(Courtesy of the Weinstein Company)

On this side of the pond, not many people know who Simon Curtis is.

The British director keeps a relatively low profile and is mainly known for his work on television.

In fact, Curtis is almost the exact opposite of his new film’s subject, Marilyn Monroe.

His new movie, “My Week with Marilyn” follows the iconic actress during her time in England where she filmed 1957’s “The Prince and the Showgirl.”

The film is entrenched with history.

The movie was even shot in Britain’s historical Pinewood Film Lot, the English equivalent to Hollywood studios.

“There was a ton of research that went into this movie,” Curtis said. “We had the film of which was based on and the diary that was written about it. I enjoyed excavating history and giving it a modern view.”

Considering the film revolves around such an embattled figure as Marilyn Monroe, Curtis had to walk a fine line when it came to portraying the star.

“People were angry when they first heard we were doing this film,” Curtis said. “Marilyn was a very polarizing figure, so one can only expect that the reaction to a movie about her would be that way too.”

When word came out that Curtis chose Michelle Williams to play Monroe, many were worried about the actress’ skill.

Curtis believed in her from the very beginning.

“I’ve worked with Michelle before and knew how exceptionally talented she was,” Curtis said. “I never expected ‘Blue Valentine’ to take off like it did, but I knew Michelle was great from the very start.”

Curtis claims that casting was essential to the movie. In the film, Marilyn has a short love affair with Colin Clarke, a third assistant director for “The Prince and the Showgirl.”

Clarke wrote the book the film was based on. Playing Clark is Eddie Redmayne, a British actor who recently won a Tony for his work on Broadway.

“Eddie is a phenomenal actor who I always thought would work well with American audiences,” Curtis said. “Eddie and Michelle had the perfect chemistry for Marilyn and Collin.”

One thing the film doesn’t lack is authenticity. Since the film takes place at Pinewood, the cast was fortunate enough to shoot on the same stage Marilyn and Laurence Oliver shot “The Prince and the Showgirl.”

“Being at Pinewood was great,” Curtis said. “Everything we did was already done by Marilyn herself. Michelle even got to have Marilyn’s same dressing room.”

Being at Pinewood also had its setbacks.

“My Week with Marilyn” was being shot at the same time as “Captain America” and “Pirates of the Caribbean.”

“It was a sort of crazy experience shooting at Pinewoods,” the director said. “One minute you would see a throng of German soldiers and the next moment you are looking at something from the ‘Pirates’ movie.”

Curts, like most directors, was very particular during the shoot. Everything from hair and makeup to what type of seating was around was scrutinized by the filmmaker.

“It would have been a shame if we didn’t get the small stuff right,” Curtis said. “I would go to the costume designer and said ‘I want Michelle to look exactly like Marilyn in every frame, no mistakes.'”

Also adding to the complexity of Michelle’s role was Marilyn’s well-known physcological disorders.

“Michelle had to essentially play three different characters,” Curtis said. “She had to be the Marilyn we saw in films, the Marilyn who struggled with pills and the Marilyn the public loved.”

Michelle and Eddie’s portrayals are nothing short of amazing. Curtis credits the actors for making the film what it is.

“I’m incredibly lucky to have had the cast I did,” Curtis said.”If these actors weren’t brave enough to tackle the roles they did, I wouldn’t have a film at all.”