, a film starring the Oscar-nominated actress Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe and Kenneth Branagh as Laurence Oliver, is scheduled to make its debut on October 9th when it will serve as the centerpiece gala of the 2011 New York Film Festival, organizers said on Thursday.
Directed by Simon Curtis, the highly anticipated film is based on a week that writer Colin Clark – played by Eddie Redmayne – worked as an assistant with Monroe during her filming of The Prince and the Showgirl in the United Kingdom in the early summer of 1956.
“After seeing Marilyn Monroe so often portrayed in films as a caricature, it is a pleasure to see this complex personality and unique on-screen presence portrayed so well by such a talented actress as Michelle Williams,” says NYFF selection committee chief Richard Peña.
Dougray Scott also stars in the film as Monroe’s husband, playwright Arthur Miller, while Dame Judi Dench, Emma Watson and Dominic Cooper round out the movie’s cast.
Following its 2011 NY Film Festival premiere, My Week with Marilyn will be released in theaters on November 4th.
The festival, which begins on September 30th and goes through October 16th, will also feature a special screening of the digitally-restored version of William Wyler’s 1959 epic Ben-Hur .
In addition to the two aforementioned movies, the NY Film Festival will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Japan’s Nikkatsu Films with screenings of 36 of the legendary studio’s films, two of which include Kon Ickhkawaa’s “The Burmese Harp” and Masahiro Makinoa’s “Singing Love Birds.”
Via Reuters
