Nicole Kidman recounts “How to Marry
a Millionaire”
 The
film “How to Marry a Millionaire” debuted in 1953 and helped
to catapult Marilyn Monroe to stardom. The film, in which Monroe portrays
the ditzy, yet endearing Pola Debevoise, also hosted Hollywood greats
Lauren Bacall and Betty Grable as three beautiful women who, after becoming
frustrated with dating cheap men, move into a posh New York City penthouse
and use their feminine wiles to try and snag wealthy bachelors to marry.
Millionaire takes all
Another Hollywood icon, namely Nicole Kidman, has purchased the rights
to this film and is set to revamp “How to Marry a Millionaire”
through her 20th Century Fox-based production company, Blossom Films.
Sacha Gervasi, best known for writing “The Terminal” script
for Steven Spielberg, has been commissioned to pen the screenplay, which
is said to be a more modern-day, updated reinterpretation of the classic
Monroe film. Most likely, the plot is not going to follow the original
storyline too closely, and is still very much under wraps. There have
been reports speculating on who could be cast alongside Kidman, or whether
the remodelled version will even star three leading ladies. Nicole Kidman
is rumoured to be taking over Marilyn Monroe’s role in the film.
Make me over
Kidman, a remake veteran, has already lent her thespian talents to a remake
of “The Stepford Wives” originally released in 1975, “Bewitched”,
a remake of the supernatural sitcom, and “The Invasion”, a
loose reinterpretation of the 1956 science-fiction thriller “Invasion
of the Body Snatchers.” In both “The Stepford Wives”
and “Bewitched”, Kidman took the female characters to new
lengths with regard to strong femininity and beguiling charm. Consequently,
it is exciting to speculate as to just where Kidman would take Monroe’s
character, Pola. In “How to Marry a Millionaire”, Pola is
the slightly narcissistic and charmingly daft character amongst the bunch,
and Kidman, having tread in somewhat more elevated waters, may choose
to have Pola’s intelligence quotient kicked up a few notches by
having her read some Virginia Woolf as a nod to Kidman’s Oscar-winning
performance in “The Hours.”
Battle of the Blonds
Nicole Kidman and the late Marilyn Monroe are
remarkably similar; both are blond, beautiful
bombshells that can charm the pants off almost
any audience. Kidman, with her signature sultriness
and classy demeanor, can most certainly turn
more than a few heads, but can she compete with
one of the most iconic and curvaceous coquettes
of the 20th century? While Monroe was and still
remains the epitome of a sex symbol, some say
her acting chops are definitely no match for
the Oscar-winning Kidman. Monroe may have had
her experience with high-profile marriages,
such as her unions with Joe DiMaggio and Arthur
Miller, but Kidman most definitely knows a thing
or two about marrying millionaires, namely Hollywood
heavyweight Tom Cruise and country crooner Keith
Urban. Perhaps that is why Kidman initially
signed on to the project; she just wanted to
put all that knowledge to work.
Written by Barry Cooper
Barry Cooper is an avid Marilyn Monroe fan and content provider for the Marilyn Monroe Posters site. |
