Dakota Johnson's reported turn as Marilyn Monroe is already reigniting a familiar Hollywood debate: Can anyone successfully step into the shoes of one of the world's most enduring cultural icons?Instead of a traditional biopic, Maggie Gyllenhaal's "Flesh Impact" imagines Monroe beyond the platinum hair and red lipstick, exploring the woman behind one of pop culture's most enduring personas.Branding experts say the reaction is part of a decades-long pattern.Every generation produces another actress willing to portray Monroe, but few escape comparisons to the Hollywood icon, whose glamour, mystique and tragic legacy have made her one of the entertainment industry's most untouchable figures.
The fresh premise did little to quiet critics online, many of whom argued Hollywood should stop revisiting Monroe altogether."i think we have enough movies about her," a social media user wrote online as a first look of Johnson was shared.DAKOTA JOHNSON STUNS AS MARILYN MONROE IN FIRST LOOK AFTER DIRECTOR DOUBTED CASTINGMore than six decades after her death, Marilyn Monroe remains one of Hollywood's most enduring cultural icons, with experts saying the actress's legacy makes her one of the industry's most difficult figures to portray.(Baron/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)"Please leave Marilyn alone," another added.
"Let her rest in peace.""How many f---ing times y'all gonna reheat the Marilyn Monroe nachos supreme?" one user questioned.The backlash doesn't come as a surprise to branding experts, who say Monroe occupies a rare place in American pop culture that makes her one of Hollywood's most difficult figures to portray.Decades after her death, they argue, audiences still feel a personal connection to the screen legend."Marilyn Monroe is this irreplaceable icon that embodied glamor, mystique and tragedy.
We all feel like we know Marilyn Monroe and any actress that portrays her almost seems like an imposter," strategic communications expert Kelcey Kintner explained to Fox News Dig...