Podtalk: Emma Cooper on Netflix's ‘The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe ... '

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CHICAGO – The movie star Marilyn Monroe, arguably the brightest star in the history of Hollywood, led a life of triumph and tragedy, up to and including her death in 1962. The recent Netflix release of “The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes” – directed by Emma Cooper – is a documentary that seeks truth, through never-heard-before audio interviews.

The tapes in the title are a cache of audio interviews that were conducted by Anthony “Tony” Summers from 1982 through 1985, as he created the Marilyn biography book “Goddess,” which was released in 1985. Nearly 40 years later, Summers and Cooper publishes the audio again for this new doc, a fresh look at the secrets he had revealed, with people who were still alive in the ‘80s – only 20 years after Monroe’s death – willing to talk about the actress and her mysterious demise.

Emma Cooper (inset) Directs ‘The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes’
Photo credit: Netflix

British-born Emma Cooper has been a producer and director since 2006, and met “Goddess” author Tony Summers while working on the docu-series “The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann” for Netflix. When Summers mentioned his book about Marilyn, it was the director’s first encounter with the star beyond her pop culture image.

In PART ONE of a Podtalk with Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com, Emma Cooper of “The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes” talks about discovering Marilyn and the rediscovered interviews …

In PART TWO, of Marilyn as icon, her relations with John F. and Bobby Kennedy, plus was her death inevitable? …

For the 5/5 star review of “The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes” click MARILYN.

By PATRICK McDONALD Editor, Film Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com