If you ever wanted to own a piece of Gwyneth Paltrow’s wardrobe (or stationery, glasses, etc.), you may be in luck. The actress is auctioning off more than 300 items, and the best part is that interested parties won’t have to fork over several mortgage payments to get them. So why is the Oscar winner’s clothing going for hundreds of dollars when past auctions have raked in seven figures for items like Marilyn Monroe’s so-called “Naked Dress”? There’s a pretty morbid reason.

Julien’s, the famous Los Angeles auction house, is currently hosting an auction that features hundreds of pieces that Gwyneth Paltrow is ready to part ways with — from designer dresses (at least the ones she didn’t save for daughter Apple) to coffee tables, lamps, books, jewelry and more. While people are willing to spend thousands of dollars on many of the items, Julien’s co-founder Martin Nolan explained why nothing’s going to garner the same $4.8 million that Marilyn Monroe’s famous Jean Louis gown did in 2016. Frankly, he told The Guardian:

Sadly it’s because Marilyn Monroe has long since passed away, so dresses worn by the icon are at a premium — especially pieces like the Naked Dress, which she wore to sing “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy back in 1962, just months before her death at age 36.

It was Ripley’s Believe It or Not! that purchased the gown 10 years ago at a Julien's auction, and then made the controversial decision to loan it to Kim Kardashian for the Met Gala in 2022. The SKIMS boss got backlash for having to drop a lot of weight quickly to fit into the dress, and many believe she damaged the piece.

Gwyneth Paltrow, meanwhile, hopefully has many years ahead of her to collect gorgeous dresses like the white Giorgio Armani Privé gown that she had to be sewn into for this year’s Oscars ceremony. Maybe someday far into the future, someone will be shelling out six or seven figures for that one.

For now, there are some event dresses that are slightly more budget friendly. Her Julien’s auction includes the Atelier Versace gown that she wore to the 2010 CMAs, which is going for $7,680 as of this writing and a gray Gianni Versace two-piece that she wore to the White House in 1999, available currently for a bid of $600.

You can also find more casual pieces, like a Dolce & Gabbana T-shirt reading “Material Girl” for $800, and who could pass up an autographed birth announcement of “one of the original nepo babies”? The document features the actress’ name, “Gwyneth Kate,” her date of birth and the name of her parents — Bruce Paltrow and Blythe Danner — along with Gwyneth’s signature. It’s racked up a handful of bids already, currently valued at $150.

The Shakespeare in Love star may not be making as much as some actresses’ items, like Marilyn Monroe and Olivia Newton-John, but given that’s because Gwyneth Paltrow is still alive, I’m sure fans are just fine with that.

Let’s take a trip back to 2022, when Kim Kardashian broke the Internet by arriving to the Met Gala wearing the infamous dress that Marilyn Monroe wore in 1962 when she sang a sultry, “Happy Birthday, Mr. President,” to John F. Kennedy. From the weight Kim had to lose to fit in it to whether or not she damaged the historical artifact, the entire event was scandalous. So one might understand why her sister Khloé was quick to shut down the topic ahead of their mom’s huge birthday celebration.

The Kardashian-Jenner family celebrated matriarch Kris Jenner’s 70th birthday this month with a James Bond-themed party that saw its A-list guests dressed to the nines. Kim Kardashian, meanwhile, played up the 007 of it all by paying homage to Halle Berry’s iconic purple dress from Die Another Day. She just couldn’t figure out what to do with her hair and sought out her sisters’ advice. This is where the Marilyn Monroe incident came up, as you can see in her vlog below:

It seems like the plan was originally for Kim Kardashian to sport a pixie cut, which would have honored Halle Berry’s signature look and served as an ode to Kris Jenner’s hairstyle of choice. However, she voiced concerns to Kendall Jenner and then Khloé Kardashian, saying:

It’s true that when Kim donned the famous dress to climb the steps at the Met Gala, she did not fix her hair in the same style the actress wore it in (though she did go blonde). Should she abide by the same rules for her Halle Berry outfit? Khloé Kardashian was not prepared to relive that situation again, firmly shutting her sister down by saying:

Can anyone blame her for feeling like that? Not only was Kim Kardashian forced to defend herself over the quick 16-pound weight loss she achieved in order to wear the dress amid accusations that she was starving herself, but Bob Mackie, who designed the dress when he was just 23 years old, spoke out to say that it was a “mistake” for Kim to wear the dress. He said it was made for Marilyn Monroe alone and, “Nobody else should be seen in that dress.”

In the end Kim Kardashian followed Kylie Jenner’s advice and didn’t try to pull off the Halle Berry and/or Kris Jenner pixie. It all seemed to work out just fine, as the rest of the vlog showed her and her sisters drinking and partying it up in honor of Kris Jenner.

The star-studded celebration included guests like Snoop Dogg, Justin Bieber, Oprah Winfrey, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, though the royals can’t be seen in any of the pics posted to social media after the party, after the Duchess of Sussex’s selfie with Kim mysteriously disappeared.

The party (and hopefully any BTS drama) will surely be covered on a future season of The Kardashians, which is currently in its seventh season. New episodes are available each Thursday for fans with a Hulu subscription.

River Phoenix, Corey Haim, and Brittany Murphy are three big names who we all lost too soon under tragic circumstances, but they are hardly the only ones. Over the years, going back to the earliest days of Hollywood, some of the biggest stars have died before even making it to 40 years old. This list is dedicated to them, the stars we lost before they even had a chance to the "over the hill."

Corey Haim (38)

Corey Haim and Corey Feldman starred in seven movies together, and they will be forever linked as "The Two Coreys" from their heyday in the late '80s. Haim starred in a slew of Gen X classics like The Lost Boys, Lucas, Dream A Little Dream, and License to Drive. Sadly, once his fame faded a little, he never had a chance to make a comeback before he died of pneumonia in 2010 after battling addiction for years.

James Dean (24)

"Live fast, die young, and leave a good-looking corpse," is a famous quote often associated with James Dean, who did just that. Though he only starred in three movies, his star status has remained constant in the seven decades since his death. Dean died in a car wreck in 1955.

Jayne Mansfield (34)

Jayne Mansfield was only 34 when she was killed in a car crash in 1967. Her young children, including future Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay, were in the car with her, and luckily they did survive the crash. For many years, Hargitay spoke little of the event of her famous mother, but opened up in an HBO Max documentary in 2025.

Brandon Lee (28)

One of the most tragic deaths in Hollywood in the 1990s was the shocking death of Brandon Lee was killed while filming The Crow. The movie was going to be Lee's breakout, coming out from under the shadow of his famous father, Bruce Lee. The junior Lee was just 28 when he was killed on the movie set after being shot with a blank.

Marilyn Monroe (36)

Despite her death at just 36 in 1962, Marilyn Monroe's legacy is alive and well more than six decades after we lost one of Hollywood's biggest stars. Movies are still being made telling her tragic story, like the controversial Blonde in 2022 starring Ana de Armas as the screen legend.

Heath Ledger (28)

For many reading this list, there is no question that the first name they probably thought of after reading the headline is Heath Ledger. Ledger's career was rising to a new level when he sadly died of an overdose in 2008. Though he had been a star for about a decade when he died, he was coming off two legendary performances that have since defined the late Australian's career. The first, of course, is Brokeback Mountain, and the second is his Oscar-winning turn as The Joker in The Dark Knight. Ledger won the award posthumously, and fans felt the pain all over again, wondering how many more great performances we would have gotten from the actor.

Brittany Murphy (32)

Brittany Murphy had her breakout role as Tai Frasier in Clueless in 1995, and for the next decade, she continued to wow us in films like Drop Dead Gorgeous, Riding in Cars with Boys, and 8 Mile. Her death at just 32 in 2009 was shocking, and in the years since, it's still as mysterious as it was then.

Chris Farley (33)

Chris Farley was one of the most beloved members of the SNL cast ever, both by fans and by his fellow actors on the show. On SNL, he never failed to make everyone belly laugh at his over-the-top antics, and on the silver screen, whether in a small role like in Billy Madison or as a star in Tommy Boy, he was among the funniest ever. We never got to see enough of the star, though, as he died of an overdose at just age 33 in 1997.

Aaliyah (22)

There is something especially tragic about a plane crash. Especially when you are talking about a pop star. Aaliyah was more than a pop star, though, and she was just getting started in her acting career when she was killed in a crash in the Bahamas in 2001, not long after her film debut in Romeo Must Die.

Michelle Trachtenberg (39)

Michelle Trachtenberg is most famous for playing Georgina Sparks in Gossip Girl, but her seemingly endless number of credits proves she was great in a variety of roles. Her sudden death at age 39 in early 2025 shocked everyone, and while we may never be able to close the book on why she died, we will always have her work to look back on.

Bruce Lee (32)

It's almost hard to believe that Bruce Lee was only 32 when he died in 1973. He left an incredible legacy of films both in the US and in Hong Kong and has become a legend since his death. The martial arts master opened so many doors for Asian actors and films that it's impossible to measure his impact on Hollywood. It is exceptional.

John Belushi (33)

The first breakout star in SNL history was unquestionably John Belushi. Even in a cast that included Gilda Radner, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and many others, Belushi stood above them all. He parlayed that into a wonderful, yet painfully short movie career with legendary roles in Animal House and The Blues Brothers, which is arguably the best movie based on an SNL character ever.

River Phoenix (23)

In the same way that Heath Ledger's death marks a moment in time for Millennials, River Phoenix's death in 1993 is the same for Gen X. Though Phoenix was only 23 years old, he was already a veteran actor, having gotten his start in Hollywood in commercials in the early 1980s. He rose to prominence with fantastic performances in movies like Stand By Me, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Mosquito Coast, and My Own Private Idaho. Phoenix earned an Oscar nomination for his role in Running on Empty at just age 18.

Brad Renfro (25)

Brad Renfro burst onto the scene as an 11-year-old in The Client, co-starring Susan Sarandon and Tommy Lee Jones. He put in a brilliant performance and followed it up with another 20 or so credits, including in Ghost World, Sleepers, and Apt Pupil. He tragically died of an overdose in 2008 when he was just 25 years old.

Cory Monteith (31)

There are some who claim there is a curse hanging over the cast of Glee. Whether you believe in such things or not, the show does have an unsettling history when it comes to actors dying young. Cory Monteith, who played Finn Hudson in the hit show, died in 2013 of an overdose. He was the first young cast member to die, but he wouldn't be the last.

Dana Hill (32)

Who doesn't love a great movie about a vacation gone wrong? National Lampoon's European Vacation, the second movie of the series, is wildly underrated, and Dana Hill's performance as Audrey in it is equally underrated. Sadly, Hill died at age 32 due to complications from diabetes.

Tupac Shakur (25)

Pretty much everyone knows the story of legendary rapper Tupac Shakur's murder in 1996. Though plenty of conspiracy theories surround the events, it remains unsolved. Tupac was best known for his music, but he also had some fantastic acting chops, as he showed in movies like Above the Rim and Poetic Justice. It's hard to believe he was only 25.

Anton Yelchin (27)

One of the more bizarre ways to go on this list is what happened to Anton Yelchin, the young star of the rebooted Star Trek movies. The actor, who played Pavel Chekov in Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, and Star Trek Beyond, was killed when he was pinned against a post by his own SUV.

Lee Thompson Young (29)

A generation of kids grew up with Lee Thompson Young as the titular star of the Disney show The Famous Jett Jackson. They followed him as a high school student in the original Friday Night Lights movie, and then in his biggest role as an adult on Rizzoli & Isles. That would be Young's final role as he took his own life in 2013.

Heather O'Rourke (12)

In just twelve short years in this world, Heather O'Rourke made a huge impact. She is most famous, of course, for Poltergeist, and her legendary line "They're heeeeere," she also appears on TV in Happy Days and Webster, and reprised her role in two Poltergeist sequels, the final of which was released after her death in 1988.

Sharon Tate (26)

In 1969, Sharon Tate's murder by the Manson Family became the most notorious crime in Hollywood history. The talented young actor, who was pregnant at the time, was just coming into her own as a star when her life was snatched from her at just age 26. It's a murder that Quentin Tarantino reimagined in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood with the happy ending we all long for it to have been for Tate.

Angus Cloud (25)

In a horrible case of life imitating art, Euphoria star Angus Cloud died of an overdose at age 25 in 2023. The actor rose to prominence on the controversial show about teen addiction, and before his career really got going, we lost him.

Naya Rivera (33)

The circumstances behind the death of Glee star Naya Rivera may never be fully understood. The actress drowned while boating with her young son, and though she was known to be a good swimmer, according to her son, she struggled to get back on the boat after they both went for a swim. Her body was found five days later. Rivera was only 33 when she died in 2020.

Andy Kaufman (35)

Now, should Andy Kaufman be on this list? Many believe that the enigmatic comedian actually faked his own death. Though this isn't true, he was taken by cancer at age 35 in 1984, the late Kaufman would love the idea that people still believed he was alive and in hiding somewhere. It's exactly the kind of prank he would pull while he was living.

Cameron Boyce (20)

Though his career only lasted about 12 years and he died at age 20, Cameron Boyce crammed a ton of acting into his short life. Boyce has almost four dozen credits to his name, though he is certainly best known for playing Carlos in the Descendants film series.

Chance Perdomo (27)

Chance Perdomo's big break came with a starring role in Gen V, the spinoff of The Boys from Amazon Prime. Sadly, he died in a motorcycle crash in Upstate New York before the second season of the show was shot, so we never got enough of Perdomo.

Ryan Dunn (34)

In a lot of ways, the tragic death of Ryan Dunn wasn't all that surprising. That's not to say it was very sad, because it was, but for the Jackass star to go out in a car crash seems very "on brand" for Dunn. He lived life fast and crazy, and that's how he went out. It's not exactly poetic, but there is something that makes sense about it, which is rare for this list.

Jean Harlow (26)

Hollywood's original "blonde bombshell" was the great Jean Harlow. Harlow's most famous role came in the Howard Hughes-directed classic Hell's Angels, and she's also well known for a string of comedic roles in the 1930s, before she died due to Kidney failure in 1937. She was only 26 at the time of her death.

Freddie Prinze (22)

Freddie Prinze is probably best known by most people today as the father of Freddie Prinze, Jr. Tragically, before the younger Prinze was even one year old, the senior Prinze took his own life at just age 22.

Jonathan Brandis (27)

Teen heartthrob Jonathan Brandis, like so many other actors, got his start in soap operas. His most prominent role came as Lucas Wolenczak on seaQuest DSV, which is where he truly became a beloved star. His fame faded somewhat after seaQuest DSV ended, and he tragically took his own life in 2003.

Dominique Dunne (22)

The Dunne family is Hollywood and literary royalty. Dominique Dunne, whose father was writer Dominick Dunne and whose brother is actor Griffin Dunne, was horrifically killed by her boyfriend in 1982 at just age 22. She was the first of two young stars to die from the cast of Poltergeist, along with Heather O'Rourke.

Thuy Trang (27)

The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers have become a much-loved franchise over the years, and it all started with the original cast of the first show. Thuy Trang was the first actor to play the Yellow Ranger on screen before she was killed in a car crash with her friend and fellow actor Angela Rockwood in 2001. Rockwood suffered a spinal injury that left her unable to walk, and Trang succumbed to her injuries before making it to the hospital. Like all the actors on this list, she sadly didn't make it 40, as she was just 27.

When they aren't catching up on upcoming 2025 movies, movie lovers are always keen to spend a moment appreciating the medium's past. With each year, Hollywood continues to showcase movie magic and the incredible stars who carry the story, but along with it comes some sad and unexpected goodbyes. Online, fans are taking the time to reminisce about big-hitting stars' last movies, like Jimmy Stewart and Robin Williams, and, more specifically, their fitting and impactful last lines.

The conversation took root in a Reddit post whose OP said they were inspired to create the thread because of Robin Williams’ last major Hollywood role, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, which featured his poignant, comforting closing line. Meanwhile, his actual final film, Boulevard, reveals the heartbreaking duality of the beloved late A-lister’s mental health struggles. Check out the comedian who passed too soon's dual last lines:

• "Smile, my boy. It's sunrise." - Robin Williams as Teddy Roosevelt in Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb
• “I drove down a street one night. A street I didn't know. It's the way your life goes sometimes. I'll drive down this one and another. And now, another.” - Robin Williams as Nolan Mack in Boulevard

How fitting were Williams’ last words in that double entry of films? While the sweet family blockbuster’s line was what audiences viewed him as, the adventurous, aimless driving voiceover from the 2014 drama mirrored him off-camera more.

From Robin Williams to An American Tail: Fievel Goes West and another pair of Hollywood royals we go:

• "I don't know what's beyond those hills, but if you ride yonder, head up, eyes steady, heart open, I think one day you'll find that you're the hero you've been looking for.” - Jimmy Stewart as Wylie Burp in An American Tail: Fievel Goes West
• “How do you find your way back in the dark?” - Marilyn Monroe as Roslyn’s in The Misfits:
• "Just head for that big star straight on. The highway's under it. It'll take us right home.” - Clark Gable as Gay in The Misfits

Jimmy Stewart, arguably most well-known for the complex holiday tale It's a Wonderful Life, still managed to deliver a grandiose, hopeful message as an animated dog. Truly on par with George Bailey and the actor behind him, even in an animated sequel.

And as for Gable and Monroe, The Misfits was both of their last movies shot before they passed. The King of Hollywood’s matter-of-fact response to the Blonde Bombshell’s dark and mysterious question is almost too much. The small back and forth eerily suits both of their public personas as a femme fatale and the leading man all too well.

Along with the iconic but crew above, other greats’ parting sentences also hit as close to home as the heartbreakers above. The grouping of the next trio is lighter in their on-screen finales, but the lines themselves are still unexpectedly fitting in ways. The list includes the 007 actor who set the tone for the James Bond franchise, one of the most influential women for TV history and a recently deceased cult-favorite experimental director.

• “May this new century be yours, son, as the old one was mine.” - Sean Connery as Allan Quartermain in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
• "My pleasure!" - David Lynch as John Ford in The Fabelmans
• “I have some sad news. I bit the big one. I've cashed in my chips. I'm dead.” - Betty White as Mrs. Sarah Vanderwhoozie in Trouble (also known as Dog Gone Trouble)

Not nearly as tragic as the ones above (and I didn’t even include the saddest!), but still suits them just as well. Connery’s line is as cool and intelligent as ever, fit for the Dr. No actor. Lynch, as we know, has one hell of a body of work, but also took the time as a director to appear in another director's movie, The Fableman’s. And playing a legendary filmmaker in another filmmaker’s movie and being the wacky but loved filmmaker he is, no notes here.

Then, of course, to close the quick dive into these creative giants, none other than Betty White. Naturally, there are animals involved and an immaculately crafted joke reflecting death. A true comedy queen through and through.

Needless to say, the conversation and unearthing of beloved actors' on-screen last lines go deep. There are plenty more poignant words from top-tier celebs that span from Stewart’s era to Williams’ one and beyond. Just be ready for what you may find!

Over the past two decades, Kim Kardashian has transformed herself into one of the most recognizable celebrities in the world. That kind of fame doesn’t come without plenty of haters, and the critics were on full display during an event on the 2024 Netflix schedule when the reality star was booed at The Roast of Tom Brady. Turns out that wouldn’t be the only time this year that happened. The SKIMS founder was apparently booed again, but this time it was over the Marilyn Monroe dress she wore to the 2022 Met Gala.

Kim Kardashian caused quite a stir a couple of years ago when she borrowed the famous dress that Marilyn Monroe wore in 1962 to sing “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy. First there was the 16-pound weight loss she underwent to fit into the dress, and then there were accusations that she’d damaged the artifact. It turns out some people are still upset about it. Designer Bob Mackie, who sketched the gown in question, screened his new documentary Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion recently, and in an interview afterward he was asked about Kardashian.

A Page Six insider reports that in response to a question about The Kardashians star wearing the dress that he’d sketched and Jean Louis designed specifically for Marilyn Monroe, Bob Mackie “hesitated and asked the audience to respond… if they thought it was ok.” You can guess what happened next. The source says there was a “resounding loud house of boos,” and then:

At least this time — unlike with The Roast of Tom Brady (whose harshest and most hilarious jokes can be streamed with a Netflix subscription) — Kim Kardashian wasn’t actually present to witness the audience’s vitriol.

Bob Mackie has made no secret of his opinion on the matter. Following all the hubbub of the 2022 Met Gala, the designer called it a “mistake” for Ripley’s Believe It or Not! to have loaned out the fashion relic, saying:

He also spoke to the preservation of the garment, saying that her squeezing into it could damage its structural integrity. Historic items like the dress are often kept in controlled environments and not exposed to elements including light, humidity, makeup and perfume.

Kim Kardashian was able to shake off the boos from the Tom Brady roast, so I doubt she’d be too bothered by this latest occurrence of crowd displeasure, especially since it involves something that happened over two years ago. We’ll have to see if either one of these topics is discussed on The Kardashians if and when it returns on the 2025 TV schedule.

Hulu announced this summer that the reality show (which can be streamed with a Hulu subscription) would return for 20 more episodes, but there’s been no news about when Season 6 would premiere. There’s also been some speculation that Kim Kardashian’s acting career might get in the way of her family’s show and cause The Kardashians to be “kanceled.” Only time will tell.

There are plenty of celebrity fashion looks that have been immortalized on the big screen, but there are also plenty of other famous dresses that never hit a red carpet. Maybe they should have. We've compiled a list of some of the best gowns (and looks) from films that could totally have worked on a red carpet, if given the chance. Here are some of the coolest takes.

Lily James In Cinderella

When I think of a ball gown, to me the 2015 Cinderella look of Lily James is a great example of a dress that’s carpet ready. It’s somehow timeless and modern, it’s an indescribable blue color, and it brought an animated concept to life in just the perfect way. A top-notch stunner for any era.

Emma Watson In Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1

I know you thought I was going to bust out Hermione’s iconic Yule Ball gown look here, even though she’s said the scene was uncomfortable in the past. While it’s a sweet dress for a teenager, it’s the stunning red number Watson’s character wears to Bill and Fleur’s wedding I deem to be most red carpet-worthy.

