At Venice, Ellen Burstyn reflects on playing Marilyn Monroe and a lifetime in movies

VENICE, Italy (AP) — Of all the roles Ellen Burstyn might have been offered in her 90s, that of Marilyn Monroe seemed fairly unlikely. But then one day Maggie Gyllenhaal came to her apartment to talk about a wild idea: What if she played Monroe at 100?

“It sounded like a good idea to me,” Burstyn told The Associated Press.

Their 17-minute short film, “Flesh Impact,” had its world premiere Monday at the Venice Film Festival, where Burstyn, 93, also received a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.

Though Burstyn never met Monroe, who died at 36, there was overlap. They shared a massage therapist, who would tell stories about his late friend. He even told Burstyn that she was actually quite like Monroe, and lent her one of Monroe's old books called “The Thinking Body,” which had some treasures like old receipts inside.

“I knew that she was not what she presented as her persona and that actually that’s a persona that she created,” Burstyn said. “She created the whole concept of Marilyn Monroe and played it.”

Once, she saw her in a nightclub and Monroe nodded at her.

“She was so startlingly beautiful and she caught my eye and … I felt that she recognized me,” Burstyn said. “I was very early in my career. And the fact that she recognized me, I just felt so honored and pleased.”

The Monroe short came about in somewhat unconventional fashion, through the luxury car company Genesis, whose chief marketing officer Amy Marentic approached Gyllenhaal about doing something around what would have been Monroe’s 100th birthday in June.

Gyllenhaal asked for a weekend to think about it, and landed on Marilyn, at 100, “doing basically the most vulnerable, one of the most vulnerable things I think an actor can do, which is audition, alone on a stage.”

Burstyn was the first actor she thought of.

“I just had this feeling maybe this is an opportunity for her to think about things in a new way,” Gyllenhaal said.

The two found that they shared a similar language and approach to the work.

“We are interested in the depth of what’s being revealed. And we both want to go there,” Burstyn said. “If we’re going to be doing anything, we’re gonna be doing it from there.”

Though nothing has really changed very much in how Burstyn chooses roles over the years — she just wants to be moved or challenged — having a set populated largely by women was a far cry from how things were when she was starting out.

“When I first started working, which was 150 years ago, there were no women on the set. There were no women crew. There was no woman behind the camera. If a woman was on set, that meant that she was an actress,” Burstyn said in a news conference Monday. “Then, slowly, thanks to blessed Gloria Steinem who just died, the consciousness started to change.”

Burstyn is also in a feature film, Kornél Mundruczó’s “Place to Be” alongside Taika Waititi, that’s playing at the festival. She’s feeling “slightly overwhelmed” by the whole thing.

“I have been asking myself, why do I deserve this? What have I done? It’s a long career,” she said. “And I finally came to it today that I wouldn’t have had this career without my training.”

Perhaps that is a bit modest for someone who has won an Oscar, for “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” a Tony and two Emmys for her acting. In her over 50 years in the business, she’s appeared in around 150 films and is a co-president of The Actors Studio. Burstyn even teaches acting classes occasionally, continuing the legacy of her mentor and acting coach Lee Strasberg.

“Her artistry, which could illuminate pain and everyday resilience with dignity, irony and courage, remains an absolute model of authenticity in performance and civic engagement within the craft of acting,” festival director Alberto Barbera said in a statement.

Sitting alongside Gyllenhaal the day before the big award, she described her outfit, a gown, and wondered if it was too much. Her director assured her it wasn’t: This was her day.

“I’m just really very happy to be here and very grateful to receive this award and grateful to this lady who put me in this interesting and deep and funny and wonderful movie,” Burstyn said.

For ongoing coverage of the 2026 Venice Film Festival, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/venice-film-festival

Ellen Burstyn wipes a tear from her eye after receiving the golden lion for lifetime achievement during the 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival in in Venice, Italy, on Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

Maggie Gyllenhaal speaks to the audience prior to Ellen Burstyn receiving the golden lion for lifetime achievement during the 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

Ellen Burstyn speaks to the audience after receiving the golden lion for lifetime achievement during the 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

Ellen Burstyn receives the golden lion for lifetime achievement during the 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival inl in Venice, Italy, on Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

Ellen Burstyn wipes a tear from her eye after receiving the golden lion for lifetime achievement during the 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival in in Venice, Italy, on Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

Ellen Burstyn receives the golden lion for lifetime achievement during the 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

