Interview: Director Simon Curtis talks My Week with Marilyn

Although Williams’ performance is the one which will probably be most frequently described as ‘Oscar-bait’, My Week with Marilyn also features lively appearances from several other familiar faces. Kenneth Branagh‘s Laurence Olivier is particularly memorable. Curtis concedes that, “when you’re casting Laurence Olivier, aged 50 particularly, Kenneth Branagh is obviously the guy. I felt very lucky.”

In fact, it seems that Curtis has been unbelievably fortunate in terms of casting this film. He clearly had no reservations about casting Harry Potter actress, Emma Watson, in her first feature film role since playing Hermione Granger. “If you’re casting an attractive, 20-year-old, English girl, Emma’s right at the top… I think she’s a brilliant actress and a brilliant woman, actually.”

Curtis already had experience of working with Dame Judi Dench, who had worked with Dame Sybil Thorndike, to whom she gives an extremely gracious portrayal. Curtis describes Dench as being, “a very kind, supportive presence on set”, revealing that his early memories of working alongside her are revisited within the film itself.

“Sybil gives Colin a scarf [in My Week With Marilyn], and when I first worked with Judi, on the last day of the shoot, she gave me a scarf.”

In addition to this, Curtis also tells me that they were able to have the same script supervisor from The Prince and The Showgirl, Elaine Schreyeck, on set for the making of My Week with Marilyn. Interestingly, Schreyeck was the same age as Marilyn herself during the original production, and gave some unique insights into what into what went on.

While moments like this certainly give My Week with Marilyn a touch of authenticity, there are clearly a number of more technical elements involved. Filming the making of a film certainly looks to be no easy task, and Curtis admits that, “it was a bit like playing 3D Suduko at times.” He goes on to tell me that it was “strange sometimes… we’d have to make sure we hadn’t left any Starbucks mugs on our desks – because it was the set, rather than the set, if you see what I mean.”

The coffee-cup-clearing has clearly paid off, along with the exceptional attention to detail which is displayed throughout this big-screen adaptation of Clark’s books. Yes, awards season is fast approaching, but that’s certainly not the only place where this film should receive it’s recognition.

My Week with Marilyn is out in UK cinemas on the 25th November.

Check out our review, here.

Interview: Director Simon Curtis talks My Week with Marilyn, 5.0 out of 5 based on 1 rating