Kim Novak doesn’t seem very excited about the upcoming biopic about her life, in which she will be portrayed by actress Sydney Sweeney.
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The Vertigo star, now 92, shared her thoughts on Scandalous, which will depict her controversial romance with singer Sammy Davis Jr. in the late 1950s.
Novak said she believes the film’s title doesn’t really reflect reality. “I don’t think the relationship was scandalous,” the actress told The Guardian.
“He was someone I truly cared about. We had a lot in common, including that need to be accepted for who we are and what we do, not for how we look.”
She also expressed concerns that the film will portray their relationship as pure physical desire, which, according to her, is not true.
The 1957 romance between Davis and Novak sparked major controversy at the time due to racist opposition to interracial relationships. It’s worth remembering that interracial marriage was only legalized in the U.S. in 1967.
Davis told his friend and biographer Burt Boya that he wanted “to get the whitest and most famous girl in the world” simply to “show them,” after enduring persistent racism, according to Hitchcock’s Blondes biographer Laurence Leamer.
However, Davis truly fell in love with Novak, and the media frenzy surrounding their relationship only strengthened Novak’s feelings. “Something inside me rebelled when I was told not to see him. I didn’t think it was anyone’s business,” the actress argued.
But it remains uncertain whether the complexity of Davis and Novak’s relationship will be faithfully portrayed on screen in Scandalous.
The film will be directed by Colman Domingo, Sweeney’s co-star in Euphoria, marking his directorial debut. Davis will be played by David Jonsson, best known for his work in HBO’s Industry and the film Alien: Romulus.
Photo and video: Public domain / Instagram @sydney_sweeney. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
