How could I take advantage of Marilyn if she’s dead?
Andrew Dominik prefers criticism.
Reacting to the backlash over his Netflix film on Sunday, the ‘Blonde’ director said he was pleased he had offended several viewers, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Australian filmmaker, who appeared at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia, said Americans only want to see their icons as celebratory figures. Because his vision didn’t, it caused a backlash, he said.
“Now we live in a time where it’s important to portray women as confident, and they want to reinvent Marilyn Monroe as a confident woman. That’s what they want to see,” said Dominik. “And if you don’t show them that, it annoys them.
“Which is kind of weird because she’s dead. The film doesn’t make a difference one way or the other,” he continued.
“What they really mean is that the film exploited her memory of her, her image of her, which is fair enough. But that’s the whole idea of the film. It tries to take the iconography of your life and repurpose it for something else, it tries to take things you’re familiar with and flip the meaning inside out. But they don’t want to see that.”
The film – based on the novel of the same name by Joyce Carol Oates – starred Ana de Armas as Monroe through various stages in her life, including her rise and fall from fame.
The Cuban-American actress has been slammed by viewers since she appeared in a short teaser trailer. Multiple complaints have said the Knives Out actress didn’t sound like the late bombshell.
Monroe’s estate and producer Brad Pitt supported 34-year-old de Armas and said they were “excited” to see her as Monroe.
The NC-17 film received lukewarm reviews, while de Armas was praised for her transformation into the Some Like It Hot star.
Dominik had initially warned that the film would “offend everyone” but also pointed out that the film was streamed on Netflix by “tens of millions of people”. Dominik blames American films for the backlash because they are “too conservative”.
Blonde is streaming on Netflix.
https://nypost.com/2022/12/05/blonde-director-responds-to-backlash-how-could-i-exploit-marilyn-if-shes-dead/ How could I take advantage of Marilyn if she’s dead?
