VENICE, Italy — Of all the roles Ellen Burstyn might have been offered in her 90s, that of Marilyn Monroe seemed fairly unlikely. But then one day Maggie Gyllenhaal came to her apartment to talk about a wild idea: What if she played Monroe at 100?”It sounded like a good idea to me,” Burstyn told The Associated Press.Their 17-minute short film, Flesh Impact, had its world premiere Monday (Sept 7) at the Venice Film Festival, where Burstyn, 93, also received a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.Ellen Burstyn’s Marilyn Monroe momentThough Burstyn never met Monroe, who died at 36, there was overlap. They shared a massage therapist, who would tell stories about his late friend. He even told Burstyn that she was actually quite like Monroe, and lent her one of Monroe’s old books called The Thinking Body, which had some treasures like old receipts inside.”I knew that she was not what she presented as her persona and that actually that’s a persona that she created,” Burstyn said. “She created the whole concept of Marilyn Monroe and played it.”Once, she saw her in a nightclub and Monroe nodded at her.
Leave a Reply