Ana de Armas attends the Blonde premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival, on September 8
(Picture: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images for Netflix)Ana de Armas wiped away tears of joy as her film Blonde received a 14-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival on Thursday, September 8.
The Cuban-Spanish actor stars as Monroe in the biopic and was left overcome with emotion by the reception, the longest of any film to screen at this year’s cinematic festival.
The title was previously held by The Banshees of Inisherin, starring Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell, at 13 minutes.
Following the world premiere, the 34-year-old was seen wiping tears from her face and hugging her co-star, Adrien Brody, in footage captured by Deadline.
According to Variety, Brody, who plays Marilyn's third husband Arthur Miller, also shed a few tears as the film received a rapturous response from the audience. Also seen applauding was Brad Pitt, who produced the feature.
The biographical drama, based on the novel of the same name by Joyce Carol Oates, is one of the most anticipated titles of the festival due to de Armas’s casting as the Hollywood icon.
The lead role was originally set to be played by Naomi Watts when the project first went into development in 2010, before Jessica Chastain took over, and then De Armas was finally cast.
Speaking on the role, the Knives Out star has called it the “most intense” work she’s ever done.
She added that it was difficult to perfect Monroe’s accent, saying: “I tried! It only took me nine months of dialect coaching and practising, and some ADR sessions [rerecording dialogue after filming].”
De Armas recently revealed she spent three hours a day with a vocal coach to perfect her accent and explained that it was much more than just her voice that she had to get right.
She told the LA Times: “It was about observing her facial expressions, her mouth, the roundedness of her lips, how she showed her lower teeth, and why the ‘o’s were like that.
“Someone’s voice is more than just a specific accent. It says so much more about a person.”
The movie has achieved a rare NC-17 rating, which is only afforded to films with extremely graphic content.
Speaking of the movie, filmmaker Andrew Dominik added: “There’s something in it to offend everyone. If the audience doesn’t like it, that’s the f****** audience’s problem. It’s not running for public office.”
The director has also expressed his confusion at the film’s rating, saying: “It’s not like depictions of happy sexuality.
“It’s depictions of situations that are ambiguous. And Americans are really strange when it comes to sexual behaviour, don’t you think? I don’t know why. They make more porn than anyone else in the world.”
Blonde is released on Netflix, September 23.
