‘Don’t call it a biopic’: Everything we know about Madonna’s ‘visual autobiography’ film so far
Material Girl? Ray of Light? What It Feels Like For a Girl? What exactly should this film be called?
Words: Jamie Tabberer; picture: Instagram/@Madonna
Madonna‘s much-reported Universal Pictures non-biopic – or, “visual autobiography” as she insisted it be called on a US talk show recently – is finally, properly underway.
Yes, the Material Girl this week shared behind-the-scenes footage of the audition process, proving the wheels are in motion after years of discussion.
Not that it revealed much: the video in question shows Madge dancing around a rehearsal room to her hit ‘Burning Up’ [below].
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She captioned the video: “Auditions for my film are a surreal experience. But I’m enjoying dancing to the classics!!”
That you are, M, that you are. Here’s everything we know about the project so far…
What will Madonna’s biopic be called?
No word yet, but her discography offers ample options. Material Girl, Ray of Light, What It Feels Like For a Girl or simply Music would all be awesome.
Anything but the rumoured and utterly inexplicable Little Sparrow, please…
What will Madonna’s biopic be about?
In a 2020 statement, Madonna said she wants to use the film 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.”
In a 2020 IG Live, she also explained: “We do talk about Andy [Warhol], and Keith [Haring], and Jean-Michel Basquiat and Martin Burgoyne and the whole coming up as an artist in Manhattan, downtown, Lower East Side in the early ’80s.
“Honestly, [it’s] one of the best times of my life, and one of the worst times. I hope I can portray or express what a thrilling time that was for me in every way.”
Who will star in Madonna’s biopic?
As auditions have just started, we expect casting announcements are a way off yet. But Inventing Anna‘s Julia Garner has reportedly been considered. And Madonna herself said she recently met with Uncut Gems actress Julia Fox to discuss the film…
For our top picks of the stars who should play Madge – including RuPaul’s Drag Race star Gigi Goode and ‘Coconuts’ singer Kim Petras – click here.
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Who will direct Madonna’s biopic?
Dexter Fletcher, director of Elton John’s biopic Rocketman said in 2019 that he would be up for directing Madonna’s biopic. He told Gay Star News at the time: ‘If I was to tackle any other icon like that, it would be her. She’s extraordinary.”
However, the ‘Ray of Light’ singer didn’t take kindly to Fletcher’s comments, saying on The Graham Norton Show: “I’d like to warn any director who tries to make a biopic of me that there will be mysterious deaths.”
Suffice to say, Madonna is directing the film herself, as confirmed when she announced the project in 2020.
Who else is writing it?
Juno‘s Oscar-winning writer and producer Diablo Cody will serve as a co-writer, but Madonna appears to be taking the lead. She told Maluma in a Rolling Stone interview last year: “Writing my script is the most draining, challenging experience I’ve ever had.
“It’s kind of like psychotherapy in a way, because I have to remember every detail from my childhood till now.”
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