11.10.2010- Michelle does Marilyn

You might have seen this over the weekend- the first official publicity picture of Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe. Williams is portraying Monroe in My Week with Marylin, a film which is set to recall the making of The Prince and the Showgirl, and is based upon the memoirs of Colin Clark, an assistant on the 1957 production. The film also stars Kenneth Branagh as Laurence Olivier, Eddie Redmayne as Colin Clark and Judi Dench as Dame Sybil Thorndike. The supporting cast includes Dominic Cooper, Zoe Wanamaker, Simon Russell Beale and Emma Watson, in her first role since graduating from Harry Potter. The premise of the film sounds brilliant, and the cast is second to none. I'm already thinking that there may be some Oscars in the pipeline, as we all know that Michelle is a phenomenal actress. And, if this promotional image of her in full costume, hair and makeup as Marylin is anything to go by, I'd say that the producers could have chosen no-one better to play one of the most beloved cinema icons of all time:

Credit: The Weinstein Company

Talking of Marilyn, a new book called Marylin, August 1953: The Lost LOOK Photos, compiled by Brian Wallis features over one hundred previously unseen images of Monroe from 1953, taken when she was filming River of No Return. The book is released at the end of the month and, if this glimpse is anything to go by, I'd say it's definitely worth picking up:

Not only does the book showcase more of Marilyn's classic style, but it also offers a really intimate portrait of her in her element, as captured by John Vachon. Beautiful, no?

What do you think of Michelle Williams as Marilyn? Are you looking forward to seeing My Week with Marilyn? And will you be buying the book?

(Image credit: The Weinstein Company, Google Images, and John Vachon via telegraph.co.uk.)