Ana De Armas Led Marilyn Monroe Biopic, 'Blonde,' To Get NC-17 Rating

The "Knives Out" actress, Ana De Armas, is to play the role of Marilyn Monroe in the upcoming biopic, "Blonde." According to Variety, the movie was slated to be released last year, but it has been pushed to be released later this year.

Alongside De Armas, "Blonde" also features Julianne Nicholson, Adrienne Brody, and Bobby Cannavale. The biopic was directed by Andrew Dominick and is based on Joyce Carol Oates' book of the same name. After seeing an initial shot of the movie, the author opined that it was "startling, brilliant, very disturbing & perhaps most surprisingly an utterly 'feminist' interpretation."

Before the actress was assigned the role, it was previously given to Naomi Watts and Jessica Chastain.

Although Ana De Armas might not have a wealth of experience as the duo, she has been making a name for herself over the past few years.

Her foray to stardom began in her role in Eli Roth's thriller, "Knock Knock." After this, she landed a role in Todd Phillip's "War Dogs" and, most interestingly, Denis Villeneuve's "Blade Runner."

Since then, she has been wrapped in several high-profile movies such as Danny Boyle's "Yesterday" and Olivier Assayas' thriller "Wasp Network."

To prepare for her role in the biopic, the movie star disclosed that she went bald to achieve Monroe's iconic hair.

"I had to go bald every day because [of] the blonde wigs," she said in an interview with Byrdie. "Marilyn went through different shades of blonde from golden to really platinum, so for these wigs that are beautifully made, you can't have anything dark underneath, so we had to make a bald cap every single day from my forehead to around my whole head."

She also added that she sat through several hours of makeup every day." I think I cried the first time I saw the wigs on. Probably because I was terrified. But I'm so proud."

Apart from the physical transformation, she also put herself in Monroe's headspace.

"She went through a lot of things that were not easy at the time—it would not even be easy right now. I was lucky I had months to prepare. We don't usually have that luxury—we usually have to rush into the project and make it as you go, but that one I really had the time to study," she said. "There's so much material about her, like so much to watch and listen to. It's incredible."

In an interview with Collider, director Andrew Dominick said he believes it will be one of the best movies ever made.

According to him, "it's a film about the human condition. It tells the story of how a childhood trauma shapes an adult who's split between a public and a private self. It's basically the story of every human being, but it's using a certain sense of association that we have with something very familiar, just through media exposure."

He added that the biopic would be an NC-17 version of the story.

"It's a demanding movie," he said. "If the audience doesn't like it, that's the fucking audience's problem. It's not running for public office."

He continued, "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."

According to the Director, rumors of scenes and footage featuring bloody cunnilingus are "hilarious and untrue." However, there is a rape scene in the biopic taken from Oates' book of the same title.

He also expressed his gratitude to Netflix for their support, despite having issues with part of the content.

"It's much easier to support stuff when you like it. It's much harder when you don't. I have nothing but gratitude for Netflix."

He admitted that the film wouldn't have been done without the #MeToo movement. "Because nobody was interested in that sort of shit – what it's like to be an unloved girl, or what it's like to go through the Hollywood meat-grinder."

The movie is a fictionalized story of the life of Monroe. Its plot is to follow the plot of Oates' book of the same title, which begins as the protagonist hovers between foster homes and ends with her rumored assassination after her affair with JFK.

De Armas plays the character of Monroe. Other actors include Julianne Nicholson, who will play Monroe's wildly violent mother, Gladys.

In terms of lovers, Bobby Cannavale will play an Ex-athlete and Monroe's husband of nine months, Joe DiMaggio, Adrienne Brody will play her third husband, Arthur Miller. Caspar Phillipson will also appear as John F. Kennedy.