If anyone is going to tell Madonna’s story, it’s going to be the pop music icon herself. Last week, Madonna confirmed that she was writing the screenplay of her own biopic in collaboration with Diablo Cody (Juno). Now, Madge has announced that she will also be directing the film.
In a statement to Variety, Madonna said she wanted to be able chronicle her life and career on her own terms. “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,” she commented.
The 62-year-old pop music icon also assured fans that her music would be the driving force of the as-yet-untitled movie. “The focus of this film will always be music,” continued Madonna. “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.”
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Madonna’s exploration of New York’s ballroom culture and how it birthed her “Vogue” hit is expected to be one of the music-related plot lines featured in the biopic. There will also be scenes about her time spent working with Andrew Lloyd Webber on Evita, a performance which earned her a Golden Globe.
New production details have also trickled in — namely that the forthcoming biopic will be distributed by Universal Pictures and produced by Amy Pascal, who also worked with Madonna on the 1992 classic A League of Their Own. Universal’s Filmed Entertainment Group Chairman Donna Langley called Madonna the “ultimate icon, humanitarian, artist and rebel” and noted her “singular gift of creating art that is as accessible as it is boundary-pushing.”
While Madonna will be playing a major role in the creation of the biopic, she isn’t expected to actually appear in the film itself, according to Deadline. The role of young Madonna has yet to be cast, but Emmy-winning Ozark star Julia Garner is rumored to be a leading candidate for the part.
This won’t be the first time Madonna has sat in the director’s chair. The artist made her directorial debut in 2008 with the British comedy-drama Filth and Wisdom, starring Eugene Hütz (of Gogol Bordello), Holly Weston, and Vicky McClure. Her second director project came in 2011 with W.E., a biographical film about the affair between King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson. Both failed to receive positive reviews.
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