class=”alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-31519″ title=”Kenneth” src=”https://www.heyuguys.com/images/2010/07/Kenneth-220×150.jpg” alt=”” width=”220″ height=”150″ />It was announced, by Production Weekly, in December 2009 that Michelle Williams (Shutter Island) was in talks to star as Marilyn Monroe in My Week With Marilyn. Set to be directed by Simon Curtis (Cranford), and with production set to start in September, The Playlist have now revealed that Kenneth Branagh (Valkyrie) is circling the lead role of Sir Laurence Olivier.
My Week With Marilyn will reportedly be based on the diary of Sir Laurence Olivier’s employee Colin Clark. 1957, he looked after Monroe when she arrived in London to film The Prince and the Showgirl with Olivier. In 1958, Clark published excerpts of his diary but left his week with Monroe unpublished. In 2002, those entries finally saw the light of day and are now the basis for the film.
Jake Jagger was in talks for the role of Colin Clark back in May, but it is unknown whether his involvement has been made official. Bob and Harvey Weinstein (Nine) will serve as the film’s producers.
My Week With Marilyn is the second high-profile film on Monroe currently in pre-production. The other, tentatively titled Blonde, stars Naomi Watts (Funny Games) as Monroe and will be directed by Andrew Dominik (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford). Blonde will be based on the novel by Joyce Carol Oates that chronicles the inner life of Monroe.
More news is likely to be revealed as My Week With Marilyn enters production in September.
