The Queen of Pop unveiled that a major biopic about her life was canned over a disagreement with the production studio.
Madonna, 67, told Interview Magazine that a budget dispute with Universal Pictures led to her autobiographical feature film being scrapped.
“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,” the “Like a Virgin” singer told the publication. “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?”
The project was slated to star Emmy-winning Ozark actress Julia Garner as the titular pop icon. Madonna was attached to direct and co-write the script with screenwriters including Diablo Cody and Erin Cressida Wilson, according to Variety.
The trade magazine had previously reported that the film would follow Madonna’s life from her childhood in Michigan all the way until the release of her 1998 record Ray of Light.
“Maybe they just didn’t believe in me,” Madonna continued. “One of their first reactions was, ‘We don’t believe you’d stay in Serbia for more than four days.’ And I said, ‘Did you read the script?’ My whole life has been survival. I’m not going there for a holiday.”
“But anyway, I was in limbo when that fell apart, and then Netflix reached out to make a series. That was a whole other long process, because I couldn’t use the script that I had with Universal unless I bought it from them for an extortionist’s price, even though I wrote it,” she explained. “Don’t ask.”
A limited series about Madonna is currently in the works at Netflix, with the “Material Girl” partnering with director Shawn Levy for a different autobiographical look at the pop star’s life.
“That’s just he way it goes,” the singer added. “I started trying to understand how making a series would work. It’s a very, very different process. You have to meet a lot of writers and find the right showrunner, and I couldn’t find one. This went on 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 need to do what I was put on this earth to do.’”
While the Garner-led biopic is no longer happening at Universal, Madonna and the Weapons star will appear in the upcoming second season of Apple’s The Studio as part of a story arc tied to the biopic’s creation.