Jennifer Lopez In Maid In Manhattan

Jennifer Lopez played a maid who borrowed a gown for a night out on the town in Maid in Manhattan. While the flick may not make anyone's list of best rom-coms, the dress is perfect for any best list. It was a peachy pink and very on trend in the early aughts, and its silhouette – and the iconic jewelry she paired it with – would very much still be on point on the carpet today.

Halle Berry In Die Another Day

Halle Berry may be more known for an iconic bikini scene in Die Another Day, but it's her purple dress that really stands out when she's playing Jinx. The color and silhouette are stunning years later, but this is one dress that's also even more brilliant once you see it from behind.

Julia Roberts In Pretty Woman

A far cry from the look we meet her in, Julia Roberts’ Vivian Ward dons a romantic red dress for a night out with Richard Gere’s Edward. The two end up entangling their lives in myriad ways, but the dress is still the most memorable moment from the movie for me.

Margot Robbie In The Wolf Of Wall Street

Black dresses will never go out of fashion, and Margot Robbie looks like a cool woman in a little black dress in Wolf of Wall Street. It's not the only fashionable moment in Scorsese's film, but it's the look I would choose if I were having to go to a fun event. The earrings amp the look up considerably, too. Her whole vibe has me rethinking my wardrobe.

Aubrey Hepburn In Sabrina

One of the most iconic ball gowns of all time, Hepburn’s famous Sabrina dress may never have happened if she hadn’t pushed and befriended designer Givenchy. They made movie history together, and red carpet history in other cases. This dress would not have been out of place there.

Natalie Portman In Black Swan

Black Swan may be one of the best psychological films, but the costume design is also superb, from outfits worn on the stage to everdaywear. The white gown Portman’s character wears from Rodarte has one of the coolest backs I’ve ever seen. Nearly 15 years later, I wish she or someone would bust it out again.

Lady Mary In Downton Abbey

Lady Mary was a bit of a fashionista across the entirety of the Downton Abbey series and its two subsequent movies, but this lush sapphire blue Prussian gown from 2019’s Downton movie stands out as a favorite and also the one that’s most red carpet worthy. Maybe in this day and age I’d drop the gloves, though (even if celebs like Taylor Swift and JLo are bringing gloves back).

Billy Porter In Cinderella (2021)

The Cinderella cast all had amazing outfits, but Billy Porter's fabulous godmother (Fab G) dress in the 2021 Cinderella is all bold colors and lush satin. It's very much a Porter-perfect look that still stands out years later.

Keira Knightley In Atonement

Keira Knightley’s green dress in Atonement is very much a dress of the era it is portraying, but it’s also the sort of classic look in the perfect color and fabric that could be worn by anyone, in any formal situation, in any time period. If I had to choose a dress to rock to a movie premiere or a wedding or pretty much any occasion, this look from the 2007 (but period) movie would be it.

Charlize Theron Snow White And The Huntsman

Hear me out: Charlize Theron looks so extra in Snow White and the Huntsman but she never looks more extra than when she’s wearing the dress with the extravagant shoulders. Puff sleeves come in and out, but I’m really ready for some avante garde looks to hit the red carpet and this is a great take on a totally unique style.

Kate Hudson In How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days

The early aughts were a prominent time for formalwear gowns dominating movie posters, and the Kate Hudson rom-com era was no exception. The good news is the gold dress she sported opposite Matthew McConaughey still holds up more than 20 years later and is a color she should continue to sport on the red carpet.

Grace Kelly In Rear Window

Grace Kelly had a lot of iconic dresses in a lot of movies that could have fit the criteria of this list, but my favorite has to be her tulle look from Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window. It's no wonder the ballet-inspired look has come back in 10 Things I Hate About You and other movies.

Jennifer Lawrence In Catching Fire

The Hunger Games has some solid fashion design, particularly when it comes to characters like Snow, Effie and others living in the capital. But if you really want to make a statement, how about a dress that catches fire and turns into a second fashion statement? Tell me you wouldn’t like to see this on the red carpet!

Kate Winslet In Titanic

When Jack and Rose meet in Titanic, she’s dressed for dinner in a gorgeous red and black beaded dress that would stand out in any crowd. It’s a good thing she catches Jack’s eye in this dress, or Titanic would have been a different movie.

Angela Bassett In Jumping The Broom

Listen: Paula Patton’s character has a lovely wedding dress in Jumping The Broom (not to mention a really cute purple plaid dress at the beginning of the movie), but Angela Bassett is the actress to keep your eye on. As the matriarch in a wealthy family, Bassett’s character is the one with the polished, structured looks I’d feel most confident in on the red carpet.

Rita Hayworth In Gilda

I’m not sure how many people revisit Rita Hayworth’s Gilda these days, but when I think of old Hollywood glamor, her satin gown and matching gloves always come to mind. This was the role that made Hayworth a household name and that dress would still have a moment if it debuted today.

Sonoya Mizuno In Crazy Rich Asians

There's a lot of just epic fashion in 2018's Crazy Rich Asians, but the stellar standout moment is Araminta's wedding, which just has so many great looks from the main cast. At the end of the day, despite the gorgeous setting and shiny, happy people, it's the dress that's to die for.

Vivien Leigh In Gone With The Wind

Leigh gets the opportunity to wear a lot of lovely fabrics in 1939’s Gone with the Wind but none seem as carpet worthy (somewhat ironically) as the dress made out of curtains. It's a memorable color combo and an all-time great movie look.

Hilary Duff In A Cinderella Story

While allegedly Sam is wearing an "old" wedding dress when she shows up in this gorgeous white number, the tulle look is a classic one. Hilary Duff wore the dress with pink Chuck Taylors on the cover for the film, and casualizing a dress with sneakers has become a popular trend in the time since.

Emma Watson In Beauty And The Beast

A Disney ballgown that really hits the mark, Emma Watson’s yellow Belle dress does the animated character justice while fitting the actress like a glove. The color might not work on everyone, but it’s such a perfect fit.

Whitney Houston In The Bodyguard

I think Whitney Houston’s Queen of the Night costume is probably the one we all think about first when we think about The Bodyguard, but it’s her simple black halter dress and beaded hair and bracelet accessories that would really stand out on a red carpet and give something a little special.

Aubrey Hepburn In My Fair Lady

Eliza may have made a bet with Professor Higgins to help her sound like a lady, but it's not hard to believe Audrey Hepburn at least looks like a lady in this dress. The thick, sparkling necklace gives it an additional upgrade. Beautiful.

Ariana DeBose In West Side Story

Ariana DeBose's yellow dress in Spielberg's West Side Story is a direct nod to the 1961 movie musical, but it's an updated take on the look. Originally, Rita Moreno wore a famous lavender dress, but DeBose's is an upgraded color and has a little more swish in it. It's gorgeous and the type of look I hope is popularized again.

Marilyn Monroe In How To Marry A Millionaire

Marilyn Monroe rocked lots of iconic gowns over the years, but the thing I like about this satin dress is the one shoulder strap. It's fitted like a glove and the pink color is fabulous. It's hard to pick one thing about this dress that is most successful. It's just perfect.

Barbara Bach In The Spy Who Loved Me

Plenty of Bond girls have had great outfits over the course of more than 50 years, but when Bond meets Anya Amasova, her navy gown really pops thanks to the Swarovski crystal trim. I love that it's not a flat color, and the leg slit adds a sweet extra touch.

Lana Condor In To All The Boys I've Loved Before: P.S. I Still Love You

Lana Condor has a lot of beautiful clothing in the To All The Boys movies. Of all her sweet looks, my favorite is the one in the sequel that Stormy lends her from her impeccable collection. It's vintage perfect, and a lovely color to boot.

Lori Singer In Footloose

Lori Singer’s Ariel dress looks great on her, and it fits the character well. Despite the movie coming out in the eighties, the off-shoulder style comes in and out, and its simple silhouette would be perfect for a low-key movie premiere. As vintage is making a big comeback, perhaps it’s a style we’ll see back on the carpet in coming years.

Rachel Leigh Cook In She’s All That

Laney’s red makeover dress is on-trend now the ‘90s and early aughts are making a comeback. Its spaghetti straps and slim silhouette are simple, but would still really would turn heads on the red carpet today. I love the matching red pumps she pairs the look with as well.

Margaret Avery In The Color Purple

Shug Avery's bright looks in The Color Purple stand out. It may be more of a show dress, but if I had to kick it on the red carpet, I'd want something just as sequiny. Maybe I'd throw in some pearls to boot.

Anne Hathaway In The Idea Of You

A lot of people would say Ms. Hathaway's iconic fashion movies are either The Princess Diaries or The Devil Wears Prada, and while neither are wrong choices, my pick has to go to her character in The Idea of You. When Solene meets Hayes in her beautifully tailored, creamy Fendi number, his head was turned, but so was mine.

Luckily, we're likely to see many more red carpet-worthy looks on the big screen for years to come!

Sydney Sweeney is having quite the moment. She had a major 2023 with her great rom-com with Glen Powell, Anyone But You landing big box office numbers, and leading the HBO film Reality, which was certainly a step out of her comfort zone. Her 2024 is off to another great start. The Euphoria star hosted SNL this past season, and now she is leading the spooky horror flick Immaculate. She is a major star, and attended this year'scoveted Vanity Fair Oscars Party in style, as she rocked a gorgeous Marilyn Monroe tribute gown that was once worn by Angelina Jolie.

What to know? The archival dress in question was designed by Marc Bouwer, who originally designed the dress for Angelina Jolie. The Mr. And Mrs. Smith wore the cream colored dress in 2004, with Sweeney rocking it at the 2024 Oscars. They both styled the look similarly, wearing a number of necklaces stacked on top of each other to highlight the plunging neckline. You can Sweeney in the dress below:

In 2004, Jolie paired the dress with an updo, while Sweeney wore her hair down, showcasing her new, shorter haircut. You can see Jolie in the dress below:

They both look absolutely stunning in the look, and Sweeney told ET how much of an honor it was for her to rock such an iconic look. She said: 

She elaborated more on what went into achieving the fashion moment in an interview with ExtraTV. Apparently, the look was in the works for a while, but her and her stylist were waiting for the proper moment to pull out all of the stops. Of course, the Oscars ended up being the perfect occasion. Sweeney explained: 

Wearing Angelina Jolie’s dress was such a statement, and more than just a fashion one. Jolie was considered to be a sex symbol of her time, and often was the subject of rampant tabloid rumors about her dating life. Press related to Sydney Sweeney has projected a similar narrative as of recent, which much focus on her modern sex symbol status, as well as affair rumors with co-star Glen Powell. This fashion choice tying her to Angelina Jolie feels like Sweeney is owning her own narrative, and comparisons the media has made to other actresses who had similar attention.

The Marilyn Monroe tribute was another layer to this whole thing. The dress resembles the white dress worn by Monroe in the 1955 Billy Wilder film, The Seven Year Itch. It has become an iconic image of this time in American cinema, and Marilyn Monroe as the sex symbol of her time. There is so much being reflected in this dress, and Sweeney feels like the perfect actress to dawn such a gown. Her blonde hair completed the look, showcasing her to the world as our modern day Monroe, with the edge of a 2000s era Jolie. 

When Sydney Sweeney isn’t making iconic red carpet appearances, you can see her on the silver screen in movies like Immaculate, which is currently playing in theaters nationwide. You can also check her out in Anyone But You, which is currently available to rent with an Amazon subscription. For more information on other movies heading to cinemas in the near future, make sure to consult our 2024 movie release schedule. 

Kim Kardashian has done it again. She’s pulled off another look that is completely stunning, and this time, she’s seemingly channeling Marilyn Monroe. The last time she went for a literal Monroe-esque outfit, it ended in a lot of controversy. However, this time, her photo shoot that features her looking a lot like the iconic actress is getting lots of love.

Taking to Instagram to show off her latest outfit, which was styled by creative director Soki Mak, Kim K. posted a slideshow of photos that featured her wearing cheetah-print lingerie, and her hair was short, blonde and cut in a shoulder-length bob. The pose is giving Marilyn Monroe, and overall the fit is sexy and gorgeous, take a look:

You likely know that Kardashian gets online hate frequently, and when she wore Marilyn Monroe’s dress to the Met Gala in 2022 she was met with great criticism. People were wondering if she damaged Monroe’s garment and many had thoughts about Kim K’s weight loss to fit into it.

Thankfully, her latest ensemble that’s giving Marilyn has not received that kind of backlash. In fact, folks are loving it. For example, one fan noted how beautiful the reality star looked while also calling out the Monroe energy of the photo shoot:

Model Winnie Harlow was also here for the photo shoot, and noted that it reminded her of the Gentlemen Prefer Blondes star.

Many others, including La La Anthony, commented about their love for Kim Kardashians’ cheetah outfit. Their comments were so sweet and complimentary, here’s a small sampling of them:

• W😍😍😍W -lala
• So gorgeous 🔥 -senada.greca
• Insane 😍 -ash_kholm
• OBSESSED ❤️🔥 -amandaeliselee

Over the last year, the reality star really has been throwing outfit after outfit that really gets people talking, not that that’s unusual. However, these looks have been particularly noteworthy!

For example, her Met Gala getup this year featured a sweater that people called “dumb,” and shoes that seemed to defy gravity. There were people who loved the fashion moment and many who didn't. I think I fall in the camp of loving it, especially the metal dress!

Then, she followed that up with a magazine cover that featured her in another sweater as well as some seriously avante-guard ensembles.

Whether you like Kim Kardashian’s style or not, there’s no denying how inventive it is. Plus, it’s always fun to see her range through outfits that go from channeling Old Hollywood to others that give off sci-fi vibes. All-in-all, she’s a fashion icon, and her latest Marilyn Monroe-like look proves that.

To keep up with Kim K. and her fashionable family, you can stream new episodes of The Kardashians as they air on the 2024 TV schedule every Thursday for those with a Hulu subscription.

There are a lot of reasons that a young actor may change their name. Sometimes it's as simple as just wanting a cool new name. Often it's because someone is already in the union was using the actor's real name and they have to adjust. Here's a list of some of Hollywood's biggest stars and their real names. 

Ben Kingsley (Krishna Pandit Bhanji)

The great Ben Kingsley won an Oscar for his role in the great biopic Gandhi. It makes sense he would play the Indian freedom fighter, as Kingsley himself is Indian. Born to an Indian father and an English mother, Kingsley grew up in England and while his father was a practicing Shia Muslim, Kinglsey is not and considers himself a Quaker. He changed his name for that oh-so-common reason, that he feared a foreign-sounding name would hurt his career. 

Whoopi Goldberg (Caryn Elaine Johnson)

The story is both hilarious and heartfelt. She was born Caryn Elaine Johnson in New York, but when she started acting, she was accused of being flatulent, so Whoopi "short for whoopee cushion." Her surname came from a Jewish ancestor, Goldberg, so she could celebrate the diversity in her family line. 

Judy Garland (Frances Ethel Gumm)

Judy Garland first started in show business as a singer with her sisters, going by their names, The Gumm Sisters. After they were billed as the "Glum Sisters" for a show, it was suggested they change their name. Judy Gumm took her mother's maiden name, Garland, and the rest is history. 

Martin Sheen (Ramon Gerard Estevez)

Martin Sheen's real name is Ramon Gerard Estevez, but he changed it when he broke into the business for the same reason so many others have made the decision, to be less ethnic, as early in his career they said he looked Irish. One of his sons, Charlie Sheen, chose to use the same screen name, but one of his other sons, Emilio Estevez, chose to use his given name. Sheen's daughter, Renée Estevez, an occasional cast member of The West Wing with her father, also stuck with the family name. 

Vin Diesel (Mark Sinclair)

Vin Diesel took on that name after being born Mark Sinclair when he worked as a bouncer as he tried to break into show business. "Vin" comes from his adoptive surname, Vincent, and Diesel came simply because he wanted a cool name as a bouncer. 

Miley Cyrus (Destiny Hope Cyrus)

Though she was born Destiny Hope Cyrus, Miley Cyrus decided to go by the moniker she's best known as because that was simply what her family called her growing up. Her nickname in the family was originally "Smiley" which was eventually shortened to Miley. Her first couple of professional acting gigs, in the TV show Doc and the Tim Burton movie Big Fish, she was billed by her real name, Destiny Cyrus. 

Cary Grant (Archibald Alec Leach)

Early in his Vaudeville career, the great Cary Grant used his real name, Archibald Leach. When he got to Hollywood, as is so often the case, the studio didn't think the name wasn't "box office" enough, so he changed it to Cary Grant. 

Natalie Portman (Natalie Hershlag)

Natalie Portman's real name is Natalie Hershlag, but unlike so many others, she didn't change it because the name was "too ethnic" or not generic enough. As she explained to Vanity Fair in 2024, it was because she wanted to create a separate identity for her work and personal life. 

Portia De Rossi (Amanda Lee Rogers)

Portia de Rossi's name change came, at least originally, because she simply wanted a more exotic-sounding name when she started acting in her teens. Her given name, Amanda Lee Rogers, was just bland. She later revealed it may have been in part because she was struggling with her sexual identity as well. After marrying Ellen Degeneres in 2008, she changed it again, this time combining her real and stage names, Portia Lee James DeGeneres. Professionally she is still Portia de Rossi though. 

Joaquin Phoenix (Joaquin Rafael Bottom)

The Phoenix family has a fascinating history, one that includes time in the cult Children of God. When the family left that group, they made a collective decision to change their last name to one of rebirth, and Joaquin Rafael Bottom became Joaquin Phoenix.

Jamie Foxx (Eric Marlon Bishop)

Born Eric Marlon Bishop in 1967, Jamie Foxx took his stage name early when he was a standup. He says that he noticed women often got preferential spots during open mics, so he decided he wanted a more androgynous name, choosing Jamie. For his last name, he picked it as a tribute to his favorite comedian, Redd Foxx. 

John Wayne (Marion Robert Morrison)

It was a lot more common back in the day for actors to adopt cooler-sounding stage names and that was pretty much the case for Marion Robert Morrison, who ended up John Wayne. It's easy to see why he did it, whether it was a good idea or not. It worked for him. 

Tom Cruise (Thomas Cruise Mapother IV)

Top Gun: Maverick star Tom Cruise didn't change much, but it was a meaningful change. His real name at birth was Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, obviously named after his father, hence the suffix. Cruise had a very difficult relationship with his dad, so when he began his career, he dropped the Mapother in part to distance himself from his then-estranged father. The two later reunited when his father was on his deathbed. 

Olivia Wilde (Olivia Cockburn)

Actor and director Olivia Wilde's story about why she changed her name is pretty simple. She decided she wanted to stage name, and at the time was acting in Oscar Wilde's play The Importance of Being Earnest, which she loved. So she went with Wilde as a homage to the legendary playwright. 

Meg Ryan (Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra)

It's pretty easy to see why Meg Ryan chose to simplify her name when she started acting. Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra sure is a mouthful, so cutting a 25-letter name down to a seven-letter one makes sense. Meg is short for Margaret and Ryan is the maiden name of maternal grandmother. 

Kirk Douglas (Issur Danielovitch)

In another example of early Hollywood stars fearing their given names would hold them back for sounding too ethnic, Kirk Douglas changed his name from Issur Danielovitch. He told People it was because he feared it would hold him back and it sounded "too Semitic." 

Mahershala Ali (Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore)

Like others on this list, it's easy to see why Mahershala Ali changed his name from Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore. Not only is Mahershalalhashbaz really hard to spell and pronounce, but the Green Book actor also converted to Islam as a teenager, taking Mahershala Ali as his Muslim name. 

Marilyn Monroe (Norma Jeane Mortenson)

One of the most famous name changes in Hollywood history is Norma Jeane Mortensen changing her name to Marilyn Monroe. There is no big story behind it, it simply was a snazzier name and Monroe was her mother's maiden name. 

Michael Keaton (Michael Douglas)

This one is easy to understand. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice star Michael Keaton's real name is Michael Douglas. Obviously with an actor already in the union (Romancing The Stone star Michael Douglas), Keaton had to come up with a new name for billing. He chose the last name out of respect for early Hollywood star Buster Keaton. 

Michael Caine (Maurice Joseph Micklewhite)

If you think Maurice Micklewhite is a bit of a mouthful, you're not alone. English legend Michael Caine thought so too. In 2016, he legally changed his name from Micklewhite to Caine, because, according to the Batman Begins actor says it caused too much confusion at airports. 

Winona Ryder (Winona Laura Horowitz)

This one is a little in dispute - though not really. Charlie Sheen once claimed he gave Winona Horowitz her new name, Ryder, after listening to The Doors song "Riders on the Storm." Ryder says she got it when her father asked if she wanted a stage name while they were listening to Mitch Ryder. 

Demi Moore (Demetria Gene Guynes)

The story of Demi Moore's stage name (changed from Demetria Guynes) is both mundane and unique. Before she started appearing in acting roles, Moore married musician Freddy Moore when she was 18. So while Moore was her married name, it was a new name, just as her career was taking off. Demi is simply short for Demetria. 

Dove Cameron (Chloe Celeste Hosterman)

Dove Cameron has never explained why she chose Cameron as her stage name, but her reason for choosing Dove is bittersweet. Dove was her father's nickname for her and after he took his own life, she decided she wanted to go by that, in tribute to him. 

Cher (Cherilyn Sarkisian)

It takes a lot of gall and a lot of talent to decide you're going to go with a one-name moniker, and Cher has oodles of both. It's not hard to see what she did, she simply shortened her first name, Cherilyn, and dropped her last. 

Olivia Colman (Sarah Caroline Colman)

Like others on this list, Olivia Colman couldn't join the actors union with her birth name, Sarah Colman, so she changed it. As she explained in 2013, Colman chose Olivia because it is one of her best friends from college's name and she loved it. 

Carmen Electra (Tara Leigh Patrick)

There aren't many people who can claim the legendary Prince gave them their name, but Carmen Electra can. Way back at the start of her career, when she was working with the Purple One, he decided Tara wasn't good enough and named her Carmen. In 2023, Tara Leigh Patrick officially changed her legal name to Carmen Electra, because who wouldn't?

Lily James (Lily Chloe Ninette Thomson)

Like others here, Lily James renamed herself in honor of her late father, James. Though Thomson was also her father's name, of course, she wanted to do more, deciding taking on the stage name "James" to do so. 

