‘Monsters’ Star Ari Graynor on Playing Attorney Leslie Abramson and Wanting to Meet the ‘Extraordinary’ Menendez Brothers: ‘I Would Love to Get to Hug Them One Day’
variety.comMarc Malkin Senior Editor, Culture and Events Ari Graynor didn’t reach out to the real Leslie Abramson while preparing for her role as the legendary defense attorney in Netflix’s “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.” “I knew that she had made it pretty clear that she never wanted to speak about any of her cases.” Graynor tells Variety. “You’ll notice that in all of the documentaries or programs that have been made, she’s never interviewed.
She really took a step back, I think, not only because this case in particular was so painful for her, but she also did not mince words about the media and its effects on things.” Abramson published a memoir, “The Defense Is Ready: Life in the Trenches of Criminal Law,” in 1997.
Now at age 80, she is retired and rarely makes public appearances. “I feel so deeply connected to her, and feel like I’ve fallen in love with her from afar,” Graynor says. “So much of this journey for me was wanting to do her justice.
So now I’ve been trying to get an email to her. I’ve been trying to find people that might be able to pass it on to her, just to acknowledge her and to tell her what I saw in her and if she ever wants to talk.” Graynor believes Erik and Lyle Menendez deserve a retrial, with the ultimate goal of seeing them released from prison.
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