‘Blonde’ Director Bashes & Shames 'Low-Grade' Marilyn Monroe In Comments Cut Out Of Controversial Interview
He's being criticized for not respecting Marilyn Monroe.
Featureflash Photo Agency | Shutterstock | Wikimedia Commons "Blonde" director Andrew Dominik is being slammed for his recent comments bashing Marilyn Monroe.
In his interview for the British Film Institute's Sight and Sound magazine, Dominik is facing immense backlash online for not respecting Monroe's work as an actress, especially after being heavily involved in the making of a film centered on Monroe.
Andrew Dominik has been slammed for disrespecting Marilyn Monroe.
Dominik's comments were part of an outtake from the interview, where film critic Christina Newland writes that Dominik was "genuinely gobsmacked" when she told him that she, her friends, and colleagues enjoyed Monroe's 1953 film "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes."
In the excerpt from the interview, Dominik asks, "She's somebody who's become this huge cultural thing in a whole load of movies that nobody really watches, right? Does anyone watch Marilyn Monroe movies?"
When Newland tells him that she does, listing off the 1953 film, Dominik questions what the film is actually about.
After Newland defends the movie as a "cynical" take on gender that "a lot of contemporary young women like," Dominik bashes the film, along with the two leading ladies, Lorelei Lee (Monroe) and Dorothy Shaw (Jane Russell), calling them "well-dressed whores."
Dominik's quotes received major backlash on social media, with many Monroe fans condemning the director for not caring about the late actress or her work.
"If this doesn't convince people that Andrew Dominik doesn't care about Marilyn Monroe or her legacy then I don't know what will," one user tweeted.
Another user added, "His quotes about her really illustrate that his biopic is nothing but grotesque exploitation of an abused woman that dehumanizes her in favor of shock value."
The film, which is based on the fictionalized biography by Joyce Carol Oates, has also received criticism for embellishing details of Monroe's actual life.
When asked about why Dominik didn't include real events from Monroe's life, including her founding a production company, or being an advocate for human rights, the filmmaker claimed: "that stuff is not really what film is about."
"It's about a person who is going to be killing themself. So it's trying to examine the reasons why they did that," he told Newland.
"It's not looking at her lasting legacy… If you look at Marilyn Monroe, she's got everything that society tells us is desirable. She's famous. She's beautiful. She's rich."
"If you look at the Instagram version of her life, she's got it all. And she killed herself. Now, to me, that's the most important thing. It's not the rest. It's not the moments of strength."
Previously, Dominik defended the film's NC-17 rating, after viewers were concerned about the trigger warnings.
In an interview with Screen Daily, Dominik said that he isn't bothered if audiences are disturbed by "Blonde."
"It’s a demanding movie. If the audience doesn’t like it, that’s the f--king audience’s problem. It’s not running for public office," he explained.
He added: “It’s an NC-17 movie about Marilyn Monroe, it’s kind of what you want, right? I want to go and see the NC-17 version of the Marilyn Monroe story.”
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.