Nicolas Cage (Nicolas Kim Coppola)

Nicolas Cage's first movie role was basically just a background character in Fast Times At Ridgemont High. He is billed in the credits by his legal name, Nicolas Coppola, and yeah, it's that Coppola. While on the set of Fast Times, his co-stars would endlessly quote his famous uncle's (Francis Ford Coppola) movies. He decided then and there he needed to distance himself from his famous family (Talia Shire is his aunt, and Sophia Coppola and Jason Schwartzman are cousins).

Julianne Moore (Julie Anne Smith)

Julie Smith is a pretty common name, and when the great Julieanne Moore hit Hollywood, she soon discovered the name was already taken in the union. She tried different combinations, but they were all spoken for. In the end, she combined her first and middle names, and took her father's name, Moore, as her surname. It's like having to go through dozens of combos to find the right vanity plate, but in the end, it's hard to imagine the actor with any other name. 

Mindy Kaling (Vera Mindy Chokalingam)

It seems Hollywood is still getting people to change their names if they or people around them fear a real name is too complicated or foreign. Indian actor and writer Mindy Kaling is a recent example when she simplified her name from Vera Mindy Chokalingam to Mindy Kaling. 

David Tennant (David John McDonald)

Former Dr. Who and Jessica Jones star David Tennant has a tried and true story as well, his real name, David McDonald, was taken. He explained some years ago on James Corden's show, where he also explained that he chose "Tennant" because he saw the name from a music magazine in an article about Neil Tennant of The Pet Shop Boys. 

Chevy Chase (Cornelius Crane Chase)

Chevy Chase comes from a very blood-blue family who can trace their roots in America back to the Mayflower. Cornelius Crane Chase, the Vacation star's real name, reflects this perfectly. The reason he goes by "Chevy" is because his grandmother started calling him that when he was a kid. So, not much of a story here, but he's real name is just so posh, that we had to include it here. 

Helen Mirren (Helen Lydia Mironoff)

Like others, this one is just a technicality. Helen Mirren was born Helen Lydia Mironoff in London to an English mother and a Russian father. When Mirren was 10 years old, her father anglicized the family name to "Mirren." 

The Oscars made for quite an eventful night, as viewers saw movies like Oppenheimer, Poor Things and The Zone of Interest win big. Then, there was the thrill of seeing Ryan Gosling’s highly anticipated performance of “I’m Just Ken” and a near-naked John Cena present Best Costume Design. But one touching element of the Academy Awards that may have escaped your attention. I'm talking about the pair of homages to “blonde bombshell” Marilyn Monroe from Gosling and Sydney Sweeney.

Ryan Gosling's performance of his 2024 Oscar-nominated power ballad was truly the highlight of the night. I'm sure it was especially important for Mickey Mouse Club fans to see the Canadian actor get back to his live-singing roots. But as a Variety X post noted, Gosling nodded to pop culture icon Marilyn Monroe through his performance as well. Take a look at this image from that 2024 Oscars night and see if you can guess which movie of Monroe’s this stair sequence comes from:

If you couldn’t guess, the actor was paying homage to the late star's snazzy dresser character Lorelei Lee from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Just like the Barbie actor was singing his tune on a red staircase surrounded by his musical ensemble, the actress did the same when singing “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” to various men in regard to exploiting them for riches. The Drive actor also wore a shocking pink suit when, while the Golden Age of Hollywood-era performer wore a shocking pink dress during her cabaret performance in the aforementioned movie. What an excellent way for him to pay tribute to a fellow scene-stealer.

As mentioned, Ryan Gosling wasn’t the only one who decided to honor Marilyn Monroe. Anyone But You’s Sydney Sweeney attended the Oscars in a classic white dress akin to the kind that Hollywood’s 1950s sex symbol was known for wearing. Take a look at Sweeney’s Instagram post down below, which her beautiful flowing white dress:

With the 26-year-old actress being quite the “blonde bombshell” herself for this generation, it's only fitting that she channeled one of the most beautiful actresses of the Golden Age. Not only does her cream-colored Marc Bouwer gown look like Marilyn Monroe’s expensive movie prop from The Seven Year Itch, but it was actually originally worn by Angelina Jolie at the 76th Academy Awards. Topping off that dress with a loosely curled sultry bob, the Euphoria star looked like a dream on the red carpet.

Last night's ceremony was all about honoring the films that hit our screens in the past year, which is wonderful. Nevertheless, the Oscars are also about honoring those who've come before and their work. It's lovely that two stars would find a way to pay tribute to Marilyn Monroe, one of the world's most beloved stars.

As Ryan Gosling and Sydney Sweeney found unique ways to honor the cultural icon at the 96th Academy Awards, I’d like to believe the classic Hollywood sex symbol would be touched if she was still here today. Hopefully, more folks continue to pay homage in such ways moving forward. 

If you’d like to see the 2024 Oscar’s big wins and moments from the night, you can stream the ABC event with a Hulu subscription. Those who'd also like to see the theatrical version of Ryan Gosling's "I'm Just Ken" can stream the film with a Max subscription.

As a profession, acting is something that somebody can do at virtually any age, as such few actors ever bother to retire, and simply continue to make films until the day comes that they can't anymore. As such, it's basically impossible to know when a given film will be the last performance of one of the greats. From those who tragically die young to those who continued to work for decades, This is a look at the sometimes surprising final movies by some of the world's biggest movie stars.

A couple of caveats to the forthcoming list. As the title states, we're looking at the final movies that certain actors and actresses worked on, which is not necessarily the last movie that was ever released, as sometimes movies that had been in development earlier get completed years and even decades later. We're also only considering theatrically released films, and not television movies or series. 

Heath Ledger - The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus 

Ledger's legacy is most closely tied to The Dark Knight for which he won a posthumous Oscar, but he had already moved on to filming Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus before he died. The script was modified and saw Ledger's character "transformed" at various points, allowing three of Ledger's friends, Jude Law, Johnny Depp, and Colin Firth to all step in to collectively help complete the movie. 

Marilyn Monroe - The Misfits

Marilyn Monroe's role in the drama The Misfits was not the sort of performance that made her famous, yet her final performance, given more than a year before her death, is considered one of her best by critics today.  Monroe had been involved in another movie, Something's Gotta Give at the time of her death, but so little of the movie had been completed that production was simply halted.

 James Dean - Giant 

James Dean was an up-and-coming star when he died in a single-car accident in 1955. He only made three big screen movies before his death with East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause, and his final film, Giant which was released the year after his death.

John Candy - Wagons East 

Wagons East sees John Candy as a wagon master who has agreed to take a group of settlers who have decided the West isn't for them back to the East. Candy died of a heart attack during production, and stand-ins were used to finish the film so it could be released a few months later. 

Paul Walker - Furious 7

The death of Paul Walker in a tragic car accident took place during the filming of Furious 7. The movie's ending was modified to give his character a proper sendoff and his brother, along with CGI, was used to recreate Walker's likeness for a final farewell.

Bruce Lee - Enter The Dragon 

Bruce Lee's Game of Death uses a combination of the actor and a double as the martial arts expert passed away before he could finish it. However, all of Lee's scenes were shot prior to the film going on hiatus so he could film Enter the Dragon, making this the final film he shot before passing away. 

Katharine Hepburn - Love Affair

Katharine Hepburn was a four-time Oscar winner when she passed away in 2003. She was largely done with the big screen by the 1980s, but she did appear in a small role in Warren Beatty's Love Affair in 1994, the last year she worked before retiring for good. 

 Brandon Lee - The Crow 

The son of Bruce Lee was well on his way to following in his father's footsteps when his life was tragically cut short. A prop gun on the set of The Crow malfunctioned firing a projectile into Lee, which caused his death. His final scenes were filmed with stand-ins so that the movie could be completed. 

Robin Williams - Absolutely Anything

Robin Williams' death in 2014 broke the hearts of millions of fans. There would be two more chances to see (and hear) him at the movies, however. Williams' final appearance was in A Night at the Museum: Secrets of The Tomb which was released just months after his passing. His final project, however, would be as the voice of Dennis the dog in the Simon Pegg-led comedy Absolutely Anything.

Brittany Murphy - Something Wicked

Actress Brittany Murphy died unexpectedly in 2009 and her death has remained a subject of controversy to this day. Her final performance, in the psychological horror movie Something Wicked would not be seen for years as the film was not officially released until 2014.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 

Phillip Seymour Hoffman was not an actor who often appeared in major franchise movies but two of his final performances would come in the two-part finale of The Hunger Games. Mockingjay - Part 1 would be released shortly after his death in 2014. By that point the majority of his role in Mockingjay - Part 2 had been completed, making his final on-screen performance a year later.

Judy Garland - I Could Go On Singing

While Judy Garland would continue to perform right up until she died in 1969, her last years were spent on stage rather than screen. Her final film role would be in 1963's I Could Go on Singing, where she played a successful singer who attempts to bond with her estranged son.  

 John Wayne - The Shootist 

John Wayne's final film role in 1976's The Shootist was in many ways the culmination of his entire career. In the film, he plays a former Western lawman who is dying of cancer, the same disease that would take Wayne's own life three years after the film was completed. 

 Angela Lansbury - Glass Onion 

Angela Lansbury had the sort of career that many actors can only dream of. She was a beloved star of both the big and small screen. Her final appearance in a movie was on an even smaller screen, as she appears on Benoit Blanc's laptop in Glass Onion, as one of four celebrities that Daniel Craig's detective is playing video games with. 

Chadwick Boseman - Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom 

Few people knew of Chadwick Boseman's colon cancer diagnosis, which made his death in 2020 a surprise to many. His final movie, An adaptation of the August Wilson play Ma Rainey's Black Bottom for Netflix would earn the actor a posthumous Oscar nomination. 

Audrey Hepburn - Always

The iconic star of Breakfast at Tiffany's and My Fair Lady made only a handful of films once the 1960s were over. In her final film, she was directed by Steven Spielberg in one of his largely overlooked dramas, Always, in which she plays a spirit named Hap who sets recently departed Richard Dreyfuss on the right path. 

Marlon Brando - The Score 

Marlon Brando was famously difficult to work with, something that remained true up to his final performance. 2001's The Score reportedly required co-star Robert De Niro to direct his old friend, as Brando refused to be directed by Frank Oz. Brando would pass away in 2004.

Ingrid Bergman - Autumn Sonata

Most famous for the role of Ilsa in Casablanca, Ingrid Bergman starred in Autumn Sonata, written and directed by Ingmar Bergman (while the two get famously confused, there is no relation). She was nominated for her seventh Academy Award for the role. 

Dennis Hopper - The Last Film Festival

Dennis Hopper passed away during during the production of The Last Film Festival, an indie comedy in which he plays a producer who has been blackballed from every other film festival, and thus attends one in a small American town. The movie turned to Kickstarter to raise the funding needed to complete the project, which they did. 

River Phoenix - Dark Blood

For years it seemed River Phoenix's final film would be the country music drama The Thing Called Love. Phoenix was in the middle of filming the movie Dark Blood when he died in 1993, but his death seemingly ended the production. In 2011 the director picked up the unused footage and reedited it into a complete film. Dark Blood was released in 2014, after making a film festival run in 2012. 

Bette Davis - Wicked Stepmother

Bette Davis was one of the all-time greats of the silver screen, but her final appearance was maybe not up to her previous standards, which is why she reportedly left in the middle of filming. 1989's Wicked Stepmother sees Davis as a witch who marries into an unsuspecting family. The plot shifts part way through to focus on the daughter of Davis' character after the All About Eve star left the film.

Vincent Price - Edward Scissorhands

Vincent Price was one of the fathers of the modern horror movie, so it's fitting that his final big screen outing was as the father of Edward Scissorhands, a movie that blended the horror with the heartwarming in a way that only Tim Burton could. 

Sidney Poitier - The Jackal

Sydney Poitier made history as the first Black actor to win the Oscar for Best Actor in 1964. More than 30 years later he would make his final silver screen performance, as the head of the FBI in 1997's The Jackal with Bruce Willis and Richard Gere. He did do one last television movie, released in 2001 called The Last Brickmaker in America before retiring from acting. 

Humphrey Bogart - The Harder They Fall 

Humphrey Bogart created iconic screen characters from The Maltese Falcon Sam Spade to Casablanca's Rick. His character in 1956's The Harder They Fall, Bogie's last role, isn't nearly as well remembered, but Eddie Willis, the down-on-his-luck sportswriter who gets involved in a boxing scheme to throw fights is just the sort of character that Bogart did so well.

Natasha Richardson - The Wildest Dream

Natasha Richardson's death from injuries sustained in a skiing accident in 2009 shocked the entertainment world. Her final screen performance where she would be seen was 2008's Wild Child but her final work came as a voice in the documentary film The Wildest Dream which followed the story of the first man who attempted to scale Mount Everest, and the climber decades later who found his body.

Elizabeth Taylor - The Flintstones  

The live-action Flintstones movie does not exist in particularly high regard among fans, but if it is remembered at all it will likely be because it contains the final theatrical appearance of Elizabeth Taylor. She played Pearl Slaghoople, Fred Flintstone's mother-in-law.

Charlie Chaplin  - A Countess From Hong Kong 

Charlie Chaplin was one of the first movie stars the world had ever seen. When he started movies didn't even have sound. By the end they had gained, voice, color, and so much more. 1967's A Countess From Hong Kong is a work of Chaplin's primarily behind the camera, as he wrote and directed the film which stars Marlon Brando and Sophia Loren. However, he does appear briefly on screen, for one final time, in a cameo as a ship's porter.

Alan Rickman - Alice Through the Looking Glass 

Alan Rickman will be forever linked to his role of Severus Snape in the Harry Potter franchise for a generation of movie fans. He made several more movies in the five years after that story ended. The final one, a sequel to Disney's live-action Alice in Wonderland, Alice Through the Looking Glass, where he reprised his role as Absolem, the caterpillar.

Paul Newman - The Meercats 

Paul Newman received his ninth Oscar nomination the last time he appeared on screen in 2002's Road to Perdition. His voice would remain in movies, however. In 2006 he would voice Doc Hudson in Pixar's Cars. Two years later he would narrate the documentary film The Meerkats, which would be his final performance.

Natalie Wood - Brainstorm

Natalie Wood spent her life acting. She appeared as a child in the original Miracle on the 34th Street and as an adult she wowed audiences, becoming the youngest actress ever (at the time) to be nominated for three Oscars. She died tragically by drowning in 1981 during a break in filming the sci-fi thriller Brainstorm. The movie was almost canceled, but as Wood had completed most of her major scenes, it was finished and released.

Ray Liotta - Dangerous Waters 

When Ray Liotta died in May of 2023 he was in the middle of filming the thriller Dangerous Waters. The movie would be released that October. Liotta plays the movie's villain, a man known simply as The Captain.

Ginger Rogers - Harlow

Ginger Rogers would become famous as a dancer and the frequent screen partner of Fred Astaire. Her final performance, however, would put her in a very different place. In the 1965 biopic of another great actress, Jean Harlow, Rogers plays the star's mother, who takes advantage of her daughter's fame to benefit herself.

Some final performances of great actors rank among their best. Others are clearly forgotten movies for a reason. Either way, anybody interested in the complete career of some of Hollywood's greatest will want to seek these out, if only to see how the story ends. 

Fashion can truly make an impression with any character you’re trying to get across; especially with the figures we’re about to discuss. Clothing is definitely not optional, it’s a way of life for some of the snazziest dressers in all of cinematic history. So straighten your tie, smooth out your sweater, and slip on your glasses to take a look at these shining examples of sartorial supremacy.

James Bond (The James Bond Movies)

How can you not admire the costume design throughout every era of James Bond movies? No matter your chosen actor for the job, 007 has made his way into the world with a fine style that matches his cutting wit. His fashion is forever.

Holly Golightly (Breakfast At Tiffany’s)

Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) became a fashion icon for the ages in 1961’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s. It’s certainly not hard to see why, as Hubert De Givenchy and Edith Head’s talents gave this movie its signature looks; chiefly among them some little black dresses that launched a thousand party outfits.

Sam “Ace” Rothstein (Casino)

How mythic is the wardrobe of Robert De Niro’s Sam “Ace” Rothstein from Casino? There are whole YouTube videos and posters designed to show them off. Not to mention even some of the oversized glasses that Martin Scorsese’s protagonist wears during the film have become the stuff of legend. Better still: Ace isn’t afraid to wear pink, and it suits him to a tee.

Lorelei Lee (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes)

Sure, as a musical showgirl, it was technically the job of Lorelei Lee (Marilyn Monroe) to always be on point with her looks. But at the same time, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes certainly snazzed her up in everyday life, thanks to some beautiful use of patterns and color. And of course, who could forget the iconic pink dress Monroe wore during “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend?”

Django (Django Unchained)

Once he entered the world of bounty hunting, Django (Jamie Foxx) took a lot of the advice Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) gave him to heart. And part of that package was the note that your wardrobe is basically your costume for the moments in your life. Everything from rough and tumble western wear to a natty blue velvet suit with ruffles resulted from that viewpoint, and we’re all the greater for it.

Miranda Priestly (The Devil Wears Prada)

If one is going to help make the decisions that puts cerulean sweaters on the backs of those who pretend to hate fashion, one needs to look like they’ve earned that right. The Devil Wears Prada’s Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) definitely earned that right, and then some. While Streep gave up Method acting because of the character’s miserable nature, her style never looked anything less than top-flight.

Caesar Flickerman (The Hunger Games Trilogy)

Oh Stanley Tucci: the respected actor that, early in his career, was a beefcake model for Levi’s. The man’s style sense has never left him, with Caesar Flickerman from The Hunger Games trilogy being one of his more outlandish cases of style. Bursting with color that matched his energy, it’s hard to hate Panem’s prince of propaganda.

Cruella DeVil (Cruella)

Cruella reinvented the Disney villain from 101 Dalmatians into someone who dug a lot more than Dalmatian spots. Emma Stone’s titular icon of villainy actually changed her tone in this reimagining, setting her sights on revenge in the fashion world, and adopting a sort of punk rock couture aesthetic to do so. Vengeance looked amazing in her hands.

Jinx (Die Another Day)

Yes, Halle Berry’s freezing James Bond entrance in Die Another Day showed her rocking an impressive bikini. But her outfits throughout the rest of the film didn’t slouch either, especially the red leather number that kept her warm in the ice palace of Gustav Graves (Toby Stephens). Though it probably also came in handy that time she was nearly carved up by lasers too. 

Charon (The John Wick Movies)

The entire John Wick universe is dressed to the nines, exuding a style profile that puts most action movies to shame. But if I were to highlight anyone, I’m afraid it’d have to be Charon, played by the late great Lance Reddick. Then again, The Continental is one of those places where you always have to be on your fashion game; so maybe this choice was easier than I thought.

Emily Nelson (A Simple Favor)

Paul Feig’s cinematic adaptation of A Simple Favor saw Blake Lively dipping her toe into all corners of the fashion spectrum. Through looks borrowing from both traditionally masculine and feminine modes, it all looked deadly beautiful throughout her neo-noir character’s arc. 

The Protagonist (Tenet)

Inspired by Sean Connery’s James Bond fashion, Tenet costume designer Jeffrey Kurland crafted fashions for The Protagonist (John David Washington), as well as his accomplice Neil (Robert Pattinson) that evoked the classic era of 007. Kind of fitting for a movie where incremental time travel is the game, and Christopher Nolan’s discipline for panache is also very much present. 

Astrid Leong (Crazy Rich Asians)

Astrid Leong (Gemma Chan) has a heart of gold, and the fashion sense to match it. Throughout the entirety of Crazy Rich Asians, she never failed to show up in some of the most gorgeous outfits; even in moments where her heart was breaking in devastating detail. Every time she’s on screen, it’s like watching a fairy tale.

Jay Gatsby (The Great Gatsby)

When you’ve got a character that’s described as “the man in the cool beautiful shirts,” your costume design needs to measure up. Director Baz Luhrman’s adaptation of The Great Gatsby used the talents of costume designer Catherine Martin to do just that, giving Leonardo DiCaprio’s interpretation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s tragic character the finest threads money could buy. 

Tracy Chambers (Mahogany)

Mahogany’s Tracy Chambers (Diana Ross) has aspirations to be a fashion designer herself. So it’s only fitting that she not only found her way into modeling, but also onto this list of snazzy dressers. Epitomizing the color and opulence of the disco era, her cautionary tale saw Tracy looking absolutely fabulous, even in her most dire moments. 

Nigel (The Devil Wears Prada)

If you haven’t heard it before: Stanley Tucci is a man of great fashion. One of the best examples of this is the role of Nigel in The Devil Wears Prada. While he’s a bit nicer spreading the gospel of fashion than his boss Miranda (Meryl Streep), Nigel doesn’t let up in his keen eye for style in the process.

Jackie Brown (Jackie Brown)

Whether she’s coming home from flying the friendly skies, or keeping one step ahead of her criminal compatriots, Jackie Brown (Pam Grier) always looks fantastic. Of course, her striking blue uniform for her day job is what’s always stuck out in Quentin Tarantino’s film. That being said, Ms. Grier’s civilian clothes are no slouch either, especially in that food court outfit where she’s stylishly wearing a Kangol cap.

Thomas Crown (The Thomas Crown Affair)

Billionaire by day and thief in his downtime, The Thomas Crown Affair’s titular rogue is always sharply suited for the occasion. Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond movies certainly set a similar expectation, but this 1999 remake gave the actor some room to roam; even if he wasn’t contractually allowed to be seen in traditional black tie. 

Foxy Cleopatra (Austin Powers in Goldmember)

Borrowing from the rich fashion history of blaxploitation heroines, Austin Powers in Goldmember gave Foxy Cleopatra a whole lot of looks for a whole lot of woman. Then again, when you’ve cast Beyoncé as your female lead, it’s kind of hard to make her look anything other than stunning. Still, an abundance of color and flare is seen through every costume change in this spy movie spoof.

Patrick Bateman (American Psycho)

‘80s business attire was a unique beast that had stock brokers ready to step out into the night once the closing bell had rung. Using GQ and Esquire as a bible, it’s no wonder how American Psycho’s Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) always looked as sharpened as a kitchen knife. Though spare a thought for the man’s dry cleaners, as he does have a bit of a temper.

