Ana de Armas transforms into Marilyn Monroe in trailer for Netflix’s ‘Blonde’
Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, and fame is Marilyn Monroe’s worst enemy in the dramatic trailer for Netflix’s “Blonde,” starring Ana de Armas as the silver-screen icon.
The streaming giant released the first preview Thursday for director Andrew Dominik’s highly anticipated biopic about the beloved pinup model and movie star, who died at age 36 after overdosing on sleeping pills.
“I know you’re supposed to get used to it, but I just can’t,” De Armas’ Monroe says in the trailer.
“I’ve played Marilyn Monroe, Marilyn Monroe, Marilyn Monroe. I can’t face doing another scene with Marilyn Monroe.”
Ana de Armas lands a breakout role in Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out,” starring opposite Daniel Craig. She reunites with him for the new James Bond adventure next year.
Wearing a platinum blond wig and Monroe’s signature beauty mark, De Armas transforms into the “Some Like It Hot” actor — whose real name was Norma Jeane — and becomes increasingly crushed by the weight of her own stardom throughout the trailer.
The sneak peek sees the “Knives Out” breakout reenact multiple classic Monroe moments, from the “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” sequence from 1953’s “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” to the flying-skirt scene from 1955’s “The Seven Year Itch.”
Six years after the project was first announced, “Blonde” is finally set to premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, which runs from Aug. 31 to Sept. 10.
When recently asked via email by Vanity Fair why he was compelled to make a movie about one of Hollywood’s brightest and most tragic figures, Dominik said he “saw an opportunity to describe an adult life through the lens of mistaken childhood beliefs and trauma.” Title cards in the trailer reveal the devastating tagline for the black-and-white film: “Marilyn Monroe, Watched by all. Seen by none.”
“Marilyn doesn’t exist,” De Armas says in the preview as Monroe. “When I come out of my dressing room, I’m Norma Jeane. I’m still her when the camera is rolling. Marilyn Monroe only exists on the screen.”
Rated NC-17 and adapted from Joyce Carol Oates’ bestselling biography of the same name, “Blonde” will begin streaming Sept. 28 on Netflix.
Only good movies
Get the Indie Focus newsletter, Mark Olsen's weekly guide to the world of cinema.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
