Madonna Biopic Was Scrapped Because Of Madonna, Insider Reveals
Earlier last week, the long-awaited Madonna biopic to star Ozark star Julia Garner, 28, as Madonna, 64, was canceled.
The cancellation of the documentary that was to chronicle Madonna’s personal and artistic journey was announced by Universal Pictures. The announcement came after Madonna publicly announced her upcoming 40th-anniversary world tour. The Material Girl singer was to co-write and direct the film, and her choreography team was in charge of the 11-hour-long audition process for the lead role.
Following the documentary’s cancellation, Variety reached out to Madonna, Julia Garner, and Universal Pictures’ representatives, but they declined to comment initially. However, speaking to The US Sun, an insider told the outlet that the biopic was paused due to Madonna insisting on a “near-total” control of the project and her bizarre social media “circus antics.”
“Madonna did herself no favors by acting weird on social media during this entire process. She signed a contract to make this film and that should have been the signal to her to stop the circus antics, stop chasing likes, and just buckle down and get this movie into shape,” the insider recounted.
The social media antics that left studio bosses “scratching their heads” included a racy video of herself in lingerie and a picture of her with four of her youngest children on Christmas day.”
Other posts of the mother of six that rubbed the studio bosses the wrong way include a December video showing her in a black lace balaclava while holding a riding crop. Another clip that made fans “uncomfortable” was a video of the pop singer licking water from a dog’s bowl after posing suggestively with bottles of sriracha and mustard.
The insider suggested that these and many other social media “uncomfortable” posts played a part in what turned off the bosses at Universal Pictures. Another reason was that Madonna wanted “near-total” control of the entire project.
Before Golden Globe and multi-Emmy Award-winning actress Julia Garner got the lead role in the biopic, she had undergone a “grueling” audition process alongside buzzy Hollywood names like Euphoria’s Sydney Sweeney and Alexia Demie and Little Women’s Florence Pugh. Adding to the 11-hour choreography session, the actresses went through readings with Madonna, including singing in front of her.
However, Universal Pictures wasn’t the first to quit on the project. The Oscar-winning Screenwriter Diablo Cody quit the project after describing working with Madonna as difficult.
Following the biopic’s cancellation, fans have expressed their desire for a reality show premised on what it feels like working with Madonna.
