Michelle Williams Channels Marilyn Monroe on and off Screen

Michelle Williams dazzles in Dior

It's official: Michelle Williams is no longer Miss Prim. After seasons of demure dresses, the star of My Week with Marilyn revealed some decidedly Monroe-esque cleavage in a dazzling Dior gown at the New York Film Festival afterparty for her new film. The actress tackles the daunting role of the iconic sex symbol, Marilyn Monroe, alongside Eddie Redmayne, Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Derek Jacobi and Harry Potter star Emma Watson. My Week with Marilyn hits theatres on Nov. 4.

Michelle also wore Dior at last year's NYFF screening of Blue Valentine, a role that earned her an Oscar nomination. Will this be the year she gets more than just a nomination?

PHOTOS: Michelle Williams: Fashion Through the Years

Critics are already raving over the film and her delicately introspective interpretation of the real woman inside the silver screen star, who struggled with insecurity, men, alcohol and drugs until her death from an overdose in 1962. The film is certainly enviably timed for a high profile since next year is the 50th anniversary of Monroe’s mysterious death. Talk about a built in Oscar awareness campaign. And her image is already experiencing a cultural renewal.

FILM REVIEW: My Week With Marilyn

For starters, there's the October cover of Vogue which features Michelle Williams photographed by Annie Leibovitz. Then there's a book "Intimate Exposures" by Susan Bernard which features unpublished photos by her father, Bruno Bernard, the photog behind that iconic upskirt on the subway grate shot. And a new NBC series Smash, about a Monroe-themed Broadway musical, will air in February.

VIDEO: 'My Week With Marilyn': Michelle Williams Takes on Monroe

Marilyn will also invade the retail marketplace. The Authentic Brands Group recently acquired the rights to Monroe’s likeness, image, estate and several photographic portfolios, including Bernard’s.They also plan upscale Marilyn Monroe lines of Nova Wines, Dreamwear lingerie, even Monroe merch for a skateboard company called Alien Workshop. The company has also licensed the new Christian Dior ad campaign and the commercial starring Charlize Theron — who bumps into Monroe in a dressing room — that first aired during the primetime Emmys.

We're gonna go out a limb and predict that 2012 will also be a very good year for Marilyn impersonators.

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Lisa Williams

Showing quotations 1 to 5 of 5 total Don?t blog what you don?t own. Lisa Williams, Bloggers In Love, SXSW 2006It?s really easy to complain. If you?re not careful, then you end up complaining about your whole life. Concentrating on the good things is really good. Catch people doing good. Lisa Williams, Bloggers In Love, SXSW 2006I’m the world’s least happy atheist. I miss having religious faith, but trying to have it seems like trying to be in love with someone that you’re not in love with. Lisa Williams, Learning the Lessons of Nixon, 03-29-08 The only way to last a really long time is to build something useful enough that people will want to keep it going after you die, and to cultivate a sense of ownership in other people. In short: make good shit and give it away as fast as you can. Lisa Williams, The Lessons of Nixon, 05-19-06There is no Them, there is only Us. Some of Us think this or some of Us think that, but we're all Us. Lisa Williams, Us and Them: A Blog Conversation Survival Guide, SXSW 2006

- Search for Lisa Williams at Amazon.com

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Robin Williams and son Zak Debut Online Art Exhibit

Eko Nugroho, "We Are Not Related," 2011 (Image courtesy of Lombard-Freid Projects and the artist)The actor and his gallerist son are today unveiling an art show looking at war and politics

Robin Williams has become a curator. New art website Paddle8 has partnered with the actor and his son, Zak Williams, co-founder of NYC’s Mallick Williams & Co gallery, to launch an online gallery exhibit called Taking Sides. The father and son selected 17 pieces that look at how contemporary artists address the topics of war, violence, authority and politics in their work.

STORY: TIm Burton's Star-Studded Museum Retrospective Opens in LA

Why war themes? “My father and I share a deep love for military history. We’re pretty nerdy about this type of stuff. He reads books on military strategy. It’s something we enjoy connecting on,” says Zak Williams, 28, a Columbia Business School MBA student who founded his art gallery in 2010 with his wife Alex Mallick, who formerly worked for a hedge fund. Robin Williams is also a frequent entertainer for the USO and has made numerous trips to Iraq and Afghanistan.

STORY: L.A.'s Must-See Art Shows: Schwarzenegger as God and Hollywood Trophy Wives

The show though is far from a literal look at war. It includes voices from around the globe, including Iraq, Iran, Israel, China, Pakistan, Great Britain, Canada and the United States. The pieces, which range from $2,500-$50,000, include works by such established names as Jenny Holzer and Aaron Young and up-and-coming artists. 