Niobe (The Matrix Reloaded & Revolutions)

Pretty much everyone in The Matrix is a snazzy dresser, especially when they're in The Wachowski's cyberspace playground which gives the film its title. But extra credit has to be given to Niobe (Jada Pinkett Smith), as she's not a simple black-and-white dresser. With a long red coat that sets her apart from the rest, reflecting her colorful wardrobe in the real world, The Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions were a bit brighter when she battled it out on screen.

Marvello Rubini (La Dolce Vita)

There are certain fashion touchstones of cinema history that will never, ever go out of style. And one such look is the classic suit and sunglasses worn by Marcello Mastroianni’s Marvello Rubini, in one of the greatest Italian movies of all time, La Dolce Vita. You can never go wrong with that black suit, but the eyewear that Federico Fellini's protagonist wears throughout the picture really clinches the win every time.

Elle Woods (Legally Blonde)

Pink is a hard color to work with because, in the wrong context, it could be seen as much too loud. Meanwhile, Legally Blonde icon Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) never met a shade of this pigment she didn’t like. Her signature hue throughout both films, this legal eagle soars high in the sky with flying colors; and it never goes out of style. 

Danny Ocean (Ocean’s Eleven)

A friend once told me, “no one looks as cool as Danny Ocean getting out of prison.” Judging by the look George Clooney’s Ocean’s Trilogy mastermind is rocking at the beginning of that first movie, it’s hard to argue. It’s even more difficult to argue that through all three films, the man isn’t bringing his A-game every single time he steps out.

Annie Hall (Annie Hall)

Blazing a trail for women’s fashion, Annie Hall’s eponymous figure took what was traditionally seen as “men’s clothing” and used it as her own statement to the world. Played brilliantly by Diane Keaton, her keen fashion sense was matched by her wicked wit, more often than not being deployed against lovelorn Alvy Singer (Woody Allen). 

Frank Abignale (Catch Me If You Can)

What is it about confidence crooks that gives them such brilliant fashion sense? Perhaps when Frank Sr. (Christopher Walken) told his young son Frank Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) about how those Yankees pinstripes bedazzle the competition, he was onto something. As a result, Catch Me If You Can’s “real fake” is seen kitted out in everything from pilot’s uniforms to orange sweaters, and he’s always looking dapper as a result. 

Reynolds Woodcock (Phantom Thread)

“Meticulous” is one word that sums up Phantom Thread’s Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis). Paul Thomas Anderson’s dark comedy about romance, fashion, and all the illnesses in between saw the Academy Award-winning legend retire in literal style, playing a fashion designer who would never step foot out the door with even a hair out of place.

Ginger McKenna (Casino)

Martin Scorsese’s Casino shows Las Vegas through some of its most tumultuous years. And one of the indicators of how time passes is in the fashion, as Ginger McKenna (Sharon Stone) goes from good-time gal to the trusted wife of casino manager Sam “Ace” Rothstein (Robert DeNiro). Gliding through the years with an effortless eye, Ms. Stone’s costumes maintain an air of control, even when her character seems to be losing that very grasp in life.

Cher Horowitz (Clueless)

Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone) is the ‘90s, period. A fashionista who made something like yellow with black plaid into a work of art, our Clueless hero is anything but when she’s putting together her outfits. Who could ever forget the first time they saw some of Cher’s most signature looks in play?

Jules Winfield (Pulp Fiction)

The look of a simple black suit cannot be understated, especially when someone like Samuel L. Jackson is the person wearing it. As imposing fixer Jules Winfield in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, Jackson wears this outfit for most of the movie’s running time; save for those sequences taking place after one catastrophic accident. Even in a random t-shirt and shorts, the man knows how to make an impression and keep all the Fonzies in the room cool. 

Rachel Chu (Crazy Rich Asians)

While Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) isn’t from the same sort of world as the family of her boyfriend Nick (Henry Golding), that doesn’t stop our Crazy Rich Asians lead from engaging in a makeover. As the film progresses, and through some friendly makeover advice from her best friend (Awkwafina), confidence and fashion are both boosted in equally impressive ways.

Trent (Swingers)

Most would remember the lead characters of Swingers for their big band revival threads that play a big part in their trip to Vegas. However, if you look at the styles that Trent Walker (Vince Vaughn) displays throughout the movie, he is a true example of making anything work. Even his outbursts in a late-night dining situation look sharp, as he knows how to crush a look when he’s relaxed or when he’s switched on. 

If you were looking for some style icons to look up to for a near-future wardrobe refresh, look no further than these movie mavens. With all sorts of looks at work for all types, there’s bound to be something here that could give you the upgrade you’ve been hoping to achieve. And now that you’ve read through this handy guide to such delights, don’t you think you’ve earned it?

Celebrities are naturally attracted to other celebrities. They work together and run in the same circles, so it's not strange that they would marry each other often. Here's a list of examples of stars that have been married more than once to other famous people.

Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez has been married four times, including twice to fellow celebrities. The Latin superstar married another superstar, Marc Anthony in 2004, after her engagement to Ben Affleck ended. Lopez has twins with Anthony, and the two divorced in 2014. “Bennifer” fans rejoiced when they rekindled their flame in 2021 and finally married in 2022, twenty years after they first dated. Sadly, it wouldn't last and the couple divorced in early 2025 after separating in April 2024.

Elizabeth Taylor

There is no more famous Hollywood bride than the great Elizabeth Taylor. The global superstar was married seven times in her life, including twice to actor Richard Burton. Before marrying Burton, she was wed to singer (and father of Carrie Fisher), Eddie Fisher. Her first marriage was to hotelier Conrad Hilton, Jr. and later in life, she married Senator John Warner.

Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise’s marriage to Katie Holmes is his most infamous relationship, but before Holmes, the Mission: Impossible star was hitched to Nicole Kidman, after they starred together in Days of Thunder. Tom Cruise’s first wife was Bosch star Mimi Rogers, whom he married in 1987 and divorced in 1990.

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie met her first famous husband on the set of one of her first movies, Hackers. She married co-star Jonny Lee Miller in 1996. With the ink barely dry on her divorce from Miller, she began a whirlwind romance with Billy Bob Thornton, which led to a Las Vegas wedding in 2000, with the relationship ending in divorce in 2003. Jolie’s most publicized marriage was to long-time boyfriend Brad Pitt, whom she married in 2014 after dating for nine years. Together they have six children.

Kim Kardashian

Kim Kardashian has been married three times. First to record producer Damon Thomas, then NBA star Kris Humphries for two years. In 2014 she married rap superstar Kanye West and together they have four children. Of course, much of their wild marriage was documented on Keeping Up With The Kardashians, until the two split in 2022 in one of the most high-profile divorces of all time.

Scarlett Johansson

Two of the biggest superhero movie stars, Black Widow’s Scarlett Johansson, and Deadpool’s Ryan Reynolds were married from 2008 until 2011. When they split, Johansson married French ad exec Romain Dauriac, before divorcing in 2017. In 2021 Johansson married SNL star Colin Jost, whom she has one child with.

Nicole Kidman

Nicole Kidman was married to Tom Cruise from 1990-2001. The two have two adopted children together. After her breakup with Cruise, Kidman dated Lenny Kravitz and was engaged for a short time to the singer. The Big Little Lies star wed Country musician Keith Urban in 2006 and they’ve been happily married ever since.

Mariah Carey

“All I Want For Christmas Is You” is one of the most enduring Christmas songs of all time, but sadly both of Mariah Carey's marriages to celebrities have been less so. Her first marriage, to music business tycoon Tommy Mottola, lasted five years, from ‘93 to ‘98. She walked down the aisle with America’s Got Talent star Nick Cannon in 2008, but after eight years and two kids (twins), the couple walked away from each other in 2016.

Brad Pitt

It’s appropriate that one of the biggest stars on the planet, Brad Pitt, would also be in two of the most high-profile marriages of all time. Pitt married America’s sweetheart, Friends star Jennifer Aniston, in 2000. Their breakup in 2005 amidst Pitt’s rumored relationship with Angelina Jolie was one of the most widely covered stories in the tabloids of all time. Pitt married Jolie in 2014 after years of dating, but it too ended in divorce, in 2019.

Frank Sinatra

Old Blue Eyes, as Frank Sinatra is often called, charmed actress Ava Gardner with those eyes into marriage in 1951, though it was to be short-lived, as they split less than two tumultuous years later and were completely divorced by 1954. Sinatra married another actress, Mia Farrow, in 1966 who was 29 years his junior. They divorced less than two years later but apparently stayed very close for the rest of his life.

Rebecca Romijn

X-Men star Rebecca Romijn has been married to two famous people. Her first wedding was to John Stamos in 1998. She even changed her name to Rebecca Romijn-Stamos. The beautiful couple split up in 2005 and two years later, in 2007, Romijn married actor Jerry O’Connell.

Pamela Anderson

What more can be said about Baywatch star Pamela Anderson’s personal life that isn’t already out there in the zeitgeist? Anderson has been married five times over the years, her first husband was Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee. She married another musician later, Kid Rock. She’s also been married to poker player Rick Salomon, film producer Jon Peters, and her former bodyguard, Dan Hayhurst.

James Cameron

James Cameron has directed some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters, and he’s had two big-time Hollywood marriages as well. His first was to fellow director Kathryn Bigelow that lasted three years in the late '80s/early ‘90s. His second was to actor Linda Hamilton, the star of Cameron’s Terminator films. The two were together for seven years but only married the last two before divorcing in 1997.

Lisa Bonet

Lisa Bonet was a big deal in the late ‘80s and some part of that was due to her high-profile marriage to musician Lenny Kravitz. After six years of marriage, and one child, Zoe Kravitz, who you may have heard of, the two split in 1993. In 2005, she began dating Aquaman star Jason Momoa. The two finally wed in 2017, but sadly separated in 2022, after having two children together during their relationship.

Rick Salomon

Professional poker player Rick Salomon is the least famous person on this list, but he has been married to three very famous people. His first wife was actress E. G. Daily, better known as the voice of Tommy Pickles on Rugrats. His second wife was the great Shannen Doherty, and his third wife was Pamela Anderson, whom he married and divorced twice.

Cher

Cher broke into show business alongside her first famous husband, the late Sonny Bono. Just days after her divorce was settled with Bono, Cher married another musician, Allman Brothers Band singer and keyboardist Gregg Allman. They divorced in 1978, but by then she was already living with KISS bass player Gene Simmons, though they never married.

Blake Shelton

NBC’s The Voice is not only responsible for launching the careers of singers like Morgan Wallen and Melanie Martinez but also for bringing together two of the coaches, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani. The two married in 2021 after falling in love on the show. Both had been married before to famous people. Stefani to Bush lead singer Gavin Rossdale and Shelton to country star Miranda Lambert.

Ryan Reynolds

Ryan Reynolds is one of the most famous people on earth these days, so it’s appropriate that he’s been married to multiple famous people. First to Scarlett Johansson from 2008-2011 and then to Blake Lively, whom he has been married to since 2012.

Heather Locklear

It’s pretty easy to say Heather Locklear has a “type.” The actor, and 1980s superstar, married Tommy Lee in 1986. The couple divorced in 1993 and Locklear married another famous ‘80s rocker, Bon Jovi guitar player Richie Sambora. Together with Sambora, she has one daughter, Ava Sambora.

Demi Moore

Demi Moore was married and divorced by the time she turned 18. Her first husband, musician Freddy Moore, was never really famous, but her next husbands certainly are. Moore married Bruce Willis in 1987 and the couple had three children together, including Once Upon a Time in Hollywood actor Rumer Willis. After Moore and Willis' amicable divorce in 2000, Moore eventually started dating Ashton Kutcher, who is 16 years younger than her. The two were married for eight years before splitting in 2013.

Ashton Kutcher

Ashton Kutcher's first wife was Demi Moore, and his second was Mila Kunis. Moore and Kutcher had a rocky go of it, but still managed to last eight years. When they divorced, Kutcher found his way back to an old friend and former co-star on That ‘70s Show, Mila Kunis. The two were engaged in 2014 and married in 2015 after Kunis gave birth to their first child. A second kid would come along in 2016, and they are still a happy family.

Marilyn Monroe

There are few stars bigger, and with a more enduring legacy, than the legendary Marilyn Monroe. Monroe was married to a police officer named James Dougherty when she was in her early 20s, but it was after she found fame in the 1950s that she ended up marrying two very famous people. In 1954 she married New York Yankee great Joe DiMaggio. Though the two were only married for just over a year, their friendship lasted the rest of her life. In 1956, Monroe, at the height of her fame, married playwright Arthur Miller. They would be married for 5 years, before divorcing in 1961. Monroe died in 1962 at age 36.

Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage married Patricia Arquette in 1995 as both were on career hot streaks. The marriage lasted six years, and the couple broke up in 2001. One year later, Cage married his second famous person, the late Lisa Marie Presley. Cage and Presley’s marriage would be incredibly short-lived, filing for divorce just 107 days later, which was finalized in 2004.

Lisa Marie Presley

Before Lisa Marie tragically died in 2023 at the young age of 54, she was famously married four times, including two very highly publicized marriages to famous men. Her first marriage to Danny Keough lasted six years. Her second marriage, to the King Of Pop himself, Michael Jackson, lasted less than two. Still, she went on to an even shorter marriage to actor Nicolas Cage, which lasted less than four months before they filed for divorce in 2002.

Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer Aniston became one of the biggest stars in television history when she starred in Friends. That stardom led to a very high-profile marriage with Brad Pitt in 2000. Aniston and Pitt’s divorce in 2005 was tabloid fodder for months (and even years), but the actress eventually found her way back to marriage with another actor, Justin Theroux, whom she married in 2015. The two split in 2017, but have remained friends.

Madonna

When Madonna married actor Sean Penn in 1985 it was a huge deal. The gossip pages were filled with details about their romance, but sadly, the marriage only lasted about four years. More than a decade later, after numerous rumors and stories about her dating life, Madonna settled down again, this time with British director Guy Ritchie. Ritchie and Madonna have two sons together but divorced in 2008.

Melanie Griffith

Melanie Griffith is Hollywood royalty as the daughter of The Birds star Tippi Hedron. She married her first husband Don Johnson before either was famous, in 1976, though the marriage would last less than a year. The two would reconnect years later and marry again in 1989. In Between, she was married to Breaking Bad actor Steven Bauer. Johnson and Griffith would divorce in 1996 and Griffith married Antonio Banderas later that same year. Griffith and Banderas divorced in 2015.

Eddie Fisher

Eddie Fisher’s first marriage, to actress Debbie Reynolds, produced his most famous child, Carrie Fisher. That marriage was doomed when he infamously had an affair with Elizabeth Taylor, whom he married in 1959. Five years later the couple would divorce and Fisher married singer Connie Stevens in 1967.

Ali MacGraw

Ali MacGraw was a budding star when she married notorious producer movie Robert Evans, who was played by Matthew Goode in The Offer. As shown in that show, that marriage broke up when she left him for Steve McQueen. She and McQueen married in 1973 but divorced in 1978. She hasn’t married since but has been in some high-profile relationships.

Will Arnett

Before Will Arnett became a household name in Hollywood, he had a truly whirlwind romance with actor Penelope Ann Miller. They started dating, got married, and then divorced within about three months in late 1994 and early 1995. His next marriage to a famous person lasted much longer when he married Amy Poehler in 2003. That marriage lasted until 2012.

Uma Thurman 

Uma Thurman burst onto the Hollywood scene in the early 1990s and at just 20 years old, she married fellow actor Gary Oldman. That marriage fell apart after just two years and Thurman didn’t marry again until 1998 when she walked down the aisle with Ethan Hawke, whom she met on the set of Gattaca. Thurman and Hawke have two kids together but split in 2003 before finalizing their divorce in 2005.

Jennifer Garner

The original “Bennifer” might have been Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, but Bennifer 2.0 was in full swing when Affleck and Jennifer Garner got married in 2005. Their marriage produced three children and while they divorced in 2017, the two have remained very close. Before Affleck, Garner was married to Party of Five star Scott Foley for five years.

While some Hollywood marriages do indeed last the test of time, some simply do not. Many of the stars on this list have had long marriages to famous people, though most have not. Still, it’s better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all, as they say.

We’ve seen a great number of young actors live long and productive lives, with some continuing to find tremendous success well into their later years. However, there have unfortunately been dozens of cases of beloved Hollywood stars dying before they even reached the age of 40.

Below is a list of actors and actresses from the worlds of film and television whose lives and careers were cut tragically short, as well as the events that led to their early passing.

River Phoenix

River Phoenix, the star of movies like Stand By Me and My Own Private Idaho, was one of the most promising young actors in the latter part of the 20th century. However, his life came to an abrupt end in October 1993 when the 23-year-old died of a drug overdose, according to the Los Angeles Times. The impact of his death can still be felt 30 years later.

Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe, one of the most well-known actresses of all time, died at the age of 36 in August 1962, after, according to the New York Times, she was found unresponsive in her bed with pills nearby. She was in the middle of production on Something’s Got to Give at the time of her death.

Anton Yelchin

Anton Yelchin, star of films like Star Trek, Green Room, and Charlie Bartlett died when he was only 27 years old. According to the Los Angeles Times, Yelchin was involved in a freak accident in June 2016 that resulted in him being pinned between his SUV and a security gate at his Studio City home.

Brittany Murphy

Brittany Murphy, who made a name for herself with roles in movies like Clueless, 8 Mile, and Girl, Interrupted, has one of the most perplexing Hollywood death stories. According to People.com, the 32-year-old actress passed away in December 2009 as a result of a combination of pneumonia and anemia and multiple drug intoxication.

James Dean

Despite having a career that lasted only five years, James Dean remains one of the icons of Hollywood. Dean was tragically killed in a car accident in September 1955, per the Los Angeles Times, less than a month before the release of Rebel Without a Cause, his most well-known film. He received a posthumous Oscar nomination for his role in East of Eden, which landed in theaters less than six months before his untimely death. 

Heath Ledger

In January 2008, the world was shocked after hearing of the passing of Heath Ledger, who died of an accidental drug overdose at the age of 28, according to CNN. Ledger would receive a posthumous Oscar for Best Supporting Actor the following year for his unforgettable portrayal of the Joker in The Dark Knight.

Chris Farley

Chris Farley was and forever will be one of the greatest Saturday Night Live cast members, but like other greats, his life was cut tragically short. Farley, who also starred in movies like Tommy Boy, Black Sheep, and Almost Heroes (released following his death), died in December 1997 from an overdose at the age of 33, according to CNN.

Brandon Lee

In April 1993, at the age of 28, Brandon Lee, the son of Bruce Lee, died after being shot on the set of The Crow. According to the New York Times, a blank discharged from the gun during a sequence, hitting the actor who later passed from his injuries. 

Jayne Mansfield

Jayne Mansfield, a legendary actress, Playboy model, and entertainer made a name for herself with roles in movies like The Girl Can’t Help It, Promises! Promises!, and The Wayward Bus. Tragically, Mansfield died at the age of 34 after her car slammed into the back of a semi truck in southern Louisiana in June 1967, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

Bruce Lee

Many of Bruce Lee’s movies are still considered landmark achievements in the martial arts genre 50 years after his passing on July 20, 1973. For years, the 32-year-old actor’s death was attributed to cerebral oedema (brain swelling), but a study carried by Variety years later proposed that his sudden death was the result of kidneys not being able to excrete excess water.

 Andy Kaufman

Andy Kaufman, the unique actor, comedian, and former women’s wrestling champion of the world, passed away in 1982 when was just 35 years old, according to the Los Angeles Times. However, some still think he’s not actually dead.

Tupac Shakur

Legendary rapper and actor Tupac Shakur was shot and killed in Las Vegas in September 1996, when he was just 25 years old. After years of his murder being an unsolved homicide case, an arrest was finally made in September 2023, according to the AP. It was believed that the Grammy winner was up for the role of Mace Windu, which eventually went to Samuel L. Jackson in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

John Belushi

John Belushi, an early star of Saturday Night Live, as well as movies like National Lampoon’s Animal House and The Blues Brothers, died at the age of 33 in March 1982, per the Chicago Tribune.

Cory Monteith

Glee star Cory Monteith’s life came to a tragic end in July 2013 when he was found dead in a Vancouver, British Columbia, hotel room. ABC News later reported that the 31-year-old actor died of mixed drug toxicity.

Aaliyah

On August 25, 2001, R&B singer Aaliyah was one of several people to perish when a Cessna plane crashed shortly after takeoff in the Bahamas, per NPR. The up-and-coming actress, who had appeared in Romeo Must Die the previous year, was only 22 years old at the time of her passing.

Sharon Tate

Sharon Tate’s murder is possibly one of the most well-known crime stories in the history of Hollywood, as the actress and four others were brutally killed by the Manson family in August 1969, per the Los Angeles Times. Tate, who had appeared in movies like Valley of the Dolls and The Wrecking Crew, was only 26 years old at the time of her death.

Corey Haim

Corey Haim, the star of movies like The Lost Boys, Lucas, and Silver Bullet passed away at the age of 38 in March 2010. According to CNN, the former child actor died of natural causes.

Angus Cloud

Angus Cloud, one of the main stars of HBO’s harrowing drama series, Euphoria, tragically passed away unexpectedly at the age of 25 in July 2023. According to EW, the young actor died as a result of an accidental overdose from the combined use of methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine, and benzodiazepines.

Freddie Prinze

Freddie Prinze, the father of ‘90s teen heartthrob and former WWE writer Freddie Prinze Jr., was a star in his own right back in the 1970s. Known for his starring role on Chico and the Man and stand-up comedy, Prinze committed suicide in January 1977, according to the New York Times. He was only 22.

Sal Mineo

Best known for his portrayal of John “Plato” Crawford in Rebel Without a Cause, Sal Mineo was another actor from the 1955 movie to die young. According to the New York Times, the 37-year-old actor was stabbed to death in Hollywood in February 1976.

