Marilyn Monroe is definitely an icon, in the very well known words of Bernie Taupin, whose candle burned out long before the legend ever did – whose legend is still not looking like burning out anytime soon.
Men lust after her and women are fascinated by the woman behind the legend. Marilyn Monroe is always going to be a drawcard.
Recently Colin Clark had a book released to share with the world one magical week spent with Marilyn Monroe, now I haven’t read the book yet but it’s Marilyn Monroe – I’m guessing the week would have been magical regardless!
My Week With Marilyn is being translated to the big screen with a major motion picture release due in February 2012. I have a feeling it’s going to be a big movie, who isn’t going to want to try and get that little bit of extra insight into the life of Marilyn Monroe.
The movie stars Michelle Williams as Monroe, a role for which she took the preparation very seriously. I think she looks great in the role from the snippets I’ve seen. It seems she spent time with a choreographer to perfect the walk – and she had to put on weight, which is a big ask as far as I’m concerned.
Other stars of the film are Kenneth Branagh as Sir Laurence Olivier, Eddie Redmayne as Colin Clark, Judi Dench as Dame Sybil Thorndike and Julia Ormond as Vivien Leigh. Also in the movie is Emma Watson as wardrobe assistant Lucy, a world away from her role as Hermione in Harry Potter.
The script was written by Adrian Hodges and is Simon Curtis’ debut directorial feature film.
Some tidbits of trivia that I found quite interesting when reading about the upcoming movie are:
Scenes from My Week With Marilyn were shot in the very same studio that was used in 1956 to shoot The Prince, The Showgirl and Me.
Michelle Williams was given the same dressing room that was Marilyn’s during filming.
One of the locations used for filming was Parkside House in the village of Englefield Green, which happened to be the house in which Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller lived during their stay in England. The house was toured before filming began and it was noted that the exterior looked much the same as it had in publicity shots taken of Monroe 50 years earlier.
Saltwood Castle, near Folkestone, is close to where Clark grew up and it is another location reported to have been used for shooting.
These aren’t really quirky coincidences, it makes sense that if you can use the places it actually happened rather than trying to find something that looks close it has to be easier. They are still little morsels of information that are good to file away, just in case you ever need them. Think what a help they may be in a trivia quiz.
My Week With Marilyn premiered on the 9th of October 2011 at the New York Film Festival and then was shown two days later at the Mill Valley Film Festival. 23 November was the United States release, followed closely by the United Kingdom on the 25 November while here in Australia we have to wait until February 16, 2012.
I’m sure I will be itching to see it by then.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!