Poster for ‘Goodbye Norma Jean’ (1976)
Following recent reports that Joyce Carol Oates’ controversial novel, Blonde (loosely based on Marilyn’s life) may finally reach the big screen with Jessica Chastain in the leading role, Ball Smazig argues that ‘We Need to Stop Making Marilyn Monroe Movies‘ in a post for the Oh No They Didn’t gossip blog. (And given the poor quality of many past biopics, even some diehard MM fans may agree.)
“Her legend is well-worn territory at this point, and so filmmakers who are interested in it need to find a way to make their project stand out. As a prominent historical figure, especially one who is portrayed so often onscreen and in pop culture, every detail of her story has been put onscreen at least once, which means that no matter how a project attempts to differentiate itself, it always ends up recycling the same information over and over again. It also means that there are numerous stories about Old Hollywood that are left untold, stories that are just as compelling, enticing and heartbreaking as Monroe’s.”
