Madonna will write and direct own life story
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Who better than Madonna herself could tell her own life story? Universal will make the film, Madonna will direct and co-write with Oscar® winning script writer Diablo Cody.
Having turned 62 a month ago, at last Madonna is ready to tell her own story.
Madonna’s biopic was rumoured to be in the making in 2017
Back in 2017, there were rumours that a biopic titled Blond Ambition about Madonna’s life in New York was being written. Only one day after it was announced that the film was in its works, the artist finally took to social media to show her disapproval of such project saying:
Nobody knows what I know and what I have seen. Only I can tell my story. Anyone else who tries is a charlatan and a fool. Looking for instant gratification without doing the work. This is a disease in our society.
Madonna also claimed that the script wasn’t accurate:
I was born in Bay City, not Detroit. And I didn’t drop out of high school. In fact I went to University of Michigan.
In order to make biopics, approval of their subject isn’t essential but probably the fact that the film didn’t have Madonna’s blessing meant that Blond Ambition wouldn’t have been able to use any of her original music. And really, what’s a movie about the making of Madonna’s first album if your film can’t feature classics like Lucky Star, Borderline and Holiday?
Universal announces Madonna’s new film, directed and co-written by herself
Yesterday, September 15th, it was announced officially by Universal Pictures and Madonna’s website that a movie based on Madonna’s untold true story is on the making. No casting or production timeline for the film has been announced.
I want to convey the incredible journey that life has taken me on as an artist, a musician, a dancer – a human being, trying to make her way in this world. The focus of this film will always be music. Music has kept me going and art has kept me alive. There are so many untold and inspiring stories and who better to tell it than me. It’s essential to share the roller coaster ride of my life with my voice and vision.
Madonna will direct own biopic
Madonna will direct the film about her own life. It’s not the first time she has been behind the camera.
The first film she directed was Filth and Wisdom in 2008 (the first motion picture production for Madonna’s company, Semtex Films). She then directed W.E. (stylised W./E.) in 2011. Directing this film about her own life will be her third experience as a filmmaker.
None of the films she directed received many good reviews although W.E. received a Best Costume Design Academy Award Nomination, and, about Filth and Wisdom, James Christopher of The Times, said:
Altmanesque would be stretching the compliment too far, but ‘Filth and Wisdom’ shows Madonna has real potential as a film director.
The Times
During the past three or four years, there have also been rumours about Madonna wanting to direct other films such as an adaption of Andrew Sean Greer’s novel The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells. A script that
[…] touches on a lot of really important topics I’ve always been invested in or championed—fighting for women’s rights, gay rights, civil rights, always fighting for the underdog
Madonna explained to Harper’s Bazaar’s feminist writer Roxane Gay.
It even seems that Madonna had already written the script and all:
Why did I want to adapt it into a screenplay? Because it touches me on so many levels and it deals with so many important topics.
However, allegedly, the producer was going to be Harvey Weinstein and naturally the project failed to become a reality.
The other film Madonna was rumoured to be directing after Greta’s failure to materialise, was Taking Flight, a biopic about the life of Dutch National Ballet’s Michaela dePrince, a dancer who started life as a war orphan in Sierra Leone before becoming one of the most celebrated names in worldwide ballet.
The pop icon also co-writing the screenplay of her life
Finally, earlier this year the pop icon hinted on social media at the possibility that she might be writing a script based on her life. A few days later she started posting videos of herself and Oscar®-winning (Juno) screenwriter Diablo Cody. It was quite clear that Madonna’s project of writing and directing her own film about her own life was beginning to materialise.
Yesterday, September 15th, it was announced officially by Universal Pictures and Madonna’s website that a movie based on Madonna’s untold true story is on the making.
Said producer, three-time Oscar® nominee, Amy Pascal:
This movie is an absolute labour of love for me. I have known Madonna since we made A League of Their Own together, and I can’t imagine anything more thrilling than collaborating with her and Diablo on bringing her true-life story to the big screen with Donna and our partners at Universal.
What will Madonna tell us in her “untold story”?
In a Q&A with fans on IG, Madonna said the biopic would be about her “struggle as an artist trying to survive in a man’s world.” She also added that the plot would address her relationship with Jean-Michel Basquiat, the fallout from her controversial Like A Prayer video or her experience filming Evita.
In a statement where she also confirmed her directorial role, Madonna said:
I want to convey the incredible journey that life has taken me on as an artist, a musician, a dancer – a human being trying to make her way in this world. […] It’s essential to share the roller coaster ride of my life with my voice and vision.
Well, no one knows what to expect really, coming from a creative and challenging artist like she is. Madonna’s got material, that’s for sure.
She’s been an artist since the 80s and is the greatest female pop icon in music history. She’s up there with The Beatles, Elvis and Michael Jackson.
Madonna has sold over 335 million records worldwide and no other solo artist has ever sold more concert tickets than she has. With 658 significant award nominations, she has managed to win 225, remaining one of the most awarded and critically acclaimed artists in history and she has been 4.700 times on the cover of a magazine, according to Universal. Generations of world class artists celebrate her influence on their lives, work and personal style.
Madonna is the ultimate icon, humanitarian, artist and rebel. With her singular gift of creating art that is as accessible as it is boundary-pushing, she has shaped our culture in a way very few others have. It’s an incredible honour for everyone at Universal to work alongside her, Diablo, and Amy to bring audiences and dedicated fans around the world her unvarnished story for the first time.
said Donna Langley, Chairman, Universal Filmed Entertainment Group
We don’t yet know what Madonna will be telling us in her biopic but I’m sure we’re in for a great ride.
Cover photo from The Director’s Cut – Harper’s Bazaar