Michelle Williams cast as Marilyn Monroe: can she pull it off?

monroe1

Above is a photo of Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe. She will be playing Monroe in My Week With Marilyn, a film about a week on the London set of The Prince and the Showgirl back in the 1950s, told from the perspective of an assistant on the production. It’s apparently based on a true story, I guess. And I guess it got made because so many people still have a weird Marilyn fetish. Actually, I can kind of understand why this film is being made in general, just because it probably is the kind of juicy, interesting actory story that people love – Ken Branagh is playing Laurence Olivier, after all. What bothers me, however, is that I think Michelle will end up making a pretty crappy Marilyn. Yes, she kind of looks like her, but Marilyn could do vivacious and bubbly and bombshell, where Michelle… excels at drama. Eh. Here’s more about the film:

Julia Ormond is playing Vivien Leigh after Catherine Zeta-Jones dropped out, and Dougray Scott is playing Arthur Miller. Filming starts today in London on the feature, which is shooting for 7 weeks at Pinewood and on location in and around the city. Michelle Williams is cast as Marilyn Monroe alongside Kenneth Branagh (Laurence Oliver), Judi Dench (Dame Sybil Thorndike), Dominic Cooper, Emma Watson and Derek Jacobi with Eddie Redmayne playing Colin Clark, the young assistant on the set of the 1956 film The Prince and the Showgirl who helped the star escape her pressure-cooker Hollywood career for a brief week. Directed by Simon Curtis (BBC TV’s Cranford) and produced by David Parfitt (Shakespeare In Love), the film is based on Clark’s diaries and has been adapted for the screen by Adrian Hodges. Parfitt’s Trademark Films is the production company, while The Weinstein Company is financing and distributing. BBC Films and Lipsync Productions are co-financing the film, which was developed in association with the UK Film Council and BBC Films.

[From Deadline]

You know what’s weird? When Marilyn filmed The Prince and the Showgirl, she was already married to Arthur Miller, and he came to London for the shoot as well. And yet I don’t think there will be an actor portraying Miller – strange. Oh, Dougray Scott is playing Miller. My bad… although that’s really strange casting. At least Branagh gets to achieve his lifelong dream of becoming Olivier.

American film star Marilyn Monroe (Norma Jean Mortenson or Norma Jean Baker, 1926 - 1962). Original Publication: People Disc - HW0704 (Photo by Keystone Features/Getty Images)

14th July 1956: American film star Marilyn Monroe (Norma Jean Mortenson or Norma Jean Baker, 1926 - 1962). (Photo by Evening Standard/Getty Images)

American film actress Marilyn Monroe (Norma Jean Mortenson or Norma Jean Baker, 1926 - 1962). (Photo by Baron/Getty Images)

American film star Marilyn Monroe (1926 - 1962) outside her home in Englefield Green with her third husband American playwright Arthur Miller. Original Publication: People Disc - HN0485 (Photo by Evening Standard/Getty Images)

Header photo courtesy of Deadline.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pLHLnpmirJOdxm%2BvzqZmampgbYJ6e8yimqGdnKGyoMPIpaOimZ2orKSt0q2WmquPoq6ztcuypZiln6O%2FsLG%2BnJinl6OdsqC81KWjmKGklLynso4%3D