Jury president Maggie Gyllenhaal poses for photographers at the opening ceremony and the red carpet for the film 'Ink' during the 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (Photo by Alessandra Tarantino/Invision/AP)

Jury president Maggie Gyllenhaal poses for photographers at the red carpet for the film 'A Place to Heal' during the 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. (Photo by Alessandra Tarantino/Invision/AP)

FILE - Ellen Burstyn attends the "Law & Order" 25th anniversary celebration in New York on Jan. 6, 2026. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Ellen Burstyn arrives at the AFI Awards on Friday, Jan. 12, 2024, at the Four Seasons Beverly Hills in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

PARIS (AP) — Major museums in Paris closed and authorities deployed a sizable police force for a round of new protests Saturday across France, hoping to prevent a repeat of last week’s violent unrest that shocked the country.

Scenes of looting, burned-out cars and attacks on public buildings left the impression that the government had lost control, as groups of masked vandals targeted businesses in Paris and other city centers.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said as many as 70,000 officers will be deployed nationwide, along with helicopters, armored vehicles and water cannons.

A massive turnout is expected again after more than half a million took to the streets last week.

Major museums including the Louvre, Orsay Museum, Picasso Museum and Grand Palais — where a major Cézanne exhibit is on display — are closed Saturday. Art Basel, one of the world’s most prestigious contemporary art fairs, opened to the public Friday, but only for the day, with the threat of unrest prompting organizers to cancel the weekend program.

Parisian shopkeepers have been barricading their stores all week. Near Place de la République in Paris, one of last weekend’s hot spots, a bank branch and other businesses were boarded up with wooden panels to deter potential looters.

Following the unrest, Paris police prefect Patrice Faure urged Parisian shopkeepers to hire security guards. He later clarified that protecting business owners and their establishments is the responsibility of the government.

Some 3,000 shops across France were damaged or looted last weekend.

Protest marches are scheduled in Paris and Marseille, but some other rallies, including in Lyon, Nice and Montpellier, have been banned by local authorities. Cities outside Paris were hit hard by the unrest. In Limoges, a suspected arson nearly destroyed the 19th-century city hall.

Trade unions have criticized the bans, calling them violations of freedom of expression, which is protected by the constitution.

President Emmanuel Macron, a centrist, entered the crisis in the final stretches of his term, with his popularity at its lowest since he took office in 2017. He has said that the measures are needed to protect city centers, businesses and public buildings.

Saturday’s demonstration in the city of Orléans, about 110 kilometers (70 miles) south of Paris, will also be closely watched.

About 50 organizations have called for a protest against the far right on the sidelines of the two-day congress of Marine Le Pen’s nationalist, anti-immigration party ahead of next spring’s presidential election. Organizers include labor unions, left-wing parties, student and anti-racism groups.

The demonstrations first erupted last month in a high school southeast of Paris over a lack of staff.

From there, class boycotts and demonstrations spread to other Paris suburbs and nationwide, including smaller towns. High school students have raised concerns about underfunded schools and staff shortages, particularly in lower-income neighborhoods. Some also called for a reform of the university admissions system, seen by many as unfair.

With the government seemingly unable to respond to students’ demands, the movement has morphed into larger protests over soaring living costs, just months before the vote to choose Macron’s successor.

“The money is now concentrated in the hands of very few people," said Victoria Ambrosini, an art critic and art teacher at Saint-Denis University. “And it’s not possible anymore.”

Students chant slogans during a demonstration against rising living costs in Paris, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

People sitting in a pub watch demonstrators during a protest on the sidelines of the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) congress in Orleans, France, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Teresa Suarez)

Protesters hold signs reading “Fashion but not fascist” and “Time for revolution” during a protest on the sidelines of the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) Congress in Orléans, France, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Teresa Suarez)

Leftists unions and political parties members hold a banner reading "all united against fascism. For the popular rally and social progress" during a protest on the sidelines of the far-right party Rassemblement National (RN) congress, in Orleans, France, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Teresa Suarez)

People walk past the Paris' Grand Palais hosting Art Basel art fair, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026 after planned anti-government protests prompted organizers to cancel their weekend program. (AP Photo/Teresa Suarez)

People enter the Paris' Grand Palais hosting Art Basel art fair Friday, Oct. 23, 2026 after planned anti-government protests prompted organizers to cancel their weekend program. (AP Photo/Teresa Suarez)

Paris' Grand Palais hosting Art Basel art fair is pictured Friday, Oct. 23, 2026 after planned anti-government protests prompted organizers to cancel their weekend program. (AP Photo/Teresa Suarez)