I see that Madonna biopic that was to star Julia Garner has been canceled. This story cites the studio seeing problems with the script which was reportedly three hours long and scattershot. I say, if it’s that bad, just let Guy Ritchie direct it. Or give it to Baz - no one will be paying attention to the story, anyway. Madonna bootcamp was gruelling, intense and, it turns out, completely pointless
I don't know why it's important for Maddona that they can sing her songs. She's known mostly as a music video artist where the artist lip syncs to their own recording. Just use the original masters or pay a professional cover artist to record them for the actress to lip sync to.
Oliver Stone just called!, he said he'd love to direct the new biopic but only if they'll let him cast Jared Leto for the role as Madonna. As Stone once commented, “Sometimes you have to put aside specific facts to get to a greater truth ... or something”.
Picture this scenario. NYC late 70's, a brunette is working as a waitress, playing drums in a punk band, doing nude modelling and dancing behind Eurotrash singers just to pay the rent. She goes through a series of relationships, some beneficial some harmful and get signed to a record label most associated with Punk Rock and 60's reissues. She's so far down the artists roster her first 12" doesn't even have her picture on the cover. One day she dyes her hair blonde... roll credits The greatest story ever told.
She just better worry about whatever is going on mentally or substance abuse wise with herself.. yikes. It continues I won't be surprised if Janet Jackson is this last big 80's icon standing.
Well a couple of things. Before Madonna, women were mostly expected to be "Ladies" as defined by men. Madonna broke this mold not just in video and on stag, but in interviews. Before Madonna, dance choreography wasn't a big thing. Before Madonna, girls didn't flood concerts and record stores for a female artist. Before Madonna, girls didn't dress like a female celebrity. Before Madonna, there were no female "Rock Star" types in terms of being a superstar. Stevie Nicks, Pat Benatar and Joan Jett weren't huge to young girls. Madonna was the most controversial and polarizing music act of her day. Now, Mtv certainly was the catalyst in Madonna's rise and a huge part in her sustaining that level. But that can be said for any new artists of the 80s that became icons, as well as it giving a greater level of success to successful established 70s acts. Imagine MTV never exists. Does Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, David Bowie or Bruce Springsteen reach that next level of mass popularity without constant rotation of their music videos for millios to see? Does Prince, George Michael/Wham, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Janet Jackson and even Whitey Houston with her great vocals, breakthrough to the level they did or at all with just radio and variety show appearances from time to time?
You forget the part where she showed up in Seymour Stein's hospital room where he was on an antibiotic drip to prepare himself for open heart surgery. By the time Madonna walked in with Mark Kamins that evening, I had been fully briefed and tidied up by a team of ladies. Not that she really cared about my predicament. She’d come to get a record deal before some old record guy croaked, along with his check-signing hand. How I Met Madonna, by Seymour Stein, the Man Who Signed Her - Variety
I thought I saw a tv ad for this already, but maybe it was some other Madonna connected thing? I respect a fair amount of her music, she seemed like a good actress too, but scorn a few things like doing American Pie sort-of techno cowgirl style (bleh). If people want a biopic it doesn't offend me, though would never pay to see it. Debbie Harry or Pat Benatar probably meant/mean more to me.
I would be perfectly happy to see a Madonna biopic. It's an interesting story, and would appear to be one worth telling. I don't see any problem with the Seymour Stein story, and if we were talking about somebody like Steve Jobs, such behavior would be admired.
Believe it or not, there were MANY strong women in entertainment, as well as “dance choreography” long before Madonna. Not taking anything away from what she did in her time (and yes, she had great timing with the emergence of MTV) but the mistake of deifying anyone is that it tends to make the acolyte blind to facts that don’t fit the narrative. Also, there are a lot of artists that you mention who are killer songwriters, musicians, dancers - supremely talented at what they did. Music isn’t a competition obviously, and thank God for that, because you never want Madonna to sit down with an acoustic guitar and play rounds with Prince or Bowie. Or have a dance off with Michael Jackson or George Michael. Or sing anything from the phonebook with Pat Benatar. If there was a competition for self promotion though, Madonna would definitely win, hands down no competition. I think her story could make a great movie, but if she’s involved with it, it’s going to be problematic because of her ego, and if she’s not involved in it, it’s probably just going to be superficial trash. So may be better off not making it right now. She should write a book.
Compared to whom -- Elton John? Freddie Mercury? NWA? She was as big as any of them in the USA. It's all about execution. The hard part would be casting someone who could believably inhabit a role still in the public consciousness and developing a script that doesn't go through predictable BEHIND THE MUSIC motions that were already parodied by 2007 and WALK HARD.
I was never a huge fan of Madonna, but she was an icon in the 80’s and 90’s and there is no doubt about her impact on popular culture,it’s painful to see her with the surgeries and this fixation on being young. I have not been really interested in the movies that have been out for Freddie Mercury, Elton or Whitney, but I think an honest story about Madonna would be interesting. I can’t recall another major artist destroying their legacy the same way she is and I don’t consider Elvis or Michael Jackson an equivalent comparison as they were still able to pack a stadium if they performed.
I'm 53 this summer. I'm more than aware of strong women and dancing females before Madonna. I was 13 when Madonna hit and being a fan of music as I was and am, I was well informed about and a fan of 70s and early 80s female acts such as Olivia Newton John, Linda Ronstadt, Irene Cara, Stevie Nicks, Pat Benatar etc and those who hit before I was born such as Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross etc. I'm not saying Madonna was the first confident female act, but she, with the help of Mtv, was the most controversial and the most in your face personality wise.
Acting younger than she is has always been the act. Even going back to her original hits that seemed to be slightly sped up to make her voice sound higher and younger. What’s sad is that’s still her act. If she was self deprecating it might be funny. She’s not so it’s just weird when you see her taking a milk bath on Instagram. I’mma let you finish but…
Exactly. I think this post I made on the Madonna Discussion thread is worth posting here. It backs up your fine point well I think. I love music biopics, especially the most reason one by Baz Luhrman on Elvis, but I saw this becoming a disaster a long time ago. Julia Garner was an outstanding probable choice to play Madonna, but when I heard Madonna picked herself to direct and write the script as well, I knew this would end up a disaster. She needed to get someone far more objective and talented as a director for this massive undertaking. There is a big reason that the Elvis movie was so successful at the box office and just got 8 nominations from the Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor: Baz Luhrmann is a visionary director and took his time casting Austin Butler in the lead role as Elvis. Madonna thinks she can basically do it all herself. Her mighty ego killed this project. It is a shame too, because she has had an amazing career and life.
There's no way in hell it can be any worse than the thinly fictionalized biography of Celine Dion that we saw: You really have to watch this trailer to get an idea of what we sat through. The grown actress's face was digitally stuck on to the body of a young girl, and frankly it's nightmare fuel. They were promoting it using a quote from Vanity Fair saying "It has to be seen to be believed!" No, not even then.
Agreed. And for all our sake's keep Baz Luhrman away from it. He's desecrated enough things in his career. Give it to Michael Mann (only sort of kidding).
Thanks for posting that story. Never heard it before, but there are a couple things that don't sound right in the article, eg "old record guy" and that Stein was twice her age, making him look almost like a relic. Well, Madonna was born in 1958 and Stein in 1942, so "dirty old man" was 39-40 and age gap just 16 years assuming that the contract was signed in 1982. Of course Madonna some years later dated Warren Beatty, 20 years older than her...
Well, he was being readied for open heart surgery, and one definitely feels one's mortality at moments like that.
