as imagined in the novel by Joyce Carol Oates.
Or, rather, it’s the story of “Marilyn Monroe”, the alter ego of a...
However stressful Venice can get – the sweat, the coffee queues, the ticketing system – it’s hard to feel disgruntled here for long. For a start, Venice has the world’s jolliest festival trailer, a gorgeously coloured animation of King Kong, acrobats and flying cowboys, all set to jangling ukulele. It puts you in a joyous mood at the start of every film, although it might not last when you’re confronted by something as brutally bleak as Andrew Dominik’s Blonde. Absolutely the hot ticket in the Venice competition, this is the much-awaited biopic of Marilyn Monroe, as imagined in the novel by Joyce Carol Oates.
Or, rather, it’s the story of “Marilyn Monroe”, the alter ego of a...
- 9/10/2022
- by Jonathan Romney
- The Guardian - Film News
Some of hot new premieres in the recent days of the 79th Venice Film Festival have been the hotly-anticipated fictionalization of Marilyn Monroe’s life, Blonde, starring Ana de Armas, and family drama The Son starring Hugh Jackman and Laura Dern.
Both films garnered hearty ovations at their world premieres, with The Son getting a 10-minute ovation and Blonde getting a 14-minute one that left de Armas emotional in the theater.
De Armas walked the red carpet for the Thursday evening premiere alongside Blonde‘s director Andrew Dominik, and wore a gorgeous pink gown. Other cast members of the film present at the premiere included Adrien Brody, who played Arthur Miller, and Bobby Cannavale who played Joe Dimaggio.
Blonde is coming to Netflix soon on September 23, so far critics have generally praised de Armas’ performance as Oscar-worthy.
The Son premiered on Wednesday and is the latest film from playwright and film director Florian Zeller.
Both films garnered hearty ovations at their world premieres, with The Son getting a 10-minute ovation and Blonde getting a 14-minute one that left de Armas emotional in the theater.
De Armas walked the red carpet for the Thursday evening premiere alongside Blonde‘s director Andrew Dominik, and wore a gorgeous pink gown. Other cast members of the film present at the premiere included Adrien Brody, who played Arthur Miller, and Bobby Cannavale who played Joe Dimaggio.
Blonde is coming to Netflix soon on September 23, so far critics have generally praised de Armas’ performance as Oscar-worthy.
The Son premiered on Wednesday and is the latest film from playwright and film director Florian Zeller.
- 9/9/2022
- by Jacob Linden
- Uinterview
How much dramatic license is excessive? Do artists have a responsibility to create positive representations around public figures, especially if they’re beloved and inspire reams of adulation and pity from admirers? Andrew Dominik, with his long, long-awaited adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’ novel Blonde—a free biography of the life of Marilyn Monroe—maybe simply doesn’t care about these questions. Yet he undoubtedly cares about the real life––and especially the fragile inner world––of his subject, famously born Norma Jeane Desmond. But in his unforgiving portrait of her travails and lacks in this world he bravely gambles on (and will potentially lose) the majority of his audience’s good faith by focusing so heavily on the pain and affliction she endured.
For those very familiar with Marilyn Monroe, Blonde, running a fluidly edited two hours and 45 minutes, is not going to be revelatory; it certainly doesn’t...
For those very familiar with Marilyn Monroe, Blonde, running a fluidly edited two hours and 45 minutes, is not going to be revelatory; it certainly doesn’t...
- 9/9/2022
- by David Katz
- The Film Stage
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.
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.
- 9/9/2022
- by Jordan Hoffman
- Gold Derby
Hollywood’s glory days were on full display Thursday as the cast of Blonde, with star Ana de Armas resplendent in a pink full-length gown, walked the red carpet before the film premiered in the Palazzo del Cinema at the 79th Venice Film Festival.
Click on the image above to launch a photo gallery.
‘Blonde’: Andrew Dominik & Ana De Armas Sensed Ghost Of Marilyn Monroe While Making Biopic – Venice
Other stars on hand for the Lido festivities included Adrien Brody, who plays Marilyn Monroe’s husband Arthur Miller; Bobby Cannavale, who plays her husband Joe Dimaggio; and Julianne Nicholson, who plays her mother.
Venice Film Festival: Deadline’s Full Coverage
Director Andrew Dominik escorted de Armas on the red carpet as did Brad Pitt, whose Plan B Entertainment produced the film.
Based on Joyce Carol Oates’ novel, the film is a fictionalized take on Monroe — blending fact and fiction...
Click on the image above to launch a photo gallery.
