One of the most anticipated films of 2022 is, without question, Andrew Dominik’s “Blonde.” In fact, it was one of our most anticipated films of 2021…and 2020, as well. You see, “Blonde” has been delayed for a long time due to a variety of reasons, including the pandemic. However, in a new interview with Screen, it appears the Marilyn Monroe-inspired feature is finally expected to have its debut this year.
For those who have forgotten, “Blonde” is based on the Joyce Carol Oates novel which is a fictionalized biography of Marilyn Monroe. Well, it is basically about Monroe without using the actress’ name. So, in effect, this is like an unauthorized, dramatized version of the Monroe story, with Ana de Armas in the lead role.
READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2022
In the interview, Dominik talked about how Netflix has been eager to get “Blonde” to play at this year’s Cannes. Unfortunately, it would appear the prestigious festival won’t bend the rules to allow for the film to play in-competition. Remember, France requires a film to play exclusively in theaters 15 months before it can be released on a streaming service. And we all know Netflix isn’t a fan of exclusive theatrical windows. That said, Dominik confirmed the streaming service was hoping to meet Cannes in the middle.
“[Netflix] said, ‘We’ll put the movie in theatres for eight months before we bring it out on the platform,’” Dominik said.
Unfortunately, Theirry Fremaux, the director of Cannes, who apparently “loves” the film, wasn’t able to accept those terms. Therefore, if “Blonde” does still play Cannes, it will have to be out-of-competition. Interestingly, reports claimed “Blonde” was eyeing a Cannes debut last year but Netflix declined the invite to play out-of-competition. So, if it does finally debut in France, it’ll signal a bit of a defeat for the streamer.
Another thing that has been rumored about “Blonde” is the rating of the film. Reports have gone around that “Blonde” is expected to get an NC-17 film, which would be a first for a Netflix Original.
“It’s a demanding movie,” Dominik said about the possible rating. “If the audience doesn’t like it, that’s the fucking audience’s problem. It’s not running for public office.”
”It’s an NC-17 movie about Marilyn Monroe, it’s kind of what you want, right?” he added. “I want to go and see the NC-17 version of the Marilyn Monroe story.”
While he denies reports of a scene involving oral sex while a woman is menstruating, the filmmaker did confirm that there is a rape scene in the film, which was taken from the Joyce Carol Oates source material.
Again, it doesn’t appear that anything about the release of “Blonde” is confirmed at this time, but finally, after years of waiting, it feels as if we’re just on the verge of finally seeing this highly anticipated film.