Cameron Boyce

Cameron Boyce (pictured far-right in the image above) was one of the Disney Channel’s biggest stars in the 2010s thanks to roles on shows like Jessie and Gamer’s Guide to Pretty Much Everything, as well as the Descendants film franchise. The young actor died in his sleep in July 2019, with Los Angeles-based ABC7 Eyewitness News reporting it was caused by epilepsy. He was 20 years old at the time of his passing.

Bobby Driscoll

Bobby Driscoll, the young child actor who appeared in Disney films like Song of the South before voicing the title role in the 1953’s Peter Pan, suffered what can best be described as a lonely and incredibly tragic death. According to EW, Driscoll died in March 1968 when he was only 31 years old, but at the time, his body was unclaimed and then buried in New York City’s Potter’s Field on Hart Island.

Jonathan Brandis

With big roles in movies like The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter, Ladybugs, and Sidekicks, it felt like Jonathan Brandis was everywhere in the early 1990s. However, the former child actor and model wouldn’t survive the next decade, as he committed suicide in November 2003, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. He was 27 years old at the time of his passing.

Anna Nicole Smith

Anna Nicole Smith, who was at the center of the 2023 Netflix series, You Don’t Know Me, led quite the eventful life, one that saw her go from Guess model to Playboy Playmate to B-movie actress to one of the biggest names in reality television. The pop culture figure tragically died in February 2007 when she was only 39 years old. According to the New York Times, her death was ruled an accidental overdose.

Jean Harlow

Jean Harlow, one of the defining actresses of the pre-Code era of Hollywood, died in June 1937 when she was only 26 years old. According to the Guardian, the in-demand star had fought internal inflammation for 10 days prior to her sudden and tragic passing.

Heather O’Rourke

One of the supposed victims of the Poltergeist curse, Heather O’Rourke played Carol Anne Freeling in the 1982 horror film and appeared to have a promising career ahead of her at the time. However, six years later, the child actress would die at the age of 12 due a long-standing bowel obstruction, according to the Los Angeles Times. 

Lee Thompson Young 

Lee Thompson Young, who appeared on shows like The Famous Jett Jackson and Rizzoli & Isles, had a remarkable career on the small screen throughout his teenage years and early adulthood. But his story ended in August 2013 when he committed suicide. According to TMZ, Young died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound when he was only 29 years old.

Brad Renfro

Brad Renfro, the star of movies like The Client, Sleepers, Ghost World, and Bully, died in January 2008 when was only 25 years old. According to People.com, the young actor died of an overdose.

Nelsan Ellis

Nelsan Ellis’ Lafayette Reynolds was one of the best and most unforgettable characters on the long-running HBO supernatural drama series, True Blood, a role that allowed the dynamic actor to show off his remarkable acting talents. Tragically, Ellis died at 39 years of age in July 2017 as a result of heart failure during his attempt to quit his alcohol addiction, according to NBC News.

Ryan Dunn

Ryan Dunn, who rose to prominence on the CKY skate videos and later MTV’s Jackass TV show and movies, was involved in a fatal car crash in June 2011 that claimed his life and that of his passenger, Zachary Hartwell. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Dunn, who was 34 years old at the time of his passing, was driving at speeds reaching 130 mph before crashing his Porsche.

Johnny Lewis

Former Sons of Anarchy star Johnny Lewis, who played Kip “Half-Sack” Epps on long-running FX show, died in September 2012 when he was only 28 years old. According to People.com, the actor fell from a building in Los Angeles moments after beating his 81-year-old landlord to death.

Judith Barsi 

Judith Barsi, who voiced Ducky in The Land Before Time and Anne-Marie in All Dogs Go to Heaven, was killed by her father in a murder-suicide that also claimed the life of her mother, according to the Los Angeles Times. At the time of her death in July 1988, Barsi was only 10 years old. 

Each of these deaths are tragic in their own way, but all leave us asking “what could have been” for these actors whose careers, and lives, were cut tragically short.

Sometimes, if you love a movie enough, you might want to try and own a piece of it. However, the buying movie props business can get to be an expensive one. Here are some of the most expensive pieces of memorabilia ever sold.

 The Spy Who Loved Me's Submarine Car 

Sold For:  $864,600 

James Bond has had some of the coolest cars in all of movie history, but none are quite as wild as the car that transformed into a submarine in The Spy Who Loved Me. The vehicle driven by Roger Moore was a white Lotus Esprit and while multiple cars were used in the film, only one was given the submarine transformation. The vehicle sold for 550,000 pounds at auction in 2013.

Steve McQueen's Le Mans Suit 

Sold For: $336,000

Most of the most expensive movie props ever sold are from major blockbuster movie franchises, but sometimes they're just worn by the coolest people to walk the earth. In 2017 the racing suit worn by Steve McQueen for the racing movie Le Mans sold for $300,000.

Audrey Hepburn's Breakfast at Tiffany's Dress 

Sold For: $800,000

Somebody was a big Breakfast at Tiffany's fan in 2007, because they paid $800,000 for the dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in the classic film. The price blew away the early estimates of what the dress would sell for. It was good news for a lot impoverished children, as the dress was sold for charity. 

Darth Vader's Empire Strikes Back Helmet 

Sold For: $898,420

Darth Vader is one of the most iconic villains in film history, so it's no surprise that his equally iconic helmet would be a prized possession. Specifically, the helmet from The Empire Strikes Back sold in 2017 for 1 million British pounds, or just short of $900,000 dollars.

 Saturday Night Fever's Dance Floor  

Sold For: $1,200,000

Most movie props are something you can put on a shelf and display. It's unclear how the person who spent over $1 million on the Saturday Night Fever dance floor planned to show it off. You don't let people walk on something that costs that much, do you?

Judy Garland's Wizard of Oz Dress 

Sold For: $1,560,000

The Wizard of Oz is one of the most popular films ever made, and Judy Garland one of the most beloved movie stars ever. There are probably a lot of people who would spend more than $1.5 million on Garland's Dorothy dress, assuming of course they had the cash.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Sold For: $805,000

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang wasn't exactly a high-performance automobile in the Dick Van Dyke musical, but it certainly sold like one, as the car sold for over $800,000 back in 2011. While it's one of the most expensive movie props ever purchased at auction, it was actually expected to go for a lot more.

R2-D2 From Star Wars

Sold For: $2,760,000

These days looking at R2-D2 on screen is as likely to be a CGI creation as it is a physical prop. Perhaps that's why one of the original R2-D2 creations for Star Wars: A New Hope sold for well over $2 million in 2017. There simply may not be as many of them in the future.

Casablanca's Piano 

Sold For: $3,400,000

"Play it, Sam." One of the most famous lines in movie history is often misquoted, but however you say it, you can play "As Time Goes By" on the actual piano used in Casablanca, or at least one person who had $3.4 million to purchase the piano can. Assuming they can play the piano at all.

The Wizard of Oz Ruby Slippers

Sold For: $2,000,000

There are multiple pairs of Dorothy's ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz in the world that have all gone for significant sums. The most expensive was sold for $2 million in 2012 by a group that was buying them to add to the collection of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences museum.

The Maltese Falcon

Sold For:  $4,085,000

The Maltese Falcon is a movie about a lot of people who are willing to do, or pay, anything, to get their hands on a small statue of a falcon. It's fitting then that when the actual statue from the film was put up for sale, it sold for over $4 million, a record sum for a movie prop at the time.

Audrey Hepburn's My Fair Lady Dress 

Sold For:  $4,551,000

My Fair Lady won eight Oscars in 1965 and one of them was for the film's costume design. Audrey Hepburn's "Ascot" dress is probably the most well-remembered outfit in the film. The incredible dress that Eliza Doolittle wore for her coming out would sell for over $4.5 million in 2011. 

The Wizard of Oz's Cowardly Lion Costume

Sold For:  $3,077,000

Sometimes you don't know what you have. The Cowardly Lion costume was reportedly going to be thrown away by MGM before somebody saved it. Many years later the costume, which is made of real lion fur, sold for over $3 million. It makes one wonder what other valuable props may be lost forever.

Marilyn Monroe's The Seven Year Itch Dress 

Sold For:  $4.6 million 

Few pieces of clothing in the world are as famous as the white dress worn by Marilyn Monroe in The Seven Year Itch. The dress was previously owned by actress Debbie Reynolds, for a museum project that never happened. The dress sold for $4.6 million, before the $1 million fee the auction house took home.

Robby the Robot From Forbidden Planet

Sold For:  $5.375 million 

Forbidden Planet was a groundbreaking science fiction film that influenced nearly every movie in the genre that came after it. Today the film is likely best known for Robby the Robot, a completely unique design for a robot character at the time. When Robbie sold for over $5 million in 2017 he became the most valuable movie prop ever sold.

 James Bond's Aston Martin DB5 From No Time To Die

Sold: For:  $3.5 million 

Few movie cars are as iconic as James Bond's Aston Martin. Actors from Sean Connery to Daniel Craig have driven different versions of the classic vehicle. Many replicas have been built and sold over the years but one vehicle that was actually used for stunts in Craig's final outing No Time to Die, sold in 2022 for £2,922,000, or about $3.5 million.

The Ax From The Shining

Sold For: $175,000

Stephen King famously didn't love The Shining from Stanley Kubrick, but millions of movie fans certainly feel otherwise. One apparently loved the movie so much, they dropped six figures on the ax Jack Nicholson swung into doors in the film, spending more than double what the weapon had gone for at a previous auction.

Marty McFly’s Hoverboard From Back To The Future Part II

Sold For:  $501,200

Ever since Back to the Future Part II came out, we've been waiting for hoverboards to become real. We're still waiting for that, so we'll have to make do with the props from the film. One of which, sold in 2021 for over a half million dollars. There were two added features that helped boost the sale, it was autographed by stars Michael J. Fox and Tom Wilson.

 Han Solo’s Blaster From Star Wars

Sold For: $1,057,500

Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side. That blaster, however, can get expensive. The last remaining Han Solo DL-44 blaster -- three were originally designed -- from the original Star Wars sold for just over $1 million in the summer of 2022. 

Indy's Hat From Raiders Of The Lost Ark And Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom

Sold For: $500,000 (and $300,000)

Harrison Ford has created more than one iconic character in film history, but none look as good in a hat as Indiana Jones. Different hats worn by Ford for different movies have all been sold for high prices. A Raiders of the Lost Ark hat has the record at $500,000, but one from Temple of Doom did almost as well selling for $300,000

 Charlie Chaplin's Cane And Hat  

Sold For:  $139,250

Charlie Chaplin was one of the first true movie stars, and his Tramp was one of the first movie franchise characters. Recognizable by his bowler hat and twirling cane, several sets have been auctioned off in the past, with a set in 2006 selling for almost $140,000.

 Superman Costume From Superman: The Movie

Sold For: $350,112

Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and before the endless iterations of Batman, there was Superman. Christopher Reeve made us believe a man could fly in 1978's Superman, a full set of Reeve's hero costume from the movie sold at auction for $350,000

 The Sound of Music Costumes 

Sold For:  $1.3 million

In The Sound of Music, Julie Andrews' Maria Von Trapp makes the children some play clothes out of curtains. If only she knew they would become so valuable. A collection of the costumes including the childrens' costumes and one of Andrews' dresses, sold for $1.3 million in 2013.

 2001: A Space Odyssey Space Suit 

Sold For: $370,000

2001: A Space Odyssey is considered one of the best sci-fi movies ever made, so its little shock props from the movie would be in demand. One of the movie's spacesuits sold for $370,000 in 2020.

 Gandalf's Staff From The Lord Of The Rings

Sold For: $390,000

When Gandalf's white staff from The Lord of the Rings went up for auction in 2017, it was expected to sell for around $25,000. Instead, the piece sold for over 10 times that amount. 

The Seventh Seal Chess Set 

Sold For:  $143,300 

Even if you've never seen Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal you likely know of the game of chess against death that has been referenced and parodied countless times. Bergman held on to the actual chess set used in the film, and it was sold after his death for 1 million Swedish crowns or a little under $150,000.

Chris Pratt's Guardians Of The Galaxy Helmet 

Sold For: $160,000

With so much of the Marvel Cinematic Universe being created by digital effects, there may be a minimum, of physical props to actually own. However, Star-Lord's helmet from Guardians of the Galaxy is very real, and it sold for six figures in 2017. 

 Prince's Purple Rain Costume 

Sold For:  $192,000

The death of Prince in 2016 was a shock to fans around the world, but it may be the reason that an auction of two items from his Purple Rain wardrobe a few months later ended up selling for $96,000 each, much more than had been expected. 

Back To The Future's DeLorean   

Sold For:   $541,200

There were seven DeLorean cars used in the original Back to the Future, but today only three are believed to exist, so of course they are quite valuable. One of the remaining models sold for over a half million dollars in 2011, with a portion of the funds going to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research

Luke Skywalker's Lightsaber From Star Wars

Sold For:  $240,000

There may be no more iconic weapon in movie history than the lightsaber, and while the "real" one has no blade, one of the models Mark Hamill used in the first two Star Wars movies sold for nearly a quarter million dollars in 2008. Another item was listed for sale in 2018, but it was pulled after Hamill himself questioned its authenticity. 

Aragorn's Sword From The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King

Sold For:  $437,000

Andúril was reforged from the shards of Narsil in the Elvish enclave at Rivendell. With a lineage like that, it's no shock that the blade of Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King sold for over $400,000. 

 Poltergeist Clown Doll 

Sold For:  $656,250

Why somebody would spend $650,000 on a scary clown doll is a real question. Yes, it's from Poltergeist, an iconic horror movie, but now you have a scary clown doll in your house. Why would you do that? 

Harrison Ford's Blade Runner Costume

Sold For:  $287,500 

Blade Runner wasn't a box office hit in its day, but the film has become a cult classic and a defining part of Harrison Ford's career. His Deckard costume from the original film sold in 2023 for almost $300,000.

And those are just some of the many iconic movie props that sold for a huge sum of money.

Jennifer Aniston has always had a keen eye for style and fashion, and she proved that once again at the Murder Mystery 2 premiere. The Friends alum walked the carpet in Paris with her co-star Adam Sandler, and she absolutely stunned in a gold gown and white fur shrug that was giving major Kim Kardashian energy. 

Murder Mystery’s stars traveled to Paris to premiere the sequel, and Sandler and Aniston rocked classy looks perfect for their Eiffel Tower photo op and glamorous event. While the Hustle star wore a classic black tuxedo, while The Morning Show actress rocked a shimmery gold gown, white fur shrug, and simple glam.

Looking at Aniston’s ensemble it’s almost like she took a page out of Kim Kardashian’s book. The sparkly fitted gown paired with a white shrug is very reminiscent of the time The Kardashians star wore Marilyn Monroe’s iconic dress from the time she sang happy birthday to President John F. Kennedy in 1962. The resemblance becomes very clear looking at the two looks together, as they’re both elegant, sexy evening gowns that are gorgeously sparkly and paired perfectly with a little white jacket. However, it's also worth noting that Aniston's dress came with no controversy, while Kardashian's was shrouded in it. 

It feels like everyone was in on the conversation surrounding Kim K’s controversial Met Gala look. There was a lot of debate surrounding the reality star’s decision to wear Marilyn Monroe’s gown. While she looks gorgeous, people talked a lot about how much weight she had to lose to fit into the dress, and were shocked that she decided to wear such a historic dress and risk it being damaged. While it was confirmed that the dress was returned in the same condition it started in, people still criticized Kardashian’s decision, and the gown’s designer spoke out saying her wearing it was a “big mistake.” 

Whether you liked the look or not, it was still a major fashion moment, and Kardashian proved once again why she is considered one of the most fashionable celebrities. It also reemphasizes how much influence Kim Kardashian has on the world of celebrity fashion. While there are no direct ties between her Met Gala look and Aniston’s Murder Mystery 2 ensemble, they are giving the same energy. You can’t deny the similarities between the outfits that both feature sparkles, a fitted cut and white fuzzy shrugs. Both women were both giving classic Old Hollywood vibes with these looks, and they looked great. 

Considering Murder Mystery 2 takes place in Paris, and the Spitzs have found themselves solving another murder involving high-profile people and fancy events, I think it’s safe to say we can expect more glamorous looks like this from Aniston in the 2023 movie schedule entry. So, make sure you have your Netflix subscription in order so you can watch the comedic duo solve another mystery and look fantastic doing it on March 31.

Transforming any actor for a biopic is hard work. Typically, they are turning into an icon of yesteryear that is beloved by many. This is very true for Ana de Armas who plays the Old Hollywood star, Marilyn Monroe, in the film Blonde. Andrew Dominik, who directed the film, recently talked about everything they did to make de Armas look like Monroe, and it goes beyond just the actress's physical transformation. 

There are so many photos of Monroe that have lived in the zeitgeist for decades, I’d imagine recreating some of Monroe’s most iconic images, outfits and scenes was an extremely difficult and daunting task. In an interview with BFI Dominik explained all the rules they had on set to keep de Armas looking like Monroe. 

De Armas’ transformation is stunning.  When her casting received backlash Marilyn Monroe's estate defended the choice to put de Armas in the role based on seeing her in the trailer. The actress has opened up about seeing her transformation for the first time, describing it as “very emotional.” De Armas also noted that seeing herself made it feel like Monroe “was back.” 

The Knives Out actress did not just transform into Monroe, de Armas had to play her throughout her career. This meant she had to change her performance slightly to fit the time they were filming. Dominik explained: 

Along with this information, we’ve learned that de Armas’ transformation in terms of hair and makeup also took a ton of time and effort. The heads of the makeup and hair departments said they created over 100 looks for de Armas and about 50 to 60 of them made it into the film. It’s for sure an impressive feat to transform this actress into such a popular Old Hollywood star and to create so many variations of her. 

Of the movies on the 2022 schedule, Blonde has been a big point of discussion. Between her transformation and the film itself, critics have weighed in with lots of thoughts, both good and bad about the Netflix movie. To see the physical and technical transformation of de Armas into Monroe, you can watch Blonde with a Netflix subscription. 

Netflix’s Blonde may be the movie many people are watching on the platform this weekend, but Ana de Armas’ transformation as Marilyn Monroe just scratches the surface of the conversation audiences are having once the credits roll. One of the many controversial elements of Andrew Dominik’s film is how it handles Monroe’s alleged abortions, as some have called it out for having an “anti-abortion” message. With this, the writer/director responded to the criticism.

Those who've been on the web lately are surely aware that Blonde has been called a lot of things. Audiences who have watched it are saying it's “misogynistic,” “sexist,” “exploitative” and “disrespectful” to the Hollywood icon, but the anti-abortion accusations have seemingly been quite frequent. When reacting to that critique, Andrew Dominik argued that the film isn't meant to demonize the practice or anyone who's had one:

While speaking to The Wrap, the filmmaker also shared that he believes the “anti-abortion” criticisms are a product of the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade. In his words: 

In Blonde, there are graphic scenes of Ana de Armas’ Marilyn Monroe undergoing multiple forced abortions (while the real Monroe was not confirmed to have actually had any during her lifetime). In one scene, an unborn fetus pleads with Monroe not to be aborted. Andrew Dominik said he doesn’t think this would be as much of a topic if he’d made the film at a time that predates America’s recent unrest regarding abortion legislation. 

Blonde isn’t necessarily a biopic at all, as it’s moreso a fictionalized imagining of Marilyn Monroe's life. The movie is heavily rooted in Joyce Carol Oates’ equally controversial novel of the same name, which was released in 2000. Critics and audiences seem to agree on their thoughts on, with reviews of the Ana de Armas-led film also skewing rather negative. 

The movie is Netflix’s first NC-17 film and very much earns it with its graphic sex scenes, nudity, scenes depicting physical and emotional abuse, along with addiction and strong language. Still, it has been Netflix's No. 1 trending movie for a few days now. The film definitely seems to be stirring up some interesting conversations surrounding abortion and more and may continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Aside from Ana de Armas, the Blonde cast also includes Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale, Julianne Nicholson and Xavier Samuel. If you want to check out Andrew Dominick's polarizing movie, you can do so by picking up a Netflix subscription. Also, be sure to take a look at the schedule of upcoming movies for info on other big releases that are on the way.

Taking on the role of Marilyn Monroe is no easy task. As one of the most recognizable stars of Old Hollywood, I’d imagine figuring out how to transform Ana de Armas into Monroe was no small task. In a recent interview, the heads of the hair and makeup departments on Blonde spoke about the process of turning de Armas into Monroe every day, and it took lots of time and effort. 

The two artists recently spoke with Variety about the process of turning de Armas into Marilyn Monroe. They explained that they spent two and a half hours every day working on de Armas’ hair and makeup. Tina Roseler Kerwin, the head of the makeup department, explained that their mission was: 

The story explains that de Armas had to wear a silicone cap instead of a regular bald cap to hide her thick-brown hair and last a full day of work. The reason for the different cap was because of how many times they had to change out de Armas' wigs each day. Kerwin explained they needed something that could withstand the gluing and ungluing of so many wigs. 

Blue contacts were also a big part of the transformation. As the photo above shows, de Armas has brown eyes, but in Blonde she wears blue contacts. Kerwin explained that they also used fake eyelashes in the corners of her eyes to make her eye shape more like Monroe’s. 

By the end of it all, McIntosh and Kerwin made over 100 looks for de Armas and you can see 50 to 60 of them in the final cut of the film. 

De Armas explained that when she saw herself for the first time as Monroe she was very emotional. Those close to the Knives Out actress were also blown away by her transformation, including Chris Evans, her friend and co-star in Knives Out and The Grey Man. While her transformation is stunning, de Armas has also explained that she felt “insecure” while prepping to play such an icon. 

The pressure must have been real for the entire Blonde cast and crew while making this movie. They had to recreate some incredibly iconic scenes from Monroe’s movies, including the “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend” number from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Creating scenes that are ingrained in the zeitgeist is no small task. As the heads of hair and makeup explained, they created their looks to find the Old Hollywood icon in de Armas, and the process of finding and maintaining her look took an immense amount of work. 

While the movie has been getting middling reviews, I think it’s pretty clear that de Armas’ transformation into Monroe is pretty incredible. To see de Armas' transformation and performance, you can watch Blonde with a Netflix subscription. 

The following goes in-depth about a scene from Andrew Dominik’s new Marilyn Monroe picture Blonde, so if you’d prefer to go into the provocative biopic unscathed, then back out now. 