‘Blonde’: Andrew Dominik & Ana De Armas Sensed Ghost Of Marilyn Monroe While Making Biopic – Venice
Other stars on hand for the Lido festivities included Adrien Brody, who plays Marilyn Monroe’s husband Arthur Miller; Bobby Cannavale, who plays her husband Joe Dimaggio; and Julianne Nicholson, who plays her mother.
Venice Film Festival: Deadline’s Full Coverage
Director Andrew Dominik escorted de Armas on the red carpet as did Brad Pitt, whose Plan B Entertainment produced the film.
Based on Joyce Carol Oates’ novel, the film is a fictionalized take on Monroe — blending fact and fiction...
- 9/8/2022
- by Robert Lang and David Morgan
- Deadline Film + TV
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...
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...
- 9/8/2022
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Here’s a cocktail for you — let’s call it the “Blonde.” Start with a base of biographical fiction, add three parts mid-century photography, a heavy dash of bitters, a wash of bad taste and top with a Lynchian float. You’ll have something that kicks hard, if leaving you somewhat worse for wear once the intoxicants run their course.
And to push this analogy further than needed, director Andrew Dominik’s long-awaited Marilyn Monroe biopic is somehow less about the actress and more about his own showmanship. Think of Dominik as a flair bartender.
Premiering at the Venice Film Festival, “Blonde” holds stardom to the light and finds nothing but an unending nightmare. If technically an adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’ novel of the same name, the film uses that source as a launch pad, a framework on which to pin countless other inspirations, most of them visual.
Also...
And to push this analogy further than needed, director Andrew Dominik’s long-awaited Marilyn Monroe biopic is somehow less about the actress and more about his own showmanship. Think of Dominik as a flair bartender.
Premiering at the Venice Film Festival, “Blonde” holds stardom to the light and finds nothing but an unending nightmare. If technically an adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’ novel of the same name, the film uses that source as a launch pad, a framework on which to pin countless other inspirations, most of them visual.
Also...
- 9/8/2022
- by Ben Croll
- The Wrap
Forget Seberg, forget Mank, forget Judy — Andrew Dominik’s Venice Film Festival competition entry Blonde takes a blowtorch to the entire concept of the Hollywood biopic and arrives at something almost without precedent.
Gus Van Sant, at the height of his Béla Tarr period, achieved something remarkable and kind of similar with 2005’s Last Days, an immersive but fictional rumination on the events preceding rock star Kurt Cobain’s suicide in 1994. But then, Blonde’s closest antecedents are all in fiction — anyone expecting an idiot’s guide to Marilyn Monroe will be surprised or even appalled to see the late star’s life presented as a horror movie in the surreal, nightmarish style of David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive, another film about a blonde actress struggling with the boundaries between fantasy and fiction and whose star, Naomi Watts, was attached to this movie way back in the day.
‘Blonde’ Venice...
Gus Van Sant, at the height of his Béla Tarr period, achieved something remarkable and kind of similar with 2005’s Last Days, an immersive but fictional rumination on the events preceding rock star Kurt Cobain’s suicide in 1994. But then, Blonde’s closest antecedents are all in fiction — anyone expecting an idiot’s guide to Marilyn Monroe will be surprised or even appalled to see the late star’s life presented as a horror movie in the surreal, nightmarish style of David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive, another film about a blonde actress struggling with the boundaries between fantasy and fiction and whose star, Naomi Watts, was attached to this movie way back in the day.
‘Blonde’ Venice...
- 9/8/2022
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
Images of Marilyn Monroe are the most replicated of any actress to emerge since the dawn of cinema. Her peroxide curls, cupid’s bow pout, and va-va-voom figure are recognizable to the point that her marketing potential has long since overwhelmed the matter of who she was as a person. To take a swing at saying — or showing — something resonant about the woman born Norma Jeane Mortenson, a storyteller would have to go to lengths far greater than Andrew Dominik is able to span in his
Much like Asaf Kapadia did with his documentary, “Amy,” Dominik critiques the world for reducing his subject down to her topline assets — and then treats her in exactly the same way. His Marilyn is a sexy, breathy blonde with daddy issues. And that’s all, folks.
Well, not quite all, as “Blonde” sets out to show a lifetime of victimization and exploitation. The film...
Much like Asaf Kapadia did with his documentary, “Amy,” Dominik critiques the world for reducing his subject down to her topline assets — and then treats her in exactly the same way. His Marilyn is a sexy, breathy blonde with daddy issues. And that’s all, folks.
Well, not quite all, as “Blonde” sets out to show a lifetime of victimization and exploitation. The film...
- 9/8/2022
- by Sophie Monks Kaufman
- Indiewire
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