Andrew Dominik Still Baffled by the Blonde Backlash

Andrew Dominik is still baffled by the blowback to Blonde. More than a year later, he says he likes the movie, he thought people would get what he was doing, and he cannot wrap his head around why they did not.

'It is kind of a horror film'

Speaking at the Marrakech Film Festival during a conversation with French producer Ronald Chammah (as reported by Variety), Dominik laid out his confusion over the response to his 2022 Marilyn Monroe drama.

"I don't understand. [I was] surprised by the reaction. It is kind of a horror film, and I guess that is what people did not expect. But I like it."

Why Blonde rubbed people the wrong way

Quick refresher: Blonde is a fictionalized take on Marilyn Monroe's life and career, with Ana de Armas in the lead. The film carried an NC-17 rating and features graphic depictions of sexual abuse. For a lot of viewers, that translated to an exploitative, dehumanizing portrait of an icon, which is where the outrage came from. Others saw a bold, brutal piece of art. Hence: stalemate.

• Released in 2022 with an NC-17 rating and backed by Netflix
• Graphic scenes of sexual abuse sparked accusations of exploitation
• Critical and audience reaction split down the middle
• Critic Chris Bumbray praised it but called it an incredibly tough watch and one of the most upsetting films in recent years
• He also argued that, if you can stomach it, it is a great work of art and credited Netflix for letting Dominik go fully uncompromising
• Ana de Armas landed a Best Actress Oscar nomination
• The movie also won Worst Picture at the Razzies

Brad Pitt, the parole board, and 'director jail'

Dominik also gave some candid behind-the-scenes color on his ongoing partnership with Brad Pitt. Pitt starred in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and Killing Them Softly, and he produced Blonde. (Side note: Jesse James is a stunner.) Dominik says Pitt is the reason he keeps getting to make movies after each divisive release, joking that every time he is thrown into 'director jail,' Pitt shows up like a friend at the parole board to vouch for him and promise the next one will be more user-friendly. In Dominik's words, Pitt protects him, and he knows how lucky he is to have that kind of friendship.

So what is next?

Dominik says he has two projects in motion and they could not be more different. One is a religious or spiritual film. The other leans hard into AI as a generative visual tool, which he says 'has no limits to it.' He described the first as raw enough to be 'not even in focus,' and the second as highly stylized, built by cannibalizing other images. If nothing else, subtlety is not on the menu.