Actress Pamela Anderson is back in the spotlight for her “extraordinary performance” as an aging dancer in Gia Coppola’s new film “The Last Showgirl”, which is set to arrive in Europe in January 2025.
“The Last Showgirl” tells the story of a aged dancer whose show in Las Vegas will be canceled. The film with Pamela Anderson as the protagonist opens this Friday, December 13th, in North American cinemas.
Director Gia Coppola’s new film is only expected to arrive in Europe in January 2025, but it’s already booming and has earned the actress a Golden Globe nomination.
He also highlighted his “extraordinary performance” publicizing the actress’s presence in the country, for the screening of the film.
“There are a lot of parallels between me and Shelly, and I felt like I could get a lot from my personal life“, he said about the character he plays in the film, speaking during a special preview event in Los Angeles.
“I feel like I had this beautiful and confusing lifewith many interesting moments that I could bring to it”, added the actress who became a global sex symbol when she participated in the television series “Baywatch” (Rapid Tides in Portugal).
She was also known for having made several covers of “Playboy” magazine.
But only now, at 57 years old, Pamela Anderson seems to show her full potential as a great actress.
What do Pamela Anderson and Shelly have in common?
In the film “The Last Showgirl”dancer Shelly finds herself facing the end of an iconic dance and ‘glamour’ show that was on stage for over thirty years at the Jubilee Theater in Las Vegas.
Without the art that commanded her life, leading her to sacrifice even her relationship with her daughter, the character seeks meaning and another path in the future.
“I feel like we have a lot of parallels, with the love of nostalgia, beauty and ‘glamour’”, said Pamela Anderson who, last year, made news when she appeared on red carpets without any makeupsomething he repeated at the film’s promotional event.
“Always try to turn a frown into a smile”
Director Gia Coppola revealed that she thought of the actress to play Shelly after seeing the 2023 documentary “Love, Pamela”.
“I saw that this woman had had a very interesting life and that the way she approaches life is similar to Shelly, who always tries to turn a frown into a smile“, said Coppola at the promotional event for “The Last Showgirl”.
The director took a script that had been written 13 years ago by Kate Gersten, who was inspired by true jubilee theater and in his ‘showgirls’ show, which began in 1981.
Gersten was working as a writing student in New York, and had traveled to Las Vegas, where she saw a performance of “Jubilee!”
“There were 15 people in a house that seats 1,000 and I couldn’t believe the state of this amazing, albeit dated, show,” Gersten said. “I was impressed, besides having always been fascinated by Las Vegas“, he further highlighted.
The real show “Jubilee!” had the longest run ever in Las Vegas, remaining on the stages of the Bally’s hotel-casino for 35 years until the final session, in February 2016.
The film managed to obtain costumes from the show and many of the dancers seen on screen were from the cast.
“We cannot demolish a person” (even if they grow old)
“Las Vegas is very much like, Out with the old and in with the newwe are going to demolish buildings,” said Pamela Anderson.
“But we can’t demolish a person and I believe she [Shelly] carries that”, he added.
The actress highlighted the quality of the script and the strength of the female characters, with several generations facing obstacles. Jamie Lee Curtis is one of them, portraying Annette, a former dancer who now works as an employee at the casino.
Another is Marianne, played by Brenda Songwho also has to deal with the cancellation of the show.
The original song written for the film, “Beautiful That Way,” by Miley Cyrushas also just been nominated for the Critics Choice Awards.
