Ana de Armas explains why she didn’t feel exploited while filming her nude scenes for Blonde, and explains that the environment on set was very safe.
The following article contains discussions about sexual assault.
Ana de Armas explains why she didn’t feel exploited when it came to filming blond‘s nude scenes. Based on the book of the same name by author Joyce Carol Oates, blond is written and directed by Andrew Dominik and centers on Marilyn Monroe. Like the book, blond contains a fictionalized account of Monroe’s life, detailing the late starlet’s fame in the 1950s and her death from a drug overdose in 1962. blond recently premiered at the Venice Film Festival, received mixed reviews from critics, but garnered praise for the Armas’ powerful lead as Monroe.
De Armas has spoken extensively about how serious and all-encompassing Monroe’s role has been for her. In addition to an impressive physical transformation, the star also undergoes a unique accent for the film. Even before the first trailer was released for blond, Dominik made it clear that the film doesn’t shy away from showing the less glamorous aspects of Monroe’s life from Oates’s book, which features graphic depictions of sexual assault. The Armas has spoken before blond‘s NC-17 rating, explaining that it was important to her that the film honestly explores the disturbing events that shaped Monroe as a person.
In a new interview with EWde Armas discusses her nude scenes in blond, showing that she never felt exploited by them. The actor says the scenes were heavily discussed beforehand and the environment on set was safe and dominated by a sense of respect for the material. Ultimately, De Armas explains, watching those scenes as a spectator is probably a more difficult experience than the one she had while filming them. Watch the Armas’ full response below:
People look harder [those scenes] than for me to make them because I understood what I was doing and I felt very protected and safe. I didn’t feel exploited because I was in control. I made that decision. I knew what kind of movie I was doing. I trusted my director. I felt like I was in a safe environment. We had hundreds of conversations about these scenes. Everyone felt a deep respect for the film we were making. And in that sense I was not afraid. I didn’t feel uncomfortable at all, even though they were really hard scenes.
Blonde Shows A Very NC-17 Version Of Marilyn Monroe’s Life
Unlike R-rated films, which allow people under the age of 17 to watch as long as they are accompanied by a parent or guardian, an NC-17 rating means that viewers under 17 are not allowed to watch the film. film at all. This rating is usually reserved for movies with highly graphic sexual material and nudity and is a rarity in Hollywood. However, reviews of blond have already suggested that the film certainly deserves this rating.
While there have been regular horror stories in the industry of actresses feeling pressured to do nude scenes, the Armas’s latest comments make it clear that her experience blond were not exploitative at all. Despite how safe she felt on set, the Armas has also expressed frustration that her blond nude scenes will be taken out of context online after the film’s release, something she has absolutely no control over. It remains to be seen how blond will be received by a general audience when it hits Netflix on September 28, but the Armas clearly worked in a very familiar and safe environment on set, which likely contributed to the rave reviews of her portrayal of Monroe.
Source: EW
