‘Blonde’ Stars Claim the Film Was Literally Haunted by Marilyn Monroe

Some might argue that what de Armas was experiencing is called “immersing yourself in the role,” but I’m willing to go on this supernatural ride with her. Director Andrew Dominik agreed that the blonde bombshell’s presence was felt. “It definitely took on elements of being like a seance,” he said, regarding the movie’s death scene. That death scene, it’s worth noting, was filmed in the exact room where Monroe actually died, in the house she lived in with her mother. And the rules of haunting dictate that a ghost mostly hangs around where its body spent time in the living realm.

What could ghost-Marilyn potentially not like about the film? It couldn’t have been her accent. Marilyn’s estate came out in support of de Arma’s thick Cuban accent that others criticized and surely they consulted ghost-Marilyn about their position before they released a statement.

Or maybe it was the film’s NC-17 rating, which over-sexualized the film much in the way society over-sexualized Monroe, herself? But ghost-Marilyn should take that up with the Motion Picture Association!

Perhaps ghost-Marilyn was upset about Kim Kardashian being gifted a lock of her hair, and was hoping her ominous fits would get the message across that that is some crazy stalker behavior?

But de Armas said she believes that ghost-Marilyn was “happy” and that “she was approving of what we were doing.” And I’m relieved to hear that’s the case, because the reviews so far have not felt that way. IndieWire’s review called the movie a “bizarre, miserabilist biopic,” and The Hollywood Reporter declared it “a work of such wild excesses and questionable cruelty that it leaves you wondering how many more times and in how many more creative ways are we going to keep torturing, degrading and killing this abused woman.” (Most of the reviews, for what it’s worth, praise de Armas’ performance, but criticize Domnik’s direction.)

According to conventional wisdom, a ghost can move on from this realm once they’ve completed their unfinished business. Marilyn undoubtedly lived a tragic life and probably has a long list of hauntings to attend. Hopefully hanging around the Blonde set got some things checked off her list, so she can move onto spooking Joe DiMaggio’s estate.