Based on a novel of the same name by Joyce Carol Oates, Blonde imagines experiences that silver screen icon Marilyn Monroe might have lived through during her tumultuous Hollywood career. Marked by fits of triumph and personal uncertainty, Monroe’s life is a hazy mystery clouded by drug and alcohol abuse, which have led to speculations and conspiracy theories involving the actress and several high-profile lovers. The book adaptation is coming to select theaters as well as to Netflix with Cuban star Ana De Armas in the lead role, though early buzz generated by Blonde had to do with its NC-17 rating. And now that I’ve seen the movie, I can likely guess which scene earned the controversial rating from the MPA.

The only reason that was provided by the MPA for the NC-17 rating being applied to Blonde was “some sexual content,” which alone doesn’t seem worthy of the cautionary grade. Blonde certainly does have more than enough sexual content as it documents Marilyn Monroe’s affairs with Charles Chaplin Jr. (Xavier Samuel), Edward G. Robinson Jr. (Evan Williams), Joe DiMaggio (Bobby Cannavale) and playwright Arthur Miller (Adrien Brody). And in previous interviews, director Andrew Dominik has expressed surprise over Blonde earning the rating. But one scene in particular, which arrives late in the movie, seems to push the envelope further than any of the explicit relationships captured in Blonde leading up to this point. 

Marilyn Monroe was rumored to have had relations with President John F. Kennedy, who is portrayed in the movie by Caspar Phillipson. Though an affair never was confirmed, we do know that Monroe famously sang Happy Birthday to President Kennedy from the stage at Madison Square Garden in New York City, fueling rumors of their romance. You can watch footage of that performance here:

Blonde doesn’t cover this performance. The way that Andrew Dominik approaches the Kennedy-Monroe relationship is more forceful, more hurtful, and more humiliating. In a difficult sequence, Monroe (Ana De Armas) is escorted to Kennedy by a silent team of government agents. She’s dropped into a bathroom area where she’s told she can freshen up before seeing the President. And when she’s finally ushered into Kennedy’s room, he’s lying in bed, talking on the phone. 

Any hope of a romantic encounter fades from Monroe’s eyes almost instantly as Kennedy motions to the starlet to start performing masturbation on him. Caspar Phillipson’s JFK can’t even be bothered to stop talking on the phone, pausing only long enough to encourage Monroe to keep going, or hurry up. Finally, fed up with how long it’s taking, Kennedy forces Monroe to perform oral sex on him, and Dominik leaves his camera up close on De Armas during the entire act. Monroe knows how humiliating the scenario is, and through voiceover narration, De Armas signifies that “Marilyn” is performing this, as if it were a scene. And that Norma Jean Baker, the real girl behind the Hollywood facade, wasn’t even there. 

It’s an incredibly tough scene to watch. Even if the events didn’t play out the way that Andrew Dominik and Ana De Armas stage it, you can easily imagine some scenario like this happening to Monroe at the height of her popularity. If Monroe had an affair with JFK, this interaction could have taken place. It fits the narrative, and the message, that is being sold by the dark Blonde. 

But does Andrew Dominik believe that this sex scene between Marilyn Monroe and President John F. Kennedy is the sequence that ultimately earned Blonde its NC-17 rating? The director appeared on CinemaBlend’s ReelBlend podcast to discuss the film, and when asked, he replied:

The NC-17 rating given to Blonde really is just the tip of the iceberg when you think about all of the rest of the content that is being covered by the movie, and its take on celebrity through the charting of Monroe’s career. Critics shared a lot of thoughts once the movie started to screen, but soon it will be your turn to check out Blonde and see if you agree with what Ana De Armas had to say about the rating, the insecurities she wrestled with while playing the famous starlet, and the handling of some of the more controversial moments in Monroe’s legendary career.   

Ana de Armas and Chris Evans have starred in multiple movies together and keep working together. Both were part of the iconic Knives Out cast and were recently two of the leads in The Grey Man cast. With the actors working together frequently it makes sense that de Armas showed Evans her performance in Blonde a bit early. The Captain America actor is super excited about his costars performance in the upcoming Marilyn Monroe biopic. 

Critics have weighed in on Blonde and the actress's performance as Monroe, while they are mixed, Evans commended his friend's performance and specifically her commitment to the role. He explained to Variety:  

Earlier in the profile, de Armas explained that since Blonde was filmed in 2019, and she had to wait three years for its release, she had to show it to people. So, while working on The Grey Man, she had screenings for her friends and the Blonde crew. Evans saw her screentest for the role and said: 

Meanwhile, when de Armas saw her transformation into the Old Hollywood icon for the first time she was emotional and proud of her performance. 

This movie will mark one of the first times where de Armas is a singular lead rather than part of an ensemble. While she’s been in some massive movies like Knives Out, No Time To Die, and The Grey Man, she is always part of a larger ensemble. Like Evans said it will be exciting to hear what people say about what, I think, could be her big breakout performance. 

While we will probably be hearing about Blonde a lot, especially with awards season around the corner, de Armas is still hard at work on other projects and has another movie with Evans coming up. 

Chris Evans recently posted a new look at their movie Ghosted, which will mark the dynamic duo’s third film together. Their posts from filming this movie make it clear the two are really good friends. From de Armas celebrating her birthday on set to Evans posting celebratory emojis on de Armas’ post when they wrapped filming, it's clear the two enjoy working together. 

Seeing the two work together and continually support each other is so sweet. I can’t wait to see them together again in Ghosted come 2023. However, in the meantime, I’m excited to see if I agree with Evans when Blonde gets released on September 8. While we wait for both these movies to be released, you can watch or (rewatch) their impeccable performances in Knives Out or check out The Grey Man with a Netflix subscription. 

When Cuban-Spanish actress Ana de Armas took on the role of Norma Jeane Mortenson (a.k.a. Marilyn Monroe), she knew it was a huge responsibility. Netflix’s controversial NC-17 rated movie Blonde presents a deeper meaning behind the story of the Blonde Bombshell we all recognize on screen in learning about the inner demons she faced. De Armas and the crew of Blonde knew they would feel better taking on the project if they asked Marilyn Monroe herself for permission to tell her story.

The source material of Blonde came from Joyce Carol Oates’ historical fiction film of the Some Like it Hot actress with a detailed account of what the iconic actress must have gone through when the spotlight wasn’t on her. Monroe’s untimely death came in 1962 from a mysterious overdose, and in an interview from AnOther Magazine, de Armas reveal she and her Blonde crew visited Westwood Village Memorial Park where the Hollywood starlet is buried before filming started.

Norma Jeane Mortenson was the product of a traumatic childhood moving from foster home to foster home due to her mother’s mental illness struggles. She also never got to meet her father or know who he was. Marilyn Monroe was an alter ego that Hollywood created for her that everyone saw. But like de Armas mentioned in her interview, the heart of the movie was looking for her absent father and hoping of all people that he would find her. 

Before you watch the movie, it’s important for audiences to keep in mind that what you see in Blonde is not a 100% accurate portrayal of Marilyn Monroe. The 34-year-old actress said that Blonde is fiction with no proof the inner turmoil Marilyn Monroe went through. While other traditional biopics state the actress’s chronological dates and milestones, this movie gives a representation of what could have been going on in the pop culture icon’s head. 

Ana de Armas made sure to do her homework when she played Norma Jeane Mortenson and felt like her character stayed with her the whole time. She had moments of insecurity preparing for the role in terms of voice, accent, choreography, and working with American actors who knew Marilyn Monroe. She never would have thought she’d play the Gentlemen Prefer Blondes actress as the Cuban actors she grew up to and looked up to included Daisy Granados, Isabel Santos, and Verónica Lynn. But she accepted the role of Marilyn Monroe because she loved a challenge and felt she had the emotional range to connect with the role. 

De Armas spent months working with a dialogue coach to perfect the way Monroe sounded and her facial expressions when she did talk. This critically- acclaimed actress also was introduced to a 750-page bible of Monroe’s photographs that documented every emotion that director Andrew Dominik wanted to capture. In order to perfectly capture Marilyn Monroe’s presence, de Armas would watch her movies hundreds of times to be able to recreate the performances from her iconic movies. She even found it hard to unplug from the Blonde Bombshell in her dreams or even simply doing the dishes. All the more reason why this new role will remain memorable to the No Time to Die actress no matter how many years later it is.

While people who hadn’t even watched the movie had their share of backlash for the casting choice of Marilyn Monroe, the critics could help but rave about Ana de Armas. They would say she did a great job mimicking Monroe’s “half-breathless style of speaking” and being able to show the wounds inflicted on her through her voice. At its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival, Andrew Dominik’s historical drama received a fourteen minute standing ovation. Hopefully, Blonde will give audiences a glimpse into what could have gone into the mind of a 1950s Hollywood actress we all thought we knew.

Considering Ana de Armas and the Blonde crew felt the need for Marilyn Monroe’s blessing before filming started, it shows they want to tell her story right and with heart. You have the chance to see Blonde on your Netflix subscription on September 28th.

Ana de Armas is receiving a lot of attention for her turn as Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe in Andrew Dominik’s biopic, Blonde. The film has been widely anticipated and will soon be available to Netflix subscribers. While the movie’s subject matter has been somewhat controversial, de Armas has received praise for her show-stopping performance as Monroe. Her transformation for the role is extraordinary, and her personal reaction upon seeing herself in costume for the first time was apparently very emotional. 

In an interview with The Today Show, the Knives Out star reflected on her experience portraying the iconic figure and how the entire cast and crew felt seeing her in full costume as Monroe. And it sounds like the group was in serious need of some tissues:

Those who are incredibly close to Ana de Armas were also taken aback by her transformation. This role has been a long time coming for the actress, who's also starred in films like No Time to Die and The Gray Man. De Armas went on to say that her friends have taken time to reach out to her about her new role and express how proud they are of how far she's come. One particular instance really stood out to her:

I can understand why people were so overwhelmed. The star bears an uncanny similarity to Marilyn Monroe in the film that's hard to deny. Stepping into the shoes of such a high-profile individual like Monroe must've been extremely daunting. However, the Blade Runner 2049 alum had many championing her casting along the way. Monroe’s estate has been a supporter of her taking on the role, and the author of the book Blonde is adapted from praised the actress for accessing a different side of the famed Hollywood figure. 

Support for Ana de Armas has not sheltered the film from controversy, though. The movie received Netflix’s first ever NC-17 rating for its depiction of some of the darker parts of the late actress' life. By the director’s own admission, the film contains content that is sure to offend some who watch the Marilyn Monroe biopic. But he has embraced the controversial rating, which he implores as necessary to exploring her life. Meanwhile, critics are split on the Monroe flick. 

Regardless of controversy though, the consensus across the board is that Ana de Armas is truly bewitching in the role, making her a possible Oscar contender going into awards season. Check out Blonde when it premieres on September 28 as part of the 2022 movie release schedule.

Marilyn Monroe was a signature Hollywood icon that we know for her platinum blonde hair, her famously breathy voice, and that little beauty mark on her cheek. But Netflix’s Blonde will show audiences the inner turmoil the bombshell went through in the public eye based on the historical fiction book by Joyce Carol Oates. Knowing these are big shoes to fill, Ana de Armas spoke honestly about feeling “insecure” about playing Marilyn Monroe for Blonde.

It’s a lot of pressure to play someone based on a real-life person. Especially if this was a legendary Hollywood actress with a huge fan following and many personality traits people remember her for. Ana de Armas spoke to Empire about channeling her feelings of insecurity in preparing for the role helped her portray her character’s insecurity.

De Armas being a Cuban-Spanish actress presented the challenge of hiding her native accent, which isn’t always the easiest thing to do. After all, all of her past movies like No Time to Die and her latest action flick The Gray Man allowed her to use her own accent. When the second trailer of Blonde was released, social media users backlashed towards still being able to hear the 34-year-old actress’s natural dialect for the California native Marilyn Monroe. But this young actress actually made sure to do her research playing the Hollywood icon by working with a dialect coach for nine months and did ADR (automated dialogue replacement) sessions to get the accent right. She also used Oates’ source material to help her and analyzed over 700 photos of her character provided by director Andrew Dominik. So, you can’t say she wasn’t trying.

Ana de Armas also wanted fans to know that working on Blonde was a great experience for her and the set despite the heavy emotions she had to portray in each scene.

While it was a tough experience for Ana de Armas to be able to play Norma Jeane Mortenson, those who got to watch the Netflix film early were wowed by her performance. Marilyn Monroe's estate defended the film's casting choice as they felt de Armas captured Monroe’s “glamor, humanity, and vulnerability.” Blonde author Joyce Carol Oates praised de Armas for showing the ill-fated actress’s life from her perspective compared to the male gaze. Critics also had a lot of thoughts about Ana de Armas in that she did a great job fully embodying Marilyn Monroe in her voice and emotions. So clearly, the Knives Out actress must be doing something right.

Ana de Armas may have had her insecurities filling in the big shoes of Marilyn Monroe, but it doesn’t look like she’s gotten any complaints from those who have watched the Netflix drama themselves. You can see Blonde for yourself on your Netflix subscription on September 28th.

Audiences have been anticipating seeing Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe when Blonde comes to Netflix in September. Aside from witnessing the detail de Armas brings to the iconic figure, the fact that Blonde is Netflix’s first NC-17 rated film has piqued the interest of potential viewers. Now that Andrew Dominik’s movie has premiered at the Venice Film Festival, critics are weighing in on the actress' performance and the movie that promises “to offend everyone,” according to the director.

Along with Ana de Armas, the film — which is based on the book by Joyce Carol Oates and is a fictionalized portrayal of Marilyn Monroe’s life — also features Adrien Brody as Arthur Miller, Bobby Cannavale as Joe DiMaggio, Caspar Phillipson as John F. Kennedy, and many others. Let’s see what the reviews have to say about the film coming to Netflix subscribers on September 28. 

Bilge Ebiri of Vulture says Blonde is physically hard to watch and often “feels like a slaughterhouse seen from the animal’s point of view.” The abuse is repetitive, but the movie’s never boring, and Ana de Armas’ portrayal works, the critic says: 

Catherine Bray of Empire rates the movie 3 stars out of 5, saying the leading actress’ performance is powerful, and possibly too much so. The critic says while the book explains how Norma Jeane Baker exists separately from her stage persona, Andrew Dominik asks his lead to play a perfect Marilyn Monroe throughout. From the review: 

Sophie Monks Kaufman of IndieWire grades the movie a C+, saying Blonde only further tarnishes Marilyn Monroe’s image with its story of victimization and exploitation. According to the review, Andrew Dominik admonishes the world for seeing the actress as nothing more than a breathy blonde with daddy issues, but then he treats her the same way. In the critic’s words: 

Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair agrees with other critics that this nearly three-hour film is “brutal” to watch. Sixty years after Marilyn Monroe’s tragic death, this critic chooses to view Blonde through the lens of other women — including Britney Spears — who have been beaten down by the pressures that come with fame. The review questions if Andrew Dominik is aware that he is not dissimilar to the people he is demonizing: 

Owen Gleiberman of Variety addresses critiques of Ana de Armas’ casting, particularly in regards to her Cuban accent, saying he hears just “the flicker, the echo of a Cuban inflection,” and that a big deal should not be made of it, because the actress absolutely becomes Marilyn Monroe. In the critic's words:

Blonde certainly sounds like a tough watch, but it’s undoubtedly a film many will want to experience for themselves – especially Marilyn Monroe’s biggest fans. The film will be available on Netflix on Wednesday, September 28. Be sure to check out our 2022 Netflix Movie Schedule to see what else is coming to the streaming service, as well as our 2022 Movie Release Schedule to start planning your next trip to the theater.

Andrew Dominik has said in the past that his new movie Blonde was likely to offend some people. When the new trailer of Blonde came out starring Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe, viewers found one particular reason to be offended after hearing noticeable traces of this Cuban-Spanish actress’s native accent. Despite the backlash, the official Marilyn Monroe Estate has come to defend the casting choice of de Armas in the Netflix film.

Because Blonde is a book adaptation of the historical fiction novel by author Joyce Carol Oates, this film was not authorized by Monroe’s estate. However, according to Variety, Marilyn Monroe Estate owner Marc Rosen felt like the trailer showed that Ana de Armas has got what it takes to play the blonde bombshell and cannot wait to see the new Netflix film. Said Rosen,

TMZ reported that de Armas’ “still-there accent” can clearly be heard in the new trailer of Blonde. All of the 34-year-old's movies, like playing Bond girl Paloma in No Time to Die and her latest action movie The Gray Man, feature the actor using her natural voice. There has been a Twitter debate as some fans felt her inability to hide her accent is strange since the pressure of taking on an iconic real-life role as well as her performance being possibly Oscar-baited should have inspired more through vocal training.

On the other hand, there have been others who have defended the Blade Runner 2049 actor, as history has shown that not all performers have a perfect crossover with a different accent. The Gray Man star told The Times of London that she worked with a dialect coach for nine months and did ADR (automated dialogue replacement) sessions to get the accent right. So, you can’t say that she didn't make a serious effort. Plus, having a Cuban-Spanish actress be able to play a role like this can open up opportunities for other performers. 

Beyond Marilyn Monroe’s estate, Blonde’s author has praised Ana de Armas in the loosely-based biographical drama for capturing her character’s perspective so well.

According to TMZ, Blonde has been considered controversial for potentially exploiting the Some Like It Hot actor's life for shock value. Andrew Dominik has been  defensive about that, and has said that the deeper meaning of his film is showing the public and private self of this memorable star and how her childhood drama affected her. 

Blonde also received an NC-17 rating for “some sexual content,” which limits its promotions and access. 

Despite the backlash that Ana de Armas is receiving for her accent in Blonde, it's surely a relief for the production to know that Marilyn Monroe's estate does not find fault in the casting choice. This accent slip shouldn’t be too distracting if she can properly portray the reasons why we love Marilyn Monroe and the inner turmoil she faced in her life.

You can see Ana de Armas in Blonde on your Netflix subscription on September 28. 

History is about to be made, as Ana de Armas’ Marilyn Monroe drama Blonde is about to be released as the first original Netflix movie to have an NC-17 rating. That sort of milestone has people wondering what they’re going to see in this intense recounting of the late Hollywood legend’s life and career.

That curiosity has only intensified after seeing the first trailer to Blonde was unveiled. Now with a second look at director Andrew Dominik’s new movie freshly released to the public, as well as some stunning looks of de Armas on set, the picture has become a bit clearer. 

Even with what we know about Blonde, seeing new footage only makes the entire experience simultaneously more breathtaking and devastating. Thanks to Netflix revealing this fresh trailer, the world of Ana de Armas' performance has been further built to tease the finished product.

Shifting from joy to pain, and Marilyn to Norma Jean, Blonde’s new footage shows some of the further artistic tweaks that Andrew Dominik has used to highlight that duality. Switches in aspect ratio, with a mixture of black and white and color photography, enhance the double life that Ana de Armas' Marilyn Monroe claims to live. 

Those transitions are effective in this video above, as we watch memorable and tragic moments from Monroe's life appear. As de Armas' Monroe and Bobby Cannavale's Joe DiMaggio sit at a table together, their meeting frames Marilyn expressing her torment and pain in conversation. Moments both brutal and bittersweet are presented, as one moment Ana de Armas is frolicking on the beach and in others she's harming herself on screen. 

While we’ve got a new trailer for the adaptation of author Joyce Carol Oates’ historical fiction novel, Ana de Armas has also promoted Blonde in her own way. Taking to her Instagram account, the film’s star shared behind the scenes photos of herself from various moments of production. Here’s what de Armas shared: 

Through those pictures, both in black and white and vibrant color, we also get to see more of Blonde’s cast in action with Ana de Armas. Showing off Adrian Brody and Bobby Cannavale, as Arthur Miller and Joe DiMaggio respectively, de Armas is pictured with two of her on-screen husbands in what look like tender moments. Knowing how this film is approaching the all too real heartbreaks of Marilyn Monroe, that tenderness will only last so long.

It didn’t seem like the world could be more hyped for Blonde’s big debut, especially with Joyce Carol Oates’ enthusiastic approval already being known. Soon the world will get to experience Ana de Armas in all of her dramatic glory, as we won’t have to wait too long for the debut of this historical heartbreaker. 

Blonde premieres on Netflix, starting September 28th. Be warned that the film earned its NC-17 rating for "some sexual content," so you'll want to be careful before watching. In the meantime, you can catch Ana de Armas in another title from the 2022 Netflix movie schedule, as she’s part of the ass kicking ensemble of The Gray Man.

Marilyn Monroe was one of the most iconic actresses we’ve ever had the pleasure to set eyes on. Joyce Carol Oates wrote the historical fiction novel Blonde to give readers an intimate look at the life of the great screen legend. After getting the chance to see the upcoming Netflix adaptation, Oates recently praised the finished project for one key detail.

Blonde chronicles how the cost of fame led to the blonde bombshell’s brief 36-year-life. Collider spoke to Blonde author Joyce Carol Oates during the Neuchâtel Intl. Fantastic Film Festival in Switzerland that she saw the Netflix adaptation of her novel and what she loved the most about the film.

Capturing Marilyn Monroe’s life on screen can certainly be challenging considering we’re used to getting to know her through an outsider’s perspective like in My Week with Marilyn or through documentaries. Director Andrew Dominik has explained that the deeper meaning behind Blonde is to show how childhood drama can shape an adult. That even though we see Monroe through the imagery we’ve already seen, we get an intimate look at how she went from being shuffled between a dozen different foster parents to “being the most wanted woman in the world” by the masses. 

However, Dominik also believes audiences will be offended by the film for not giving a “cut-and-dry” portrayal of The Seven Year Itch actress, and leaving it to be more ambiguous than audiences would want. This tone seems to be fitting for the movie, considering Joyce Carol Oates was interpreting Marilyn Monroe's life when she wrote the book and Andrew Dominik is providing a visual to that interpretation. Only the pop culture icon herself can be the one to talk to about what her life was truly like. 