They include Trevor Paglen, who does long-exposure photography of military installations, and Ori Gersht. “He explodes vases and bouquets and then captures them in a moment,” says Zak Williams.

“This exhibition is a way to examine the way contemporary artists consider our current understanding of war as it has been packaged and marketed through meditation of pop culture and mass media,” said Robin Williams in a statement.

Robin Williams not only collects contemporary art but also military memorabilia. “He has samurai swords and Russian machine guns and sniper rifles and anti-tank rifles,” says Zak Williams. “It’s all sort of interesting stuff. Lots of camo stuff and swords, daggers, pistols, all sorts of figurines and emblems. He keeps them in what I call the war room, it’s about the size of a midsize bedroom.”

The innovatively designed Paddle8 website launched in May of this year. It works directly with galleries and sells the pieces by consignment. The curators are paid a consulting fee but do not “partake in the profit-sharing,” says Zak Williams. The exhibition continues until October 25.

Paddle8, which requires users to apply for membership, is one of a number of online art commerce sites that have launched this year, including Blacklots and Art.sy.  “What distinguishes us is that we are not an auction site. We’re a curatorial platform. If you are interested in a piece you can communicate with the gallery directly through Paddle8 and all of our sales can be conducted completely online,” says Andrea Hill, managing editor of Paddle8. 

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Bern Williams

A friend is a lot of things, but a critic isn't.
Bern Williams

A half-truth is usually less than half of that.
Bern Williams

An extravagance is something that your spirit thinks is a necessity.
Bern Williams

Books had instant replay long before televised sports.
Bern Williams

Few things are as democratic as a snowstorm.
Bern Williams

I like the word 'indolence'. It makes my laziness seem classy.
Bern Williams

If a June night could talk, it would probably boast it invented romance.
Bern Williams

Life is supposed to be a series of peaks and valleys. The secret is to keep the valleys from becoming Grand Canyons.
Bern Williams

Man never made any material as resilient as the human spirit.
Bern Williams

People who say, 'Let the chips fall where they may,' usually figure they will not be hit by a chip.
Bern Williams

Talent is a flame. Genius is a fire.
Bern Williams

The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring.
Bern Williams

There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face.
Bern Williams

There was never a night or a problem that could defeat sunrise or hope.
Bern Williams

We grow a little every time we do not take advantage of somebody's weakness.
Bern Williams

We may pass violets looking for roses. We may pass contentment looking for victory.
Bern Williams

What a strange world this would be if we all had the same sense of humor.
Bern Williams

Women have a favorite room, men a favorite chair.
Bern Williams

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Bern Williams

A friend is a lot of things, but a critic isn't.
Bern Williams

A half-truth is usually less than half of that.
Bern Williams

An extravagance is something that your spirit thinks is a necessity.
Bern Williams

Books had instant replay long before televised sports.
Bern Williams

Few things are as democratic as a snowstorm.
Bern Williams

I like the word 'indolence'. It makes my laziness seem classy.
Bern Williams

If a June night could talk, it would probably boast it invented romance.
Bern Williams

Life is supposed to be a series of peaks and valleys. The secret is to keep the valleys from becoming Grand Canyons.
Bern Williams

Man never made any material as resilient as the human spirit.
Bern Williams

People who say, 'Let the chips fall where they may,' usually figure they will not be hit by a chip.
Bern Williams

Talent is a flame. Genius is a fire.
Bern Williams

The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring.
Bern Williams

There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face.
Bern Williams

There was never a night or a problem that could defeat sunrise or hope.
Bern Williams

We grow a little every time we do not take advantage of somebody's weakness.
Bern Williams

We may pass violets looking for roses. We may pass contentment looking for victory.
Bern Williams

What a strange world this would be if we all had the same sense of humor.
Bern Williams

Women have a favorite room, men a favorite chair.
Bern Williams

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Sy Rosen and Christian Williams

Sy Rosen and Christian Williams
Showing quotations 1 to 2 of 2 total Joel: Ed, are you hallucinating?
Ed: Oh, yeah, but not right now. Sy Rosen and Christian Williams, Northern Exposure, On Your Own, 1992 Words are a heavy thing...they weigh you down. If birds talked, they couldn't fly. Sy Rosen and Christian Williams, Northern Exposure, On Your Own, 1992

- Search for Sy Rosen and Christian Williams at Amazon.com

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