Many were surprised by the omission of Andrew Dominik’s “Blonde” from the Venice competition lineup. Alas, it has now been moved by Netflix into a 2022 release date. The film was supposed to have its world premiere at the upcoming Venice Film Festival, only to then be pulled out of the Venezia lineup by Netflix. I can tell you that it was 100% in competition at Venice just a few weeks ago.
Recent rumours have pointed towards the sudden move having to do with Dominik and the streaming giant fighting over final cut. A prominent film journalist, and a few others in European circles, have more or less confirmed this to me.
And so, I’ll elaborate a little further.
As it currently stands, “Blonde” is a sexually graphic NC-17 depiction of Monroe. Netflix was absolutely horrified by the cut Dominik submitted to them, which included a rape scene and “bloody menstrual cunnilingus”. They want a new version of the film, Dominik doesn’t.
The cut Netflix saw caught them completely off-guard. They were under the impression that this was an Oscar player when, in fact, it was this vague, obtuse arthouse film. Not sure what they expected from Dominik.
Now we wait for the next move for this film. The obvious decision would be a bow at Sundance or Berlin in 2022. Both festivals will likely be hybrids of digital and in-person screenings, although, the way things are going right now in regards to COVID cases, the former is the more likely scenario.
Edward Berger seems to have settled on what comes next. His Lance Armstrong biopic, starring Austin Butler, is now holding casting calls, with production eyed for January.