Ana de Armas hasn’t done much in the way of Oscar-campaigning. She’s nominated for Best Actress for her role as Marilyn Monroe in Blonde, an unequivocally terrible movie. Ana tried to give an okay performance, but they really turned Joyce Carol Oates’ book into a torture-p0rn mess in which fetuses were repeatedly “talking” to Marilyn. In any case, Ana hasn’t been campaigning because she’s currently working on Ballerina, a John Wick-spinoff action film. She did make time to appear on the cover of Vanity Fair’s Hollywood Issue, and she did this mini-interview with Vanity Fair:
Relating to Marilyn: “There was a lot there that I could relate to. If you put Marilyn Monroe “the movie star” aside, she’s just an actress trying to navigate life and this system, which is so hard to navigate for anybody. On top of that, you add this point of view of Andrew’s, which was to see that through her trauma. I truly thought it was going to do justice to a more dimensional human being, because I wouldn’t want to be remembered just for one thing. I am more than just an actress on the cover of a magazine.
Does Hollywood still produce movie stars like Marilyn? “I feel like the new generations don’t have that concept, because of social media. There is so much information out there and oversharing. The concept of a movie star is someone untouchable you only see onscreen. That mystery is gone. For the most part, we’ve done that to ourselves—nobody’s keeping anything from anyone anymore.
Blonde’s portrayal of the entertainment business: “The sad part for me—and the most challenging—is to see not only what happened in the ’40s and ’50s and ’60s but to see patterns continue to happen. It’s definitely made me more protective of myself and set boundaries and know my limits for how much I’m willing to give—and how much I want to keep to myself. But at the same time, it clearly is a place where incredible opportunities happen. I’m very grateful to be working in the industry.
She only has Instagram now: “Yeah, at this point I only have Instagram, and I barely use it because I just feel like things are always wrong on social media. If it was up to me, I would delete Instagram right now, but I can’t. I understand that I’m not just an actress. I have other brands that I’m working with and I have other commitments. It’s been good for Blonde and for films that I want to talk about. It’s tricky because you feel the pressure to share some personal insight, or something about your private life, to keep people interested in you. You have to find a balance somehow, which I find very difficult.
Facing scrutiny when she was dating Ben Affleck: “The pandemic was horrible for everyone. In any other city, people were just hanging out with their families or bored at home or walking their dogs. The problem in LA is that, I guess, they were so bored that all they had to do was scrutinize someone else’s daily life. It was kind of frustrating that my work wasn’t coming out—Bond got delayed three times and then Blonde wasn’t coming out either. But also, I was working nonstop, literally one thing after the other, and that was good.
I’ve seen people criticize her for the comments about social media and actors not having mystery anymore… but I don’t know, I think she’s halfway correct. People do overshare, actors included, and a lot of actors aren’t banking on “mystery” anymore. There are exceptions, notably in this year’s class of Oscar nominees: Michelle Yeoh isn’t telling us everything about her life, neither is Cate Blanchett. Colin Farrell has kept his private life buttoned up for years. And on and on. Plus, the business model of Hollywood has changed and there aren’t as many “movie stars” in general. “Accessibility” is seen as more important than “mystery” too, at least in this current era.
Covers & IG courtesy of Vanity Fair.
“If it was up to me, I would delete Instagram right now, but I can’t. I understand that I’m not just an actress. I have other brands that I’m working with“
It seems to me that saying this would devalue her as an ambassador to these brands as she’s making her SM look inauthentic
You’re right, of course, but it’s not damaging because that’s how it is, and we all know it. It’s the normative at this point.
We’re too far gone down the rabbit-hole for it to matter.
She bores me.
This has been true for a while, but it isn’t due to social media. I’m an old, and once upon a time there were movie stars and there was tv stars. A movie star would never lower him/herself by appearing on Tv. That line was crossed a long time ago, and now it’s completely blurred. Tv roles, think The Sopranos, have become career launching, respectable and very desirable. I guess this is news to younger people?
