“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
"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
Fifty-six years after her death, Marilyn Monroe remains one of Hollywood’s most intriguing and glamorous figures.
Smithsonian Channel’s new documentary Marilyn Monroe for Sale, airing Dec. 23, goes inside the icon’s private world and personal possessions, looking back on Julien’s 2016 auction of her most personal belongings, including handwritten notes and rare photos.
“Pillboxes, make-up, prescriptions and love letters combine to show Monroe as she truly was — her habits, her challenges, her fierce intelligence,” executive producer Nick Kent tells People. “Some of the most revealing items on sale in this auction are the words Marilyn wrote.”
Everything from...
Smithsonian Channel’s new documentary Marilyn Monroe for Sale, airing Dec. 23, goes inside the icon’s private world and personal possessions, looking back on Julien’s 2016 auction of her most personal belongings, including handwritten notes and rare photos.
“Pillboxes, make-up, prescriptions and love letters combine to show Monroe as she truly was — her habits, her challenges, her fierce intelligence,” executive producer Nick Kent tells People. “Some of the most revealing items on sale in this auction are the words Marilyn wrote.”
Everything from...
- 12/20/2018
- by Dana Rose Falcone
- PEOPLE.com
It's been 56 years since Marilyn Monroe died, but she will forever be remembered as a Hollywood legend. The actress, who garnered fame after appearing in the first-ever edition of Playboy magazine in December 1953, starred in several films, including Some Like It Hot, The Seven Year Itch, and The Prince and the Showgirl. Still, there are a couple things you may not know about the star - like her real name, for example.
While most people knew Marilyn by her stage name, the star was actually born Norma Jeane Mortenson and baptized Norma Jeane Baker. When she married her first husband, James Dougherty, in 1942, she took his last name and became Norma Jeane Dougherty. She began using her stage name in 1946 after she and James split but didn't legally change it until 1956. When she married playwright Arthur Miller in 1956, she preferred to be addressed as Marilyn Monroe Miller and even used the initials Mmm.
While most people knew Marilyn by her stage name, the star was actually born Norma Jeane Mortenson and baptized Norma Jeane Baker. When she married her first husband, James Dougherty, in 1942, she took his last name and became Norma Jeane Dougherty. She began using her stage name in 1946 after she and James split but didn't legally change it until 1956. When she married playwright Arthur Miller in 1956, she preferred to be addressed as Marilyn Monroe Miller and even used the initials Mmm.
- 6/7/2018
- by Monica Sisavat
- Popsugar.com
Lifetime's mini-series "The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe" debuts on May 30, prompting the question: What possible secrets can there still be about Marilyn Monroe?
Quite a few, apparently, from the identity of her birth father, to the nature of her fatal overdose at age 36 -- was it suicide, accident, or murder? In 2012, on the 50th anniversary of her death, Moviefone previously published "25 Things You Didn't Know About Marilyn Monroe." Turns out that list barely scratched the surface. Here, then, are 25 more.
1. Monroe's birth certificate from 1926 lists her birth name as Norma Jeane Mortenson. The last name was a misspelling of the surname of her mother's second husband, Martin Mortensen, who separated from Gladys before she became pregnant. Soon after, she reverted to her first married name, Baker, and gave that name to her daughter.
2. Gladys later told Norma Jeane that her father was Gladys' boss, Charles Gifford, who looked like...
Quite a few, apparently, from the identity of her birth father, to the nature of her fatal overdose at age 36 -- was it suicide, accident, or murder? In 2012, on the 50th anniversary of her death, Moviefone previously published "25 Things You Didn't Know About Marilyn Monroe." Turns out that list barely scratched the surface. Here, then, are 25 more.
1. Monroe's birth certificate from 1926 lists her birth name as Norma Jeane Mortenson. The last name was a misspelling of the surname of her mother's second husband, Martin Mortensen, who separated from Gladys before she became pregnant. Soon after, she reverted to her first married name, Baker, and gave that name to her daughter.