One thing that came as a shock to the AFI Award-winning director was the film’s surprise rating of NC-17. Considering the MPAA gave that adult rating due to “some sexual content,” Dominik is seemingly satisfied with his film’s rating. And I don’t blame him, considering the “some” sexual content is likely only in bits of the movie After all, an NC-17 restrictions on advertisements and can limit the audiences who see the film. While this rating seems like an obstacle for the film getting Oscar attention, maybe it'll end up actually making history in this regard.

Another reason why Oates loved Blonde was for Ana De Armas recreating Marilyn Monroe’s iconic moments. She applauded the dedication De Armas had for the hours of makeup she had to endure to create the image of the Hollywood starlet. Considering this rising star dazzled audiences with her performances in No Time to Die and Knives Out, we can expect a stellar performance as she brings the spectacle of Marilyn Monroe to life. 

We’ll get a chance to see Andrew Dominik and Ana De Armas show us a glimpse of Marilyn Monroe we’ve never seen before on your Netflix subscription on September 23rd.  

Kim Kardashian has sparked a lot of controversy since dropping 16 pounds to fit into Marilyn Monroe’s classic dress ahead of this year’s Met Gala. There was some dispute over whether or not she should be allowed to wear the dress in the first place, and then many cried foul over how quickly she lost weight in order to fit into the dress. The reality star continues to speak out against accusations that she lost weight in a dangerous way, though she now admits that it did cause her health issues.

Ever since Kim Kardashian admitted she only had a matter of weeks to lose enough weight to fit into the iconic nude dress that Marilyn Monroe wore to sing a sultry “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy in 1962, The Kardashians star has been fighting off her critics. Riverdale actress Lili Reinhart was particularly vocal about the “starving” Skims co-founder, calling out the reality star’s “toxic behavior” and asking people to stop supporting “stupid, harmful celebrities.” But Kardashian insists she lost the weight in a healthy way, telling Allure:

It’s an argument Kim Kardashian has made before — actors and actresses manipulate their bodies for different roles, and she was in essence doing the same. She said she wasn’t promoting her diet or trying to get others to join her in her extreme weight loss; she just had a goal to fit in the dress, and she did what she had to do — with the advice of experts — to get it done.

She did admit to experiencing some health issues in regards to her Met Gala diet; however, it had more to do with what she was putting into her body rather than not putting enough into it. 

Kim Kardashian tries to maintain a plant-based diet. (Hulu subscribers who enjoyed The Kardashians will recall she admitted to being a vegan “most of the time,” but was sometimees shown eating chicken or Dibs ice cream.) She was named Beyond Meat’s Chief Taste Consultant — though she had to pull out the receipts to prove she actually ate the plant-based products. However, as part of her regimen to lose weight ahead of the gala, she incorporated red meat back into her diet, which she said caused a flare-up of psoriatic arthritis. She recalled: 

It sounds like the meat-free lifestyle helps Kim Kardashian control that aspect of her health, so now that she’s found relief from that, the reality star is free to continue flaunting the results of her hard work — preferably with more beachy thirst traps alongside boyfriend Pete Davidson, please!

You can catch up with Kim Kardashian and the rest of her famous family by streaming The Kardashians Season 1 on Hulu, and be sure to check out our 2022 TV schedule to see what other shows are premiering soon on television and streaming.

Kim Kardashian caused a lot of controversy when she showed up for this year’s Met Gala in Marilyn Monroe’s gold dress — the one the iconic actress wore to sing “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy in 1962. From fans who criticized her for the weight she lost to fit in the dress to the gown’s designer Bob Mackie saying it was made for no one but the Some Like It Hot star, Kardashian sure did ruffle a lot of jewel-encrusted feathers. The controversy only grew after before-and-after photos of the supposed dress indicated the garment was damaged during the gala event, and Ripley’s Believe It or Not! put out an official response.

The Ripley's Believe It Or Not! Museum in Orlando, Florida, bought the Jean Louis gown at auction in 2016 for $4.8 million. Since the Met Gala, it has been displayed at the Ripley’s Hollywood location, where it will remain until this fall. Photos taken of the dress on display there have gone viral on Instagram after they were compared to images taken before Kim Kardashian borrowed it. But Ripley’s published an article on their website to “set the record straight,” with Ripley’s VP of Publishing and Licensing Amanda Joiner saying the currently blonde bombshell did not, in any way, damage the dress:

Kim Kardashian, who also had to defend herself against critics of her 16-pound weight loss, changed into a replica dress after walking the red carpet, and Amanda Joiner said she stayed with the piece during transport from Orlando to New York, as well as on the day of the gala. 

Marilyn Monroe fans and members of the art community were upset by before-and-after photos that appeared to show the dress in worse condition after it was worn at the gala. Multiple photos on an Instagram page point to missing crystals, straining around the seams and stretched fabric. Check out the photos for yourself:

The dress was not in mint condition to begin with, as Ripley’s said a quality report on the dress from 2017 — the year after they purchased the dress — noted that "a number of the seams are pulled and worn. This is not surprising given how delicate the material is. There is puckering at the back by the hooks and eyes." Despite both this explanation and the insistence that Kim Kardashian did not compromise the dress’ integrity, it’s clear from the comments that some people aren’t buying it.

Either way, Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! stood behind its decision to allow the reality star to borrow the dress, arguing that it introduced Marilyn Monroe to a new audience, thus extending her legacy. Ripley’s said in their statement: 

Ripley’s is certainly right about one thing — Kim Kardashian borrowing the dress has started a conversation, whether you agree with her actions or not. And with Ana de Armas' upcoming film Blonde coming to Netflix in September, we'll no doubt see a new batch of Marilyn Monroe-centered debates in the future.

The first season of the famous family’s new show The Kardashians just came to an end, and all 10 episodes can now be streamed with a Hulu subscription. Be sure to check out our 2022 TV Schedule to see what new and returning shows are premiering soon.

Kim Kardashian dropped jaws when she appeared on the red carpet at the Met Gala wearing Marilyn Monroe’s iconic dress worn by the actress when she sang her sultry “Happy birthday, Mr. President,” to John F. Kennedy in 1962. While the Hulu reality star certainly sparked reactions by borrowing the priceless dress from Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, not all of the feedback was good. Now, legendary designer Bob Mackie, who drew the original sketch for the gown, has weighed in, and he’s not pleased either.

Kim Kardashian worked hard for her Met Gala moment, as she revealed that she had to lose 16 pounds in three weeks to fit into the Jean Louis gown. Many fans loved that she was honoring the blonde bombshell Monroe, who died just months after singing to Kennedy at Madison Square Garden. Others, however, did not agree with her decision to wear the actual outfit, as opposed to only the replicas, and that includes Bob Mackie, who told EW:

Bob Mackie was just 23 years old when he designed the statement piece for Marilyn Monroe while he worked as an assistant to Jean Louis. He agreed with historians that Kim Kardashian’s wearing the gown was damaging to its preservation and structural integrity. Relics such as the classic dress are usually kept in very controlled environments, making it risky to expose the gown to the elements, such as light, humidity, makeup, perfume and even oxygen.

Other critics didn’t like the precedent Kim Kardashian’s actions set, and worried that people in the art and conservation community might be pressured to allow other historic garments to be worn.

Marilyn Monroe is the subject of the upcoming biopic Blonde, which stars Ana de Armas as the actress. It is the first Netflix original production to receive a rating of NC-17, though it’s not known yet exactly what content makes it worthy of such a designation, since “some sexual content” is pretty vague. It's presumed that the streaming project won't feature the authentic Monroe dress that Kardashian wore, but it's certainly possible. 

Kim Kardashian’s Met Gala ensemble by far wasn’t her first wardrobe choice to draw attention. Lately she’s been rocking dresses we just don’t understand, which coincidentally share the same nude shade that made Marilyn Monroe’s gown tantalizing back in the 1960s. At least we know how that dress stayed on, unlike Kardashian’s more gravity-defying pieces. The reality star also recently revealed that her 2021 Met Gala dress — a head-to-toe black Balenciaga — got in the way of her and now-boyfriend Pete Davidson exchanging numbers ahead of her guest-hosting appearance on Saturday Night Live. 

These days you can keep up with the reality star and her whole famous family on their new series The Kardashians, available for streaming with a Hulu subscription. New episodes are released each Thursday. As many shows continue to wrap up their spring seasons, be sure to check out our 2022 TV Schedule to see what premieres are coming soon to TV and streaming.

It goes without saying that celebrities go all in when it comes to prepping for the annual Met Gala. Hollywood’s brightest work with teams of designers to craft intricate outfits that will be seen by people around the world. In the case of Kim Kardashian, she chose to go with a vintage Marilyn Monroe dress. The reality TV star seemed very passionate about donning the pristine outfit once worn by the iconic Hollywood starlet. In fact, Kardashian dieted and lost weight in order to fit into her attire. 

The Bob Mackie dress was originally worn by Marilyn Monroe (whose set to be the topic of an NC-17 rated biopic) in 1962, when she sang “Happy Birthday Mr. President” to John F. Kennedy. It was Kim Kardashian’s own idea that she would wear it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's major event this year. After trying on the dress for the first time, Kardashian apparently had to do a little bit of work, though. While speaking with Vogue at the event, the media mogul revealed her dieting process, which involved her losing more than 10 pounds:

If there’s anything we know about Kim Kardashian, it’s that when she puts her mind to something, she aims to see it through. It was that sense of determination that helped her achieve billionaire status and pass her baby bar exam. Many would agree that she more than succeeded when it came to fitting into the dress. Check out the look for yourself:

In an Instagram post, the Kardashians star spoke further about getting to wear Marilyn Monroe’s dress, which is adorned with over 6,000 hand-sewn crystals. The star has worn some intricate pieces in the past (even a gravity-defying dress), but this one seems to be particularly special to her. Later in the post, she expressed gratitude for the opportunity to wear it:

Kim Kardashian was joined at this year’s Met Gala by her mother, Kris Jenner, and siblings Kourtney, Khloé, Kendall and Kylie. Also with her was boyfriend Pete Davidson, who missed out on the red carpet premiere of the famous family’s new Hulu show just a few weeks ago. With the entire group in attendance, there’s a good chance parts of the event could appear on a future episode of their reality show. Fans may not mind getting a deeper look at their Met experience as well as the fitness routine that helped Kim get into Marilyn Monroe’s famous threads. 

The Kardashians drops episodes on Thursdays, and they’re available to stream with a Hulu subscription.

Biopics are all the rage right now, as the Pam & Tommy Hulu series recently dropped to the streaming platform, and films like King Richard, Spencer, and House of Gucci dominated the box office and populated the 2022 Oscar nominations. This theme is continuing in 2022, as Ana de Armas is portraying the iconic Marilyn Monroe in the film Blonde. Now, director Andrew Dominik explains that the upcoming NC-17-rated drama is much more than just another film about a notable figure’s life.

Blonde is far from the first biopic to focus on Marilyn Monroe, so movie lovers are probably wondering how it differs from what's come before. In an interview with Collider, Andrew Dominik talked about wanting to tell a story of childhood drama as it relates to both a person's private and public self. Here's what Dominik says, exactly:

Pretty much everyone alive knows who the Hollywood starlet was, which is something that can only be said about a select group of celebrities. Given the amount of media exposure she had, her image is deeply embedded in the fabric of American pop culture. In the same interview, Andrew Dominik explains that his film will use those familiar images while adding a humanizing aspect of “her internal drama”:

As glamorized as Marilyn Monroe and classic Hollywood has been, we'll apparently get to see some of the tragic underbelly of the actress' life. With the director describing the film as a “nightmare”, I can imagine that Blonde will have us empathizing with Monroe's story more than ever. 

It’s clear that will not be a "mild" film, and its NC-17 rating pretty confirms that notion. Previously, Andrew Dominik expressed blunt thoughts on having a stricter rating for the movie which will actually be the first Netflix original to be branded NC-17. Based on his further comments, it seems Dominik relished the creative freedom, saying:

Although Blonde doesn’t have a confirmed release date yet, we do know a good amount about the film, and it looks like fans of beloved Bombshell Marilyn Monroe will be able to see the biopic sometime this year. Of course, they'll need to have a Netflix subscription to check it out. It sounds like the movie could challenge what we know about the late star, and I'm hoping that it is able to bring some fresh elements to the biopic genre in the process.

Ana de Armas has dazzled audiences in recent years with memorable roles in Blade Runner 2049, Knives Out and No Time To Die, but one of her upcoming projects will arguably be her biggest role yet. The Spanish actress has transformed into Marilyn Monroe for the upcoming movie Blonde, and ahead of the movie’s release later this year, it’s looking like the movie could make history for its studio Netflix. 

It’s been rumored since last year that Blonde received a NC-17 rating, and the film’s director, Andrew Dominik, has confirmed that the MPAA seemed to confirm that the movie could make Netflix history. As he shared with an F-bomb thrown in: 

Rumor has it that part of the reason the rating is NC-17 is because of a cunnilingus scene featuring menstrual blood, which Andrew Dominik called untrue, but “hilarious.” There is, however, reportedly a rape scene in Blonde, as the movie tells the story of an “unloved girl” and what it’s like to go through the “Hollywood meat-grinder,” per Dominik’s words. During an interview with Screen Daily, the filmmaker also pointed out Netflix’s involvement: 

Andrew Dominik did not delve into the nature of the rating, and it seems too early for Blonde to have an official MPAA rating, but he called the NC-17 for the movie “a bunch of horseshit.” As the filmmaker said, there will certainly still be interest in a more profane Marilyn Monroe movie, and given the subject matter, he believes it's “demanding” to the audience. 

The issue with NC-17 ratings is it poses a problem when it comes to distribution in theaters. If Blonde has support from Netflix, the movie certainly has a home there (which we do wonder how the streaming service will police such content). But on top of that, Andrew Dominik is looking to debut Blonde in theaters, and not all exhibitors are typically on board with playing a film that has a higher distinction than an R-rating. 

The movie has been a long time passion project for its director, we’ll be excited to see Blonde with a Netflix subscription once the movie nails down an official release date on the 2022 Netflix movie schedule. Blonde is a book-to-movie adaptation based on Joyce Carol Oates’ novel that is a fictionalized chronicle of the Hollywood star’s life.  

While we wait for more news on Blonde, we can expect to see Ana de Armas in The Gray Man with Chris Evans, Ryan Gosling and Regé-Jean Page, also on Netflix, and Deep Water with Ben Affleck on Hulu sometime this year. 

There is an obvious extra pressure that comes with an actor portraying a real person. While original fictional characters offer no real firm rules, playing someone who actually exists/once existed means that there is a firm yardstick that will be used to judge a performance – in both delivery and aesthetics. It can be a sincere challenge, which Ana de Armas can now personally attest to following her turn as Marilyn Monroe in Andrew Dominik's upcoming film Blonde.

The Knives Out star spent two months in the back half of last year doing her best to inhabit the spirit of the Hollywood icon, and while recently speaking with The Times (via People) she opened up about one particularly hard part of the job: matching Marilyn Monroe's voice. Discussing both the training and the performance, Ana de Armas told the paper,

(For those who don't know, ADR stands for Additional Dialogue Recording, which is an aspect of post-production on all films that sees an actor re-record their lines in a controlled environment in aim of getting the best audio quality possible)

Based on the 2000 novel by Joyce Carol Oates, Blonde is a film inspired by the life of Marilyn Monroe, but is a fictionalized take that operates with an intimate perspective. Ana de Armas is joined in the impressive ensemble by an awesome supporting cast that includes Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale, Scoot McNairy, Julianne Nicholson, Garret Dillahunt, and more. The project has been in development for a number of years, with Naomi Watts and Jessica Chastain previously lined up for the lead role, but de Armas was officially cast last February, and production finally began last August.

Last fall, following the wrap of production, Ana de Armas talked about having actually cried when she first went through the hair and makeup process to play Marilyn Monroe – but getting the look down is only part of the equation. Getting the voice right was clearly a whole other deal, and it apparently it took her a long time to get it totally right, and one can imagine that was partially because of her Cuban accent, which she hasn't had to disguise in the most notable performances of her career thus far.

Blonde is now in post-production, and while it doesn't have a specific release date yet, Netflix is set to distribute it, and it will be available on the streaming service this year. It's set to be one of three Ana de Armas films released in 2021 with the James Bond adventure No Time To Die and the sexy thriller Deep Water co-starring Ben Affleck both currently scheduled to play on the big screen in the coming months.

Between various movie and television projects, many filmmakers have worked to capture the life and times of Marilyn Monroe in a narrative, hiring fantastically talented actresses to take on the role, and soon we will be seeing the latest entry into the specific subgenre. Writer/director Andrew Dominik is in the process of finishing Blonde, a feature adaptation of the novel about Monroe by Joyce Carol Oates, and it will feature Knives Out star Ana de Armas playing the lead.

Fans are obviously excited to see transformation that the actress will undergo for the part, and only stoking that anticipation are recent quotes from de Armas, who says that she cried the first time she saw herself as Marilyn Monroe.

The development of Blonde was recently brought up in an interview that Ana de Armas did with Allure, with the magazine specifically asking what it was like for the Cuban actress to see herself in full make-up for the role. She explained,

Blonde is a film that has been in development for about a decade now, with Andrew Dominik initially casting Naomi Watts as his lead. When the project struggled to get out of development hell, eventually Jessica Chastain signed on for the part. That version didn't come together either, but Ana de Armas signed on to the project in March 2019, and now the movie has not only completed production, but already has distribution set up thanks to Netflix.

The movie won't be your typical biopic, as Joyce Carol Oates' book is not a biography, but instead a fictionalized story that has Marilyn Monroe as its lead character – notably changing a lot of names along the way. Blonde sports has an outstanding supporting cast that includes Bobby Cannavale, Adrien Brody, Scoot McNairy, Garret Dillahunt, Julianne Nicholson, and Sara Paxton.

While this will be the first time that Blonde has been made as a feature, the source material was previously adapted for a 2001 made-for-TV movie starring Poppy Montgomery.

Thus far we have not yet seen an official image of Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe in Blonde, and Netflix has not yet announced an official release date (which is in no way surprising), but the actress' talent and Andrew Dominik's passion for the project and skill as a filmmaker certainly have us excited for it. The movie will be released exclusively on the streaming service some time in 2021, and you'll be able to find more details about it here on CinemaBlend as we get ever closer to the release.

Yesterday we got our first look at DC's upcoming Birds of Prey movie, and while the movie is going to be another Harley Quinn team up movie, the trailer for focused pretty much exclusively on her. We saw lots of cool comic book movie action, but the trailer also gave us a tease of something very different that will apparently be part of Birds of Prey. A musical number inspired by Marilyn Monroe.

While the context of the shots in the trailer are not clear, as seen in the image above, we see Margot Robbie's Harley apparently singing and dancing. She dressed elegantly, not Harley's usual style, and has backup dancers, who look like comic book villain thugs, of course. If the shots in the Birds of Prey trailer looked familiar, it's likely because you've seen the sequence that inspired them, from Marilyn Monroe's performance in 1953's Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Check that out below.

Even if you've never seen Gentlemen Prefer Blondes you're likely familiar with "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend." It's right up there with the white dress over the grate scene from The Seven Year Itch, as one of the most iconic moments in the actresses career. It's been parodied and referenced numerous times before, including in Madonna's "Material Girl" music video.

There isn't much of an explanation in the trailer as to how this sequence fits into the larger story. We see Harley Quinn, apparently being beat-up, likely tortured for information, drop her head, and then we see her raise her head in her Marilyn Monroe inspired outfit. If these two shots really are in sequence in the film, and not just in the trailer, then the musical number could be a sort of mental escape for Quinn since she doesn't like the place where she is in real life.

Since Harley Quinn is supposed to be "crazy" we could potentially see multiple moments like this where the character's reality and fantasy get more than a little blurry. Will this musical interlude just be a dive into Harley's psyche that includes a dance number or is there more going on here? That we certainly can't tell from the trailer, but give it a look if you want to check it out again.

Based on the early reaction, people seems to love the new trailer for Birds of Prey and are that much more excited to see the movie now. Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn certainly looks great once again. Although, I, for one, am certainly looking forward to seeing more about the other Birds of Prey characters.

They weren't give much time to shine in trailer number one. Of course, there's plenty of time before the movie actually hits theaters and so we're sure to get at least one more trailer before the film arrives in theaters.

Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn) hits theaters February 7, 2020.

Marilyn Monroe was a blonde bombshell, a movie star known for her sultry voice and her even sultrier looks. She's still remembered more than fifty years later for her looks and the timbre of her voice, but if John Huston's The Misfits had gotten its way, she would have made movie history for appearing in one of the first nude scenes onscreen.

A scene from the 1961 movie was recently discovered, which showed Marilyn Monroe in a romantic entanglement with Clark Gable in the movie The Misfits. During a love scene, John Huston filmed a shot where Marilyn Monroe had a sheet around her body but dropped the sheet, exposing herself to her lover. It would have made sound era movie history as being one of the first nude scenes onscreen, and as Deadline notes, if the footage had made it into theaters, it could have actually been the first nude scene in the sound era.

Instead, the shot was locked away, not seeing the light of day for many years. Although it seems people knew of the nude scene's existence, it was thought that someone connected to the movie had destroyed the footage long ago. A book author, Charles Casillo, is the person who actually came across the long-lost footage. He was researching Norma Jean Baker's life and career for his novel Marilyn Monroe: The Private Life of a Public Icon. He spoke with Curtice Taylor, the son of a producer on The Misfits, learning that Taylor had come across the nude scene when his father Frank Taylor had died. He'd opted to put the nude scene away in a locked drawer since 1999, where it lay until Charles Casillo found out about it.

Marilyn Monroe had enjoyed a long career by the time The Misfits came out in 1961, but she was struggling with substance abuse, as well as anxiety and depression by the early sixties. The John Huston movie would end up being her last film, as Monroe died from an overdose of barbiturates on August 5, 1962. The Misfits had come out more than a year prior. Marilyn Monroe was only 36 years of age at the time of her death.

Although John Huston didn't end up using the nude scene in the final draft of the film, Frank Taylor reportedly realized at the time that even filming the scene was significant and hung onto it. Currently, Curtice Taylor has not decided what to do with The Misfits footage moving forward, but we'll keep you updated should it go to auction or see the light of day in other ways.

Fans of the actress will be able to purchase the book this week. You can pre-order your own copy now.