And also having actors or singers in beauty brands when we used to have models. They are everywhere and it gets boring to see the same faces over and over again.
I miss models on the covers of fashion magazines. Nowadays you see the covers and ads and go like “not you again, ugh.” I feel so old.
I spent the summer one year in the basement of our local public library in order to escape the heat (no air con at home), where I whiled away the hours looking through old Life magazines, which the library had bound in blue volumes, two months at a time (it was a weekly magazine), from Jan/Feb 1950 forward. Movie and TV stars did ads for makeup, cars, cigarettes, etc. That part is nothing new. The medium has changed–magazines to internet–but it’s still PR & extra income for the stars.
I think streaming services like Netflix have definitely blurred the boundaries between film and TV because everything is being seen on the same platform now. Streaming is king now and TV shows like Stranger Things, Bridgerton and The Crown seem to be way more talked about than films these days. I can’t think of any Netflix film that has had the same hype as these shows.
There also weren’t as many paparazzi as now and people didn’t have phone cameras to snap stars when they saw them out. The media would help keep the mystery by not trying to invade stars’ personal lives as much as they do now. Even without SM, the “mystery” would have declined.
The paparazzi thing happened back in the late 90s, early 2000s. It was partly the new market of the internet coming online, but it was also that Hollywood had started pushing actual filming of movies and TV shows to Canada to save money. That cost lots of Los Angelenos their livelihoods. LA had been a safe zone for stars, largely because they were at the top of an ecosystem that provided an income for a large portion of the people they interacted with. When that was no longer true, the paparazzi moved in.
“ The media would help keep the mystery by not trying to invade stars’ personal lives as much as they do now”
That’s not true at all, the media back then invade stars’ lives even more than they do know. Laws were created because the media took the invasion of celebrities’ live to another level.
The only difference is the internet and social media took it to another level. Back then there wasn’t enough space in the newspaper to put out all the gossip the media dug up so they only put out the info that would get the most attention and it took time to get those papers to be printed and put out. Now the media can put out hounds of stories in minutes with the click of a button and about any celebrity worldwide.
Laws were created in the 50’s and 60’s for this?
No laws crated in the last 40 years or so because of some other the things that happened in the 40’s and 50’s and beyond.
What a great cover pic.
I don’t know, but maybe it would have been easier for Marilyn to get the help and support she needed in the digital age. Maybe opening up more is a lot of the time a good thing
Agree, the options today are many, you can contact almost anyone with a click.
I think we (society) would have tortured Marilyn the same way we tortured Britney.
The quality of Hollywood movies has also declined sharply: there are few movie stars because there are fewer movies that showcase their talent.
Anyone who became a bona fide movie star in the last 10 years has had a great movie or franchise or series behind them.
We remember the movie stars of the past, but there must have been a thousand other working actresses that had big dreams and were forgotten.
I’m not sure if the social media vs mystery angle holds up: I know who Chiara Ferragni is, but she’s not comparable to a true movie star, she’ll pale next to, IDK, Zendaya.
Movie stars of the past were also movie stars because of the publicity machine of the studios. Actors are no longer under contract to/under the thumb of the studio, they no longer film as many movies per year, they no longer have to do the bidding of studio PR departments.
I don’t think it was mystery that made stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood larger than life. It was the studio system. They created images for their stars under contract, and sometimes the images created were wildly different from the reality. But except for someone like Greta Garbo, there wasn’t a lot of mystery about these people. Just misdirection. And stars in the past we’re allowed to have imperfect, asymmetrical faces (as in, “They had faces then”) whereas today’s stars are kinda cookie cutter. But really, it was the studio who protected and promoted their stars that was the difference between today and stars from “old” Hollywood.
This. I know we are all pretty on the ball celebrity wise here, but for those who haven’t listened I would strongly recommend the podcast You Must Remember This. As a Gemini with a near photographic memory I have always been really good at remembering useless trivia and apparently one of my strengths is movies/Hollywood history. Anyway my point is I have a lot of interests and know lots of facts and for whatever reason one of them is this particular niche. And the podcast I mentioned is FULL of goodies if you’re into that sort of thing. Karina Longworth, the host, does a great job of covering the history of Hollywood from its early years into today. She’s gone from silent films all the way into the 1980s so far. Years of work, very comprehensive. You’ll learn a lot and come away with a better understanding of Hollywood and the way it works and why.