2. Gladys later told Norma Jeane that her father was Gladys' boss, Charles Gifford, who looked like...
- 5/29/2015
- by Gary Susman
- Moviefone
It's hard to imagine a star whose life has been examined more relentlessly than that of Marilyn Monroe. Monroe has had every detail of her life -- her Dickensian childhood, her brief but unforgettable movie career, her liaisons with famous men, her mysterious death 50 years ago this week (on August 5, 1962) -- picked over by biographers and novelists, reporters and FBI agents, filmmakers and fans. And yet there is still plenty about Monroe that isn't common knowledge. Here are some details that even dedicated Monroephiles may not know, facts that only add to our continuing fascination with pop culture's most durable sex symbol. 1. Monroe's first marriage, to neighbor James Dougherty when she was 16, took place as a means of keeping her from being sent back to a state-run orphanage after one of her many foster families could no longer care for her. 2. In an early modeling gig, at an agricultural festival in Castroville,...
- 8/3/2012
- by Gary Susman
- Moviefone
Does it upset you when you see people arguing? Do you cry at the cinema? Empathy is one of our most powerful emotions yet society has all but ignored it. Autism expert Professor Simon Baron-Cohen reveals the science behind "the world's most valuable resource" – and how its lack is the root of human cruelty
● See how you fare in our empathy test
When I was seven years old, my father told me the Nazis had turned Jews into lampshades. Just one of those comments you hear once and the thought never goes away. To a child's mind – even to an adult's – these two types of thing just don't belong together. He also told me the Nazis turned Jews into bars of soap. It sounds so unbelievable, yet it is actually true. I knew our family was Jewish, so this image of turning people into objects felt a bit close to home.
● See how you fare in our empathy test
When I was seven years old, my father told me the Nazis had turned Jews into lampshades. Just one of those comments you hear once and the thought never goes away. To a child's mind – even to an adult's – these two types of thing just don't belong together. He also told me the Nazis turned Jews into bars of soap. It sounds so unbelievable, yet it is actually true. I knew our family was Jewish, so this image of turning people into objects felt a bit close to home.
- 3/27/2011
- by Simon Baron-Cohen
- The Guardian - Film News
A collection of writings by Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe is due to be released in October 2010, announced publisher Farrar, Strauss & Giroux on April 27. Fragments will include poems, letters, and other writings dating from Monroe's teenage years to shortly before her death. The book, which Fsg says will show "a very different side to a great star," reportedly features an essay about Monroe's first husband, James Dougherty, as well as thoughts on her third husband, Arthur Miller; notes about acting and roles; and lists of resolutions. Many are shown as reproductions of original documents written ...
- 4/29/2010
- Hindustan Times - Celebrity
Marilyn Monroe’s thoughts on life, career, romance, and other issues will be published under the title Fragments by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in October. According to editor Courtney Hodell, Fragments will include poems, photos, Monroe’s musings about husbands James Dougherty and Arthur Miller (it’s unclear if there’s anything on Joe Dimaggio), and a letter she wrote to Actors Studio head Lee Strasberg. Also, Monroe’s ideas about works by Samuel Beckett, James Joyce and other authors, and her thoughts on acting and her own movie roles. Among her best-known films are Henry Hathaway’s Niagara (1953), Howard Hawks‘ Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), Jean Negulesco’s How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), Billy Wilder’s The Seven Year Itch (1955), [...]...
- 4/27/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Marilyn Monroe's first and last surviving husband, James Dougherty, has died in California. He was 84. Dougherty, a retired Los Angeles detective and former local politician in Maine, died on Monday in San Rafael, according to his stepdaughter Annie Woods. Dougherty married 16-year-old Monroe, real name Norma Jean Baker, in 1942 and their union lasted four years. His mother was a close friend Monroe's foster parents. Dougherty enjoyed a 25 year career at the Los Angeles Police Department and moved to Arizona after his retirement in 1974. He later settled in Maine, where he was a county commissioner and taught at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy. In 1997, he co-wrote To Norma Jean With Love, Jimmie. He was also the subject of a documentary last year called Marilyn's Man. Dougherty had three children with his second wife. His third wife died in 2003 after 32 years of marriage. Monroe, who died in 1962, later went on to marry baseball legend Joe DiMaggio, who died in 1999, and playwright Arthur Miller, who passed away earlier this year.
- 8/18/2005
- WENN
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