Over the years, Snickers has been responsible for producing some of the funniest commercials on TV, from “I’m Batman” to Betty White and Abe Vigoda playing football. They’ve done it yet again with the company’s newest Super Bowl ad, in which Willem Dafoe gets his Marilyn Monroe on, and it’s one that rivals the fabulous promo from last year’s game that featured Danny Trejo as Marcia Brady. Check it out!

There is so much there that I never thought I’d see, and I’m not just talking about Willem Dafoe’s upper thigh area when his dress flies up. Okay, I guess I’m mainly talking about Dafoe’s thighs. Hunger for nougat makes me fib.

The commercial, which will air at some point during Super Bowl 50, is a callback to one of Hollywood’s most iconic visuals, with Marilyn Monroe standing above a New York City sewer grate and getting her skirt blown up by a passing subway train as part of a publicity stunt for Billy Wilder’s The Seven Year Itch, the movie she was filming at the time. It’s a moment that remains tied to anyone’s memory when Monroe’s name comes up, which ain’t too shabby an image to have in one’s head.

On the other hand, it’s nowhere near as pleasant to now have this Snickers commercial come to mind anytime I think about Dafoe or Monroe. Or Snickers. Or subways. Or clothing. Not that Dafoe doesn’t look good for his age or anything, and he’s obviously comfortable enough with his body to do the commercial. But my brain is now scarred!

Snickers teased this commercial recently by using another famous moment from Marilyn Monroe’s short life, though it wasn’t quite clear that Willem Dafoe was the other person involved. I mean, he was in tons of shit in 2015, including John Wick and The Grand Budapest Hotel, so it probably should have been obvious that he would portray Monroe for a candy bar commercial.

This was just one of several Super Bowl commercials debuting online ahead of their high-dollar spots as part of the telecast. We’ve already seen Seth Rogen and Amy Schumer campaigning for Bud Light, Ryan Reynolds cloning himself and the most nightmarish Mountain Dew commercial ever. And there are bound to be more weird and hilarious surprises popping up on the night.

Super Bowl 50 is set to air on CBS on Sunday, February 7. Be sure to have all of your snacks and drinks made before it starts, and maybe stick a toilet in the corner of the living room. Also, invite me over.

It looks like Watchmen’s “The Comedian” is taking on the role of a baseball God. That’s right, Jeffrey Dean Morgan is ready to put on his cleats and play Yankee Clipper Joe DiMaggio in Lifetime’s new Marilyn miniseries. The new production, simply titled Marilyn, is slated to be a four-hour miniseries based on J. Randy Tarraborrelli’s book “The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe.” Morgan is the final piece of the puzzle in the production, which already has a pretty impressive pedigree. Susan Sarandon and Emily Watson are also signed on in supporting roles. DiMaggio, who would have turned 100 years old this week, is one of the greatest known baseball players of all time and was the second husband to actress Marilyn Monroe.

Morgan is a smart choice for the role of DiMaggio who is coming off the well-received but short-lived STARZ cable series Magic City. He's also been in a slew of other projects, including Showtime’s hit Shameless and Weeds. It will be interesting to see Morgan play the Yankees legend, especially since the project won't be focused on DiMaggio as a baseball icon. Instead, he'll also be a man desperate for love and a family. No word on just how big Morgan’s role in the miniseries is going to be, but with his name now attached, it is presumed that the DiMaggio marriage will be an integral part of the story--especially since we know how wild that relationship really was while it lasted.

The 9-month marriage between DiMaggio and Monroe was a dizzying affair of love and jealousy, ending with Joe D. still madly in love with the bombshell. At the time of the marriage, DiMaggio had just retired from baseball and was looking for a wife to settle down with and have a family. However, Monroe’s star was on the rise. She would eventually become one of the most insanely popular actresses in history, and marriage to DiMaggio didn't fit into her career plan. Rumors also swirled that the whirlwind marriage ended because of possible emotional abuse and physical violence, but because of the time period, much of the details were swept under the rug. This new Lifetime production plans to delve deeper into the relationship between DiMaggio and Marilyn exploring their love and bitter break up. It is well-known that DiMaggio, who never married again, was obsessed with Marilyn even after the split.

The Hall of Famer reportedly never stopped loving Marilyn and was her rock (even after divorcing) as she spiraled deeper into the world of drug and alcohol abuse. Although he did everything in his power to save her from herself, it was for naught. According to THR, DiMaggio famously had red roses delivered to her grave every week until his death in 1999 at the age of 84. Playing the role of Marilyn will be up-and-comer Kelli Garner, whose most notable credit is as a regular on ABC’s defunct series Pan Am. The miniseries plans to delve deeper into Marilyn’s life out of the spotlight in a world that could not get enough of her.

Writer Stephen Kronish is set to write the miniseries; his previous work includes 24 and ironically The Kennedys. Sherrybaby director Laurie Collyer is helming the project, as well. Jonathan Koch, Steven Michaels, Keri Selig and Kronish will executive produce. Marilyn is already in pre-production and is set to premiere on Lifetime in late 2015.

A good way to let a woman know that she’s beautiful is to just be straight up and tell her. A more extravagant way to do it is to cast her as Marilyn Monroe in a biographical miniseries. You and I might not be able to do such a thing, but Lifetime can, and they’ve hired former Pan Am actress Kelli Garner to play Monroe for the miniseries Marilyn. I wonder if there’s been an upward surge in actors fighting over the John F. Kennedy role.

Based on the best-selling book The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe by J. Randy Taraborrelli, Marilyn will see Garner getting dolled up to play one of the most famous women as she builds a career around herself. As her professional life gains ground, she is emotionally torn apart by the mental demons that plague her, thanks to her mentally ill mother, who will be played by Susan Sarandon. Their relationship is one full of love, hatred and empathy. Though Marilyn ascends to the top of that era’s pop culture, she also just wants to experience the life of a loving daughter and mother.

It hasn’t even been two full years since Lifetime debuted the abysmal Liz & Dick, and the network’s output in the meantime hasn’t exactly been outstanding. Sure, Flowers in the Attic and that Saved by the Bell movie were definitive 2014 TV highlights, but that doesn’t make them great. The presence of Sarandon and Garner, who was in features like The Aviator and Lars and the Real Girl, could mean good things for Marilyn, whose four-hour runtime will definitely allow for as much character development as possible.

Marilyn is written by Stephan Kronish, whose most recent small screen effort was the similar bio-miniseries The Kennedys. (Does that make this a spinoff?) Before that, he wrote for such crime-ridden series as 24, Wiseguy and The Commish, to name a few. Directing Marilyn will be Laurie Collyer, whose latest work was last year’s indie drama Sunlight Jr.; and before that, 2006’s Sherrybaby.

Kelli Garner can be seen this month in theaters for Alexandre Aja’s horror drama Horns with Daniel Radcliffe. She’s currently filming Zachary Shedd’s Americana and also stars in Robert Edwards’ drama When I Live My Life Over Again with Christopher Walken and Amber Heard.

Though Lifetime recently cancelled its sci-fi series The Lottery, the network will continue with business as usual. They’re turning their Christina Ricci-starring Lizzie Borden TV movie into a series, for one. And on the movie side, their upcoming slate includes biopics for Brittany Murphy, Whitney Houston and Aaliyah.

As Deadline puts it, Marilyn is set to hit Lifetime at some point in 2015, so tune in and don’t get caught over a street grating with dirty underwear on.

The market for collecting movie memorabilia is an interesting, if not lucrative field for the right person. If you've got the cash, or if you've got the product, then there's a chance that a deal can be made that's beneficial to both parties. But in the history of movie prop auctions, there's an elite few that have made quite a bit of cash on the names of the films or the actors that used them, and out of all of those items there's one that's head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to its generated windfall.

Thanks to eBay's Entertainment Memorabilia, we have the graphic you see below which lists 33 high profile props and lists them in order from the most expensive to the least expensive. So what ranked at the top of the list? None other than Marilyn Monroe's classic white dress from The Seven Year Itch, which banked a beautiful $4.6 million! If you're having trouble remembering where you've seen that dress before, here's the infamous clip that it's always seen in.

So why would Marilyn's dress from The Seven Year Itch bring in so much money? Well, theres a couple of key factors that collectors need to keep in mind when buying or selling items like these. Authenticity is key, but so are demand and collectability. Also, it's usually the older props that tend to fetch more money, simply because of their rarity. How much do you think a vial of Dr. Erskine's Super Soldier formula from Captain America: The First Avenger would go for? Go ahead, take a guess. The answer is a surprising $3,959; ranking it as the least expensive prop on the list. For reference, here is the complete list of all 33 items.

While Captain America: The First Avenger was a popular movie, it wasn't an all time record holder, and it's a fairly recent film. However, if you were to buy that prop now and hold onto it for, say 20 or 30 years, you'd probably see the value skyrocket. A prop from a Chris Evans film from back in 2011 isn't worth much in 2014, but a prop from the a film with the original Captain America, during Marvel's successful Phase 1 of their Marvel Cinematic Universe (now celebrating it's second decade of operation!) is something that'll probably fetch a pretty penny.

Rarity, Authenticity, and Popularity... those are all of the things you need to keep in mind when collecting, assessing, and selling a movie prop or item of memorabilia. For the lucky person who kept Marilyn Monroe's most famous outfit in pristine condition for all of those years, they nailed all three, and they walked away with that cool payday that could either pay off some bills, or go towards investing in further collectibles.

Who knows what'll be popular or valuable in a couple of years? For all you know, those Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace action figures (complete with Com-Tech reader, and TWO Jar Jar Binks figures) you've kept in the basement could be worth something in another 10 years. So spend wisely, and don't forget that complete flops/infamous failures also fetch some nice money over time!

Fred Otash might not be a household name these days, but in the 1950s and 1960s, he was the go-to guy for Hollywood celebrities when they needed dirt uncovered, a scandal buried or an ex spied on. Over the course of about ten years from 1955 to 1965, he worked for some of the era’s most powerful magazines, interacted with some of the most famous people on Earth, provided inspiration for the movie Chinatown and committed an untold number of crimes. Now, some of his files have come to light, and not surprisingly, they’ve got more than a few stories to share.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, arguably the craziest two stories inside his extensive network of files involve Rock Hudson and Marilyn Monroe. Otash was reportedly hired by Hudson’s wife Phyllis to look into her husband’s homosexuality. Over the course of his duties, he allegedly recorded conversations between the couple, including one he transcribed that featured Phyllis asking Rock why he didn’t last longer sexually when they were together and whether he lasted longer when he was with boys. Apparently, he did and was willing to admit it.

As for Monroe, Otash’s notes indicate he was outside of JFK’s brother in law Peter Lawford’s beach house in Malibu the night the famed actress died. He allegedly overheard arguments about Monroe’s promiscuous nature, and Kennedy wound up storming off. If true, that’s a hell of a story, but when it comes to private detectives, especially ones as flamboyant as Otash, everything always needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

Moving forward, Otash’s legacy, or at least a version of his legacy, will be chronicled in a new television program. Here’s to hoping it lives up to his crazy life.

50 years after her death at only 36 years old, Marilyn Monroe still draws a crowd. Yesterday, hundreds of fans gathered at her Westwood Memorial Park crypt to remember her, and to attend a memorial service in the same chapel where her funeral was held in 1962.

The memorial service was one of a four-day series of gatherings and events that brought fans from all over the world to Los Angeles; also included was a special run of Marilyn: Forever Blonde, a one-woman play starring Sunny Thompson, a screening of one of Monroe’s movies, and a tour of the places she lived and frequented. Fans ended the tour, organized by Mary Sims of Immortal Marilyn Fan Club, with a sunset champagne toast to Monroe on Santa Monica beach. The many events, prove that Marilyn Monroe remains as powerful a presence as she was when she passed away half a century ago.

The waif who became the world’s biggest star is, if anything, more popular than ever; interest in her has skyrocketed with shows like Smash and the film My Week With Marilyn which earned Michelle Williams an Oscar nomination. But the people who gathered to remember Marilyn yesterday were there to honor the woman behind the myth.

Among those present at the memorial service, organized by Greg Schreiner of the long-running fan club Marilyn Remembered, were several people who knew Marilyn and a whole lot more who wish they had. Speakers at her service included Stanley Rubin, producer of Monroe’s film River of No Return, photographer George Barris, and Amy and Joshua Greene, the wife and son of Marilyn’s business partner and photographer Milton Greene. They spoke of the woman they remembered not as a movie star, but as a friend.

Marilyn’s crypt was stacked with flowers, cards, and photographs, notes from the fans she continues to inspire to this day. An actress who was never taken seriously in her own time, Marilyn Monroe’s legend has grown in the 50 years since her death. Books about her life number in the hundreds; she has been analyzed by the likes of Gloria Steinem and Normal Mailer, and she has finally been recognized for the one thing she most wanted; as a gifted actress and more than simply a sex symbol.

Marilyn draws fans from all walks of life; her enduring influence is evidenced by the devotion of her fans, who came from as far away as New Zealand, Italy, and Spain, and by her continual presence in pop culture so long after her passing. Her tragic death ensured her place as a legend, and it shows no sign of wearing off.

I can't think of any other star who remains so present after half a century, nor can I think of any start today who might be remembered in the same way. Marilyn Monroe was one of a kind; an American icon.

This summer will mark fifty years since the death of Marilyn Monroe, and the iconic blonde actress has already been back in the public eye with shows like Smash and the film My Week With Marilyn for which Michelle Williams earned an Oscar nod as Monroe. And now, there are plans for a reality show aimed at locating the “next Marilyn Monroe”.

Finding Marilyn, according to The Huffington Post is described as a “real life Cinderella story” in which 12 young women will compete for the chance to “emulate Marilyn Monroe’s iconic journey to stardom”, according to Nick Woodhouse, representing Monroe’s estate. Let’s start with the obvious problems, such as the fact that she has been dead for half a century and has yet to be replaced. Then there’s the fact that you can’t really call it a Cinderella story when you win a prize on a reality show. How competing in a talent show is akin to Monroe’s “journey to stardom”, I can’t quite figure out, since Monroe was never handed her position but in fact worked incredibly hard to reach the top.

The project is being developed with the full support of Monroe’s estate, which ranks among the highest-earning estates among dead celebrities. It looks like they are ready to cash in further on the renewed interest in the star brought on by the upcoming fiftieth anniversary of her death in August. I can’t say I am surprised at yet another entry into the reality-talent-competition series market, but even if I wasn’t a big fan of Marilyn, I would have my doubts about this one.

The project doesn’t yet have a network attached, nor have they said what prize the winner will earn. What I can say is that simply being called the next Monroe doesn’t make it so. Just ask every buxom blonde actress who has passed through that label in the last 50-plus years.

I promise I'm going to talk about Lindsay Lohan and her latest incremental slide away from respectability, but first, let's talk about Michelle Williams. The insanely gifted actress-- those are words we once used to describe Lohan, remember-- is winning raves for her performance in the upcoming My Week With Marilyn, in which she channels the late starlet in both her va-va-voom performances and fragile inner life. The movie occasionally slips up and buys into the played out myth of Marilyn the sexpot, but Williams firmly doesn't-- even when she's flirting relentlessly with her young assistant or signing autographs, WIlliams lets you see the human being underneath, reminding you at all time that her iconic status came at an enormous cost.

That kind of performance is pretty much the only Marilyn Monroe homage we need these days, nearly 50 years after Monroe's death and after we've seen any number of starlets follow the same bumpy road from stardom to paranoia to drug addiction to, sometimes, an early death. It's the road that Lindsay Lohan appears to be on herself, constantly in and out of jail and flirting with drugs and isolating herself from most of the people who ever believed in her. When Michelle Williams plays Marilyn Monroe, it's an interesting turn for an actress who has proven herself capable of many talents; when Lindsay Lohan mimics Monroe, as in a 2008 New York Magazine shoot, it's a spooky way of projecting the past on the soon-to-be-tragic present.

Which is why I can't possibly understand why Lohan has chosen to recreate Monroe again, this time in the pages of Playboy in a shoot that Hugh Hefner himself promises will be "classy, very classy." The photos apparently mimic the famous nude photos of Monroe taken by Tom Kelley in 1949, when Monroe was about to be let go of her contract at 20th Century Fox and was flat broke; she's said herself many times that she only did the photos for the money, and according to this memorabilia site, the $50 she was paid was the exact amount it took to get back her impounded car. The $1 million Lohan received for Playboy is obviously a much bigger payday, but probably also for the same reason: a starlet on the outs with Hollywood, left to rely on her body for cash.

It breaks my heart to see Lindsay Lohan to continue to fall apart year after year, but hearing that she's deliberately mimicking Marilyn Monroe again makes me wonder if she really doesn't get it. Why would a starlet in freefall choose to emulate another one whose career troubles spiraled into her death? Especially with Michelle Williams's more nuanced portrayal out in theaters, why would Lohan want to trot out a more shallow and tired take on Monroe? It makes me wonder if she even had any say in the matter, or if she showed up for the Playboy shoot as complacent and easily manipulated as the broke Monroe was in 1949: eager to please an industry that no longer wanted her, taking the cash and running.

LIndsay Lohan hasn't starred in a theatrically released film since 2007, and her last movie to get anything resembling good reviews was Bobby in 2006. But the $1 million payday from Playboy proves her name still means something, and when it comes time to crawl out of this muck, someone will still be interested. It was the same for Marilyn Monroe, of course, who kept working even when she was visibly falling apart. But Lindsay? Can we let the similarities end there? The more you try to emulate Marilyn, the more we're going to think you're actively rooting for your own untimely demise. There are at least a few of us left out here who are hoping for the turnaround Marilyn never managed to achieve.

We're going to see a lot of impressive performances from a lot of well-known actors over the next two months, as Oscar season ramps up and every movie with a half-decent shot at a Best Actor or Best Actress nomination crowds into theaters. And while everyone is waiting to see if Meryl Streep turns in another pitch-perfect imitation as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady, we're already getting a look at what might be the season's best portrayal as a real person. My Week With Marilyn is by no means a biopic of Marilyn Monroe-- it focuses on a single week on the set of her little-known movie The Prince and the Showgirl, and a young man's (Eddie Redmayne) experience befriending Monroe-- but Michelle Williams's performance as Marilyn utterly dominates the film. The actress known for restrained performances in Brokeback Mountain and Meek's Cutoff goes full bombshell here, and it's not even that she's doing an excellent impression of the Marilyn we know from the movies, but the scared young woman she was underneath.

Two new clips released from the film show off both sides of that performance. The first, which premiered at Moviefone, is the first thing we see in the movie-- a glitzy, sultry performance of "Heat Wave," complete with besotted male backup dancers. This is all the flash and sex appeal of Marilyn we're used to seeing.

The second, via The Playlist, is Marilyn in an obviously more intimate moment, singing in the bathtub. Make no mistake, though-- she knows perfectly well that Eddie Redmayne's character Colin can see her, and the singing is just as much for his benefit, a small act of flirtation disguised as an innocent bath.

I'm not a huge fan of My Week With Marilyn overall-- it participates in the myth-making surround Marilyn Monroe even when it claims to dismantle it, and it's a shockingly shallow story overall-- but Williams is the best thing in it, and they're wise to showcase her in all the clips. The movie comes to theaters on November 23, and since it's backed by the Weinstein Company, you can bet we'll be hearing about it constantly until the awards season is through.

The first image we saw of Michelle Williams in costume as Marilyn Monroe for the film My Week With Marilyn was a little eerie, not so much because of her resemblance to the iconic actress, but because she was done up in such extreme white powder that she looked more like a ghost than anyone living. Everything else about the movie, which follows a young man's time with Monroe on the set of her film The Prince and the Showgirl, looked solid, so it's no surprise that another, far better-lit image has already emerged.

Baz Bamigboye, a writer for the Daily Mail in London, interviewed Williams just after she had wrapped filming on My Week With Marilyn, and ran another image of her in costume, this one bathed in warm honey-colored light and throwing her head back in a classic Marilyn pose (it's the one you see above, of course). Williams also talked about her experience embodying the character, and naturally, the committed actress dug deep to make the performance credible:

Check out a large version of the image below, and click on it to get to the full Daily Mail article, which has some more insight on the real Monroe and how Williams may have unintentionally mimicked her in real life. The movie will likely show up at some point next year, with distribution from the Weinstein Company, which is currently pushing Williams for a Best Actress nomination in Blue Valentine.

Principle photography has begun on The Weinstein Company’s sideways take on the life Marilyn Monroe. It’s called My Week with Marilyn and it’s based on the real life account of a 23-year-old from Oxford who gets sucked into Marilyn’s life in 1956 as she escapes from Hollywood to Britain. Eddie Redmayne, Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Dominic Cooper, Emma Watson ("Harry Potter" films) and Julia Ormond are all in the film but Marilyn will be played by Michelle Williams. This is our first look at her in full Monroe regalia.

I’ve wondered from the beginning whether she’d be able to pull it off. Michelle is a fantastic actress, maybe one of Hollywood’s best, but she looks nothing like Marilyn. But I guess the theory here is that you can die anyone’s hair blonde and give them the Marilyn look and while I still don’t think she looks like the Hollywood icon, she’s close enough. Take a look:

Production Weekly first brought us the news last December that Michelle Williams might play Marilyn Monroe in the film My Week with Marilyn, and now they're at it again, with reports (via JoBlo) that Kenneth Branagh is in talks to start opposite Williams as Sir Laurence Olivier.

Monroe and Olivier are iconic actors from a similar time period who practically seemed to exist on separate planets, but the two co-starred in 1957's The Prince and the Showgirl, which Olivier also directed. The actor reportedly loathed Monroe, but the film My Week With Marilyn is told from the point of view of Colin Clark, Olivier's young assistant who was charged with looking after Monroe during the shoot. So while Branagh and Williams may seem like an odd pair, that's kind of the point-- Olivier was 50 during the shoot, and way too old for Monroe as a romantic match.

Branagh's participation in the film will likely depend more than anything on Thor, which is still shooting and will require plenty of his time in the post-production process. It's hard to imagine him being able to make the time any time within the next year, but it's also hard to imagine anyone better suited to play Olivier, so maybe the production can hold out for him anyway.