Dakota Johnson Discusses Playing Marilyn Monroe at 100 in New Short Film
The short film imagines what Marilyn Monroe's life might have looked like had she lived to see her 100th birthday.
Dakota Johnson appeared on TODAY to talk about her latest transformation, stepping into the role of Marilyn Monroe for a new short film. The project, titled "Flesh Impact," imagines an alternate history in which Monroe lived to celebrate her 100th birthday, offering a fictional lens on what the icon's later years might have looked like.
The film was written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, marking a creative pairing that puts Johnson in the position of embodying one of the most scrutinized figures in entertainment history.
"Flesh Impact" is set to have its debut at the Venice Film Festival in September, placing the project on one of the film world's most prominent stages shortly after its completion.
The concept of honoring what would have been Monroe's 100th birthday has surfaced across entertainment and theater in recent seasons, with various stage productions and cabaret tributes marking the occasion in their own ways. Johnson's film takes a different route, using narrative fiction rather than biography or reenactment to explore the idea.