Thank you for this recommendation!
I completely agree.
Argghh, had I only read a bit further before commenting! Exactly this! The studio system made stars because the system needed stars. And the YMRT podcast does a great job of exploring this subject.
Be more like Winona Ryder.
I think working actors are so much more interesting. Just do their jobs and live their lives. I really don’t need the mystery or trying to make someone larger than life to enjoy a movie.
And this is why we’re in the best era. No one should be seen as a larger than life entity like actors and supermodels were seen in the past. They’re people with a job, like everyone else.
The actors/actresses are no longer the draw. It’s the directors. I like Michelle Yeoh for example but she alone can’t get my butt into a theater. Tell me it’s an A24 or Rian Johnson film, I’m there.
Society would be better in general if the focus would shift from celebs to people with accomplishments like SCOTUS Ruth Bader Ginsburgh.
Not one person on that Hollywood cover of Vanity Fair interests me enough to call them a movie star.
I find this ironic coming from the thirstiest woman on the planet while she was dating Ben A. Those two bombarded social media with their staged walks to get coffee nearly every week.
It’s tongue in cheek right? girlfriend was living it up for the paps, but now so condescending.
Right? I read this quote & immediately thought of those IG photos from some desert resort during the pandemic.
That’s 100 percent Ben Affleck and the way he is a pap magnet no matter WHO he is with. Whether or not that is him promoting it or the fact that paps can always sell whenever he is in a picture doing nothing or something is an argument for another day. But she said she was uncomfortable with it and I believe her based on the fact she moved away from LA and is only heard about when the topic is her work since they split makes me believe her.
She had no problem posting about her relationship on Instagram and even created a whole Instagram just about her and Ben’s relationship. She had no problem doing the daily pop walk smiling for the cameras so she wasn’t that uncomfortable. I think the real problem was the bad press and the negativity that pushed her way because like any woman who dated Ben gets blamed for everything.
Don’t get me wrong Ben also thirst for media attention because when he wants to go unseen he is.
Please explain the cardboard cutout then lol. I don’t remember Ben being in any of those photos.
don’t forget the big photo standup!
Michelle Yeoh and Cate Blanchett and Colin Farrell were all firmly established before social media, though. They were already Movie Stars, Ana came up in the era of social media. It’s hard to establish yourself as a star now while maintaining mystery or privacy.
I think there are the same number of movie stars out there as before – it’s just that there are a bazillion more marginal people crowding the entertainment landscape. Movie stars don’t just have talent, they have the charisma and personality to bring in an audience no matter what part they play. That’s rare and can’t be taught. But now, with so many distribution outlets looking for content, there aren’t enough movie stars to go around – so you end up with a giant mass of lesser talents and a lot of loud PR to compensate.
Sophie, you said it. Also, in terms of thirst, how did she manage to have blue arms in the group photo, stealing all focus from everyone else? I don’t regard her as a movie star, but there are many others I do.
Apparently, choosing horrible films to create disgusting torture p0rn of a beloved icon isn’t this woman’s only talent.
She comes across as articulate and thoughtful here. I can’t stand her for making Blonde, how she defends her participation in blatant misogyny, and the fact that she’s nominated for that garbage is F’ed up. She won’t win so it’s good she’s not embarrassing herself further by campaigning in the name of her better. That said, I don’t hate this interview.
Well she confirmed she was using Ben and that cardboard cutout was real she thought she’d become movie star material. Truly can’t stand the chica
Because of celebrities using social media in lieu of a publicist or excellent PR firm. You can do both, in a savvy way, but you cannot eschew one for the other and expect good results. Nope.
Terrible, unappealing actress and a thirsty one too. Everyone in that cover is either meh or cringe, except for Jonathan Majors.