Wednesday 18 September 2013

Marilyn's Blue Book Days

Astrid Franse, Michelle Morgan and Van Osch Film Produkties are proud to announce Marilyn’s Blue Book Days, (working title) comprising a book and documentary, celebrating Marilyn Monroe, the Blue Book Model Agency and agency boss Emmeline Snively. 

In 1945, Norma Jeane Dougherty walked into the Blue Book Model Agency and was immediately signed to their books.  From that moment on, her career went from being a little-known model to an International starlet, with her image gracing magazine covers around the world.  It wasn’t long before Norma Jeane was signed to Twentieth Century Fox, her name changed to Marilyn Monroe and her acting career began.  However, Marilyn still modelled occasionally for Blue Book and its associated photographers, and Miss Snively kept in touch with the young woman who the agency had catapulted into stardom.

When Marilyn sadly passed away in 1962, Miss Snively put her agency records into a storage box, where they stayed until Astrid and Ben Franse discovered them many years later.  The box was taken to the Netherlands, and the announcement in 2012 of what was found inside, created headlines around the world.  Eager to tell the story of Marilyn and Emmeline, Astrid has now begun work on the documentary project with film-makers Frank van Osch and Suzanne van Leendert, and the book with author Michelle Morgan.  The intention of both is simple: during her lifetime, Miss Snively tried to make the files into a book or film herself, so everyone is adamant that this project should be an extension of what Miss Snively began all those years ago.

The book and documentary are not biographies; they are instead a unique look into Marilyn’s early career in the 1940s, and her continuing relationship with the Blue Book Agency.  At the same time the projects will also give an insight into Emmeline herself; telling the fascinating story of how she played her part in creating a legend.  “If Miss Snively hadn’t been around, there would not have been a Marilyn,” says Astrid.  “She discovered her, she saw her potential.”

The book, Marilyn’s Blue Book Days will begin with Emmeline Snively discovering that her most famous client has passed away, and will then travel back in time to the early days of the agency, and of Marilyn Monroe’s early life and modelling career.  We will discover how she became a Blue Book Model in 1945; what Miss Snively thought of the young girl who walked into her office; and the modelling jobs and personal appearances she had during the years ahead.  The project will be a tribute to Marilyn, Emmeline, the agency itself, and the models who walked through its doors in search of fame and fortune.

There is a FaceBook page dedicated to the project, which all fans are very welcome to join.  You can join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/629269130427851/

For Archive and Exhibition queries, please contact Astrid Franse: astridfranse[at]Hotmail[dot]com.


For book queries, please contact Astrid Franse: astridfranse[at]Hotmail[dot]com and Michelle Morgan: Michelle[at]MichelleMorgan[dot]co[dot]uk

For documentary queries, please contact Suzanne van Leendert: Suzanne[at]vofprodukties[dot]tv