You know that feeling when a biopic trailer drops and you're hit with this rush—part excitement, part dread? Like, will they get it right this time, or just amp up the drama for clicks? That's where I'm at with Scandalous!, the film that's got Sydney Sweeney stepping into Kim Novak's shoes. Novak, at 92, isn't mincing words. She told The Guardian she's got concerns—big ones—about that title. “I don't think the relationship was scandalous,” she said, talking about her bond with Sammy Davis Jr. He's somebody I really cared about. We had so much in common… But I'm concerned they're going to make it all sexual reasons.”
It's raw, isn't it? Here's this legend from Hitchcock's Vertigo, a film that twisted obsession into something almost supernatural—cult horror in disguise, if you ask me—now watching her life get scripted by Matthew Fantaci and directed by Colman Domingo. Sweeney as Novak? Bold choice. She's got that mix of vulnerability and edge, like in Euphoria, but channeling a '50s starlet who fought tooth and nail against the studio machine? Could be electric. Or grating. Depends on how they handle the layers.
Shift gears for a second—think about Old Hollywood's underbelly. Novak signed with Columbia in the early '50s, only to have Harry Cohn, that infamous studio tyrant, reshape her. New name, new look. “They'd want the mouth of Joan Crawford, the hair of Jean Harlow,” she recalled. By the time you're done, it's not even you anymore. And then her secret fling with Davis Jr.—a Black entertainer in a segregated era—gets threatened into oblivion. Cohn allegedly sent mob warnings: bad for business, he claimed. David Jonsson plays Davis Jr.; imagining those scenes, the tension… it's got that quiet menace, like a slow-burn thriller where the real monster is the system.
But Novak's pushback? That's the hook that lingers. She's not just defending a memory; she's calling out how biopics love to sensationalize. Gorgeous in theory. Grating when it flattens real pain into tabloid fodder. We've seen it in sci-fi remakes too—take Blade Runner, where the human element gets buried under effects. Here, it's personal. Novak stepped away from the glamour grind for painting and horses, a quieter rebellion. Makes you wonder: will Scandalous! honor that, or chase the shock value?
Anyway—where was I? Oh, the cast. Domingo helming this, fresh off his own acclaimed turns, adds intrigue. Someone whispered at TIFF last year that he's got a knack for pulling raw performances; could elevate the whole thing. Still, no release date yet, which leaves us hanging. Frustrating… yet kinda fitting for a story about secrets.
Loved the potential. Hated the title's vibe—at least from Novak's view. Intrigued regardless. It's messy, human. That's cinema for you.
Novak's Fight for Identity
Kim Novak battled Columbia's makeover machine from day one, refusing to lose herself entirely— a reminder of how stars were molded like clay back then, often at great personal cost.
The Secret Romance's Real Stakes
Her connection with Sammy Davis Jr. wasn't just passion; it was about shared struggles for acceptance, cut short by threats that exposed Hollywood's ugly racial undercurrents.
Sweeney's Casting Gamble
Sydney Sweeney as Novak brings modern fire to a classic role, but capturing that '50s poise amid industry chaos? It'll test her range like nothing else.
Domingo's Directorial Lens
Colman Domingo steps behind the camera with a script by Matthew Fantaci, promising a nuanced take—though Novak worries it'll lean too hard on the “scandalous” angle.
Biopics and Sensationalism
Films like this often amp up the drama for impact, but Novak's concerns highlight a trend: when does storytelling cross into exploitation?
Old Hollywood Echoes in Modern Eyes
From Vertigo's dizzying heights to this biopic's potential pitfalls, Novak's legacy underscores cinema's obsession with reinvention—flawed, fascinating, forever evolving.
Curious what you make of Novak's take? Drop your thoughts below—does the title miss the mark, or is it just hype? Let's chat.
