See Dakota Johnson and Ellen Burstyn as two versions of Marilyn Monroe in short film “Flesh Impact”
See Dakota Johnson and Ellen Burstyn as two versions of Marilyn Monroe in short film “Flesh Impact”
Raechal ShewfeltTue, July 28, 2026 at 12:03 AM UTC
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Dakota Johnson, Marilyn Monroe, and Ellen BurstynCredit: Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty; Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty; Noam Galai/NBC via GettyKey Points -
Dakota Johnson and Ellen Burstyn will both portray Marilyn Monroe in a new short film, Flesh Impact, which released its first photos.
The movie is scheduled to premiere in September at the 2026 Venice International Film Festival.
Maggie Gyllenhaal, director of The Bride! and The Lost Daughter, wrote and directed the film.
Marilyn Monroe didn’t have the chance to grow older, so Maggie Gyllenhaal imagined what it would have been like if she had.
Gyllenhaal’s new short film, Flesh Impact, features both Dakota Johnson, 36, and Ellen Burstyn, 93, in the role of the star of Some Like It Hot, The Seven Year Itch, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Bus Stop, and more. The project will have its world premiere in September at the 2026 Venice International Film Festival, the same year the icon would have celebrated her 100th birthday.
Monroe was found dead at her Los Angeles home on Aug. 5, 1962, and her death was determined to have been an overdose of barbiturates. She was just 36.
Dakota Johnson in ‘Flesh Impact’Credit: Genesis
Along with the presentation of the film, Burstyn will receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.
The first photos from the movie, which is named after director Billy Wilder’s theory that a few leading ladies have a quality that makes audiences feel as if they can touch them through the screen, were released Monday.
Ellen Burstyn in ‘Flesh Impact’Credit: Genesis
Marilyn Monroe estate holders gave their blessing to the project, which is presented by auto brand Genesis.
In addition to Johnson and Burstyn, the cast includes Peter Sarsgaard, Gyllenhaal’s Emmy-nominated husband from movies such as Shattered Glass and September 5 and shows including Dopesick and Presumed Innocent, as well as The Pitt’s Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi, Sepideh Moafi.
“I’ve always been fascinated by Marilyn Monroe,” Gyllenhaal said in a news release. “So, when Genesis first came to me with the idea of a celebratory project for her centennial, I knew I wanted to work together on bringing this story to life. With Flesh Impact, we showcase the timeless icon we know and love through a modern lens that reclaims her story.”
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The director’s previous films include 2021’s The Lost Daughter, which starred Johnson, Olivia Colman, and Jessie Buckley, and earned three Oscar nominations, and The Bride!, which was released in March and featured Buckley, Christian Bale, Annette Bening, Penelope Cruz, Sarsgaard, and Gyllenhaal’s brother, Jake Gyllenhaal, in the tale of Frankenstein’s bride.
Her latest subject is one that has kept fans interested for generations.
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Johnson’s own mother, Melanie Griffith, was compared to Monroe in the ‘80s when she starred in Working Girl and Body Double.
“Some people make the comparison because they think it is an insult,” Griffith told UPI in November 1986. “But I take it as a compliment.”
The daughter of actress Tippi Hedren said she’d encountered Monroe briefly.
“Mother told me Marilyn came into the hospital room to hold me the day I was born,” Griffith said. “Marilyn had suffered a miscarriage the day before and just wanted to hold a baby.”
Monroe was “an incredible actress” who “got screwed up pretty badly in her private life,” Griffith said.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
