Madonna has opened up about the fallout from her much-hyped biopic, which was set to star actress Julia Garner. Singer, in his latest interview, revealed that budget issues ultimately killed the ambitious project despite years of development.
Madonna on budget
The pop icon got candid in a chat with Interview magazine and revealed the details behind her film and subsequent web series move. “I was supposed to make a movie about my life,” Madonna told the magazine, revealing that she had “worked on my script for two years and was budgeting and casting with line producers at Universal Studios.”According to Singer, the film required a bigger budget than the studio was willing to approve. “We, and Universal, had a falling out about the budget because I needed — I had a great life. I had a huge life, so I needed a big budget. You know what I mean?”
Madonna is trying to cut the budget
According to the star, the production house “couldn’t get their heads around” the budget required to make a biopic that he envisioned. It even prompted him to look for ways to lower the price tag by finding “a way for less money in Serbia.”“Maybe they didn’t believe me. One of their first reactions was, ‘We don’t believe you’ll be in Serbia for more than four days.’ And I said, ‘Have you read the script?’ I’ve lived my whole life. I’m not going to vacation there,” Madonna added.
Madonna on biopic transition from film to web series
After the film adaptation was shelved, Madonna said discussions began about reimagining the project as a Netflix series. However, recalling the hurdles the OTT format later created, he explained, “I was restless when it fell apart, and then Netflix reached out to make a series. It was a whole other long process, because I couldn’t use the script I had with Universal unless I bought it from them at an extortionate price, even though I wrote it.“
Madonna in her music career
The singer revealed that she tried to turn the project into a television series for about a year, but eventually abandoned those plans as well. “That’s just how it goes…” he said and went on to add, “You have to meet with a lot of writers and find the right showrunner, and I couldn’t find one. It went on like that for another eight or nine months. I was like, ‘Good thing I have another job because I need to work, I need to create.’ I have to do what I was put on this earth to do.'”The biopic first entered development in 2020 and is said to be titled ‘Who’s That Girl’. Madonna was attached to direct and co-write the film, alongside actress Julia Garner to play the music legend.Although the biopic was intended to be released as a film, it was later announced as a Netflix series, although few updates have emerged since then.
Madonna is releasing a short film
Meanwhile, Madonna is busy with music ventures. The singer made waves this month with Confessions II. To celebrate the upcoming release, Madonna surprised fans with the release of a short film starring Sabrina Carpenter, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kate Moss, Julia Garner, Shaygirl, Richard E. Grant, Honey Dijon and several other notable names.
