And The Oscar Goes To..... Marilyn Monroe!?

By Larry Yepez Jr.

Will Marilyn Monroe finally get that Oscar recognition which never came to her during the actress' short-lived film career? In an odd twist of fate, it turns out that Ms. Monroe might just well get that Oscar after all! Marilyn -well, not exaclty her- is now perhaps the strongest contender to win the 2011 Best Actress Oscar!

Last night was the World Premiere of The Weinstein Company’s My Week With Marilyn as the centerpiece of the New York Film Festival. Michelle Williams radiates in the film with her outstanding layered performance that goes beyond impersonation, playing both the damaged, insecure woman and the sensual superstar celebrity. Williams brilliantly brings to life one of Hollywood's most enduring and tragic icons.

Adrian Hodges' screenplay is based on two memoirs by Colin Clark, “The Prince, The Showgirl and Me” and a subsequent confessional memoir titled like the film, My Week With Marilyn.  The 23-year-old Clark was the third assistant director to Laurence Olivier during production of The Prince and the Showgirl.

My Week With Marilyn was directed by British TV producer/director Simon Curtis. Following its premiere as the Centerpiece gala of the New York Film Festival, the film will be released Nov. 4 by the Weinstein Company, which is likely planning an awards-season push behind Williams.

Charlize Theron, Glenn Close, Meryl Streep and any other Oscar hopeful better watch out because Michelle Williams as Marilyn is so good. She also flawlessly sings a couple of Monroe tunes at the beginning and end of the film...triple threat in action!  Michelle nails the part on every complex level of what Marilyn was, and has certainly put her as a frontrunner for 2011 Oscar Gold.

Although Monroe herself was not familiar to the Oscars, she was a regular at the Golden Globes where she won Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical for 1959's classic Some Like It Hot.

She was also nominated in the same category for 1956's Bus Stop.  Monroe was great in Bus Stop, but the Academy didn't recognize her performance before her tragic death in 1962. She did win some major international recognition for the 1957's The Prince And The Showgirl, winning the David di Donatello award which is the Italian Oscars as well as a a British Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Actress.

What do you think of Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe? Do you think Williams will get an Oscar for the iconic performance?

Tags Academy Awards, Adrian Hodges, Blogger: Larry Yepez Jr, British Academy Award, Bus Stop, Charlize Theron, Colin Clark, David di Donatello, Glenn Close, Golden Globes, Laurence Olivier, Marilyn Monroe, Meryl Streep, Michelle Williams, New York Film Festival, Oscars, simon curtis, Some Like It Hot, The Prince And The Showgirl, The Weinstein Company, Viola Davis