Marilyn Monroe film Blonde to premiere at Venice Film Festival

Adrien Brody, left, and Ana de Armas in Blonde (Netflix via AP)

A nearly three-hour epic examining the public and private life of Hollywood superstar Marilyn Monroe is having its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival on Thursday.

Blonde – one of the most anticipated films on the festival’s slate – is based on a work of biographical fiction by Joyce Carol Oates and takes in the star’s troubled childhood as Norma Jeane through to global stardom as Marilyn Monroe.