Madonna says her biopic has been scrapped over ‘falling out’ on budget
Madonna (Image: Getty Images)
Madonna has said her planned biopic collapsed after a “falling out” over budget, with the project now reportedly being reworked as a Netflix series with Shawn Levy.
In an Interview magazine conversation, the 66-year-old said she had spent years developing the film. “I was supposed to make a movie about my life. I worked on my script for two years and spent two years at Universal Studios with the line producers doing budgeting and casting,” she said.
Madonna described the split as a dispute over money. “We had a falling out, me and Universal, regarding budget because I needed, I’ve had an extraordinary life. I’ve had a huge life, so I needed a big budget. You know what I mean?” she said.
She also suggested the breakdown created a second problem: the script itself. “That was a whole other long process, because I couldn’t use the script I had with Universal unless I bought it from them for an extortionate price, even though I wrote it,” Madonna said.
From Universal film to Netflix series
Madonna said she then began looking at how her story might work in a different format. “I started trying to understand how making a series would work. It’s a very, very different process,” she said, adding that meeting writers and finding a showrunner took “another eight or nine months”.
The project is now reportedly back in development as a Netflix series, with Madonna collaborating with the streamer and director Shawn Levy. Julia Garner had been expected to play Madonna in the Universal version, with Madonna set to direct.
Madonna on ‘soul-destroying’ scrolling
Madonna also shared her scepticism about social media. “We think if we look at Instagram for two hours, we’ve actually been with somebody,” she said. “It’s mesmerising and also soul-destroying.”
She added: “If I go on Instagram for more than 10 minutes, I get depressed, and I don’t want to go there. Why am I giving this non-existent entity power over my soul, my brain, my vision of myself, my vision of the world?”
Madonna said: “Time is precious, and that’s something I’ve known all my life. Time’s precious. What can I get done? What can I do?”
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