Back in 2010, when rumors started circulating about the big screen adaptation of Colin Clark’s memoir The Prince, The Showgirl, & Me (which later turned into My Week With Marilyn starring Michelle Williams), there was also buzz behind an adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’ first-person fictional biography Blonde, based on the life on Marilyn Monroe. While I was very pleased with the final product of 2011 Simon Curtis film, Blonde remains one of my favorite and most fascinating literary takes on the life of the iconic bombshell.
Killing Them Softly writer Andrew Dominik has set in motion his adaptation of the 700+ page epic for pre-production, which follows Monroe’s dysfunctional childhood, break into Hollywood, all three of her marriages, a tawdry relationship with Charlie Chaplin’s son, as well as her famed affair with President John F. Kennedy, according to The Hollywood Reporter. What’s most interesting about Oates’ detailed depiction of Monroe is that none of the prominent male figures in the actress’s life are ever referred to by their real names. For example, Joe DiMaggio is called the Ex-Athlete and Arthur Miller is known as the Playwright.
There are no details yet behind a perspective director, although Dominik’s directing credits include Killing Them Softly and 2007’s The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Also, there is no news regarding any casting decisions, but any actress up for playing the lead role would not only have to do justice to the Seven Year Itch star, but would also be understandably compared to Williams’ Golden Globe-winning portrayal.
Blonde was a 2001 Pulitzer Prize finalist for Oates and was turned into a television mini-series for CBS, starring Without A Trace actress Poppy Montgomery and Grey’s Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey. Additionally, the mini-series was also scribed by Oates.
Do you think it’s too soon for another Marilyn Monroe movie? Are you a fan of Oates’ writing? Who do you think would make for a great on-screen Monroe?
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