ms. monroe.

I have a list of actors/actresses that annoy me or who just can't claim me as a fan -- not for any particular reason; it's just that their work hasn't struck me in a significant way. Who's among that list? Tom Cruise. Gwyneth Paltrow. Russell Crowe. And until recently, Michelle Williams.

While she was superb opposite Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain, I hadn't seen anything else that convinced me that she was worthy of the iconic-love-of-my-life-celebrity-obsession-role-of-a-lifetime Marilyn Monroe in My Week with Marilyn. I'm obsessed with this woman -- you know the casting is a serious issue for me. There are several Monroe projects floating around -- Naomi Watts snagged a role (another on my "list"), and it was rumored for a while that Angelina Jolie would play the sex icon alongside George Clooney as Frank Sinatra (now that I could definitely get behind. To. Die. For.), but there wasn't any actress that I felt had enough of that thing to capture the complexities of Ms. Monroe.

Now, I still have my doubts about Michelle, but after getting pumped up about Blue Valentine once I read all of the stellar reviews and watched some of her promo interviews, I did a little more digging about the Marilyn project. I have to say -- I'm actually excited now. Skeptical, of course, but excited nonetheless. Her demeanor in her interviews is very Marilyn-esque, and these first pictures of Michelle are as close to perfect as anyone trying to imitate Marilyn will get (no, noone will hit it dead on -- not even you, Lindsay or Megan).

I always knew she was a capable actress, and once Blue Valentine comes to a local theater, I'm sure I'll have more weight to justify my pseudo-confidence in this project. It doesn't hurt that Emma Watson (aka Hermoine Granger) also snagged a role in the film. Harry Potter obsession :)

Who else do you think would be a good choice to play the legendary Marilyn Monroe?