Madonna revealed to Interview magazine that a disagreement with Universal Pictures was the reason her biopic never materialized. In 2021, the studio won a multi-studio auction to produce a film about Madonna’s life, with the pop icon co-writing and directing the film. Writers such as Diablo Cody and Erin Cressida Wilson have worked on the film over the years, and “Ozark” Emmy winner Julia Garner landed the role of Madonna in 2022 after a highly anticipated audition boot camp.
Madonna told the magazine: “I was supposed to make a movie about my life. I spent two years writing the script and two years at Universal Studios working with line producers on budgeting and casting.” “Me and Universal had a fight about the budget because I had a special life. I had a great life, so I needed a big budget. You know what I mean?”
According to Madonna, Universal “couldn’t understand” the budget needed to make a biopic about her life, so they tried to lower the price by finding “a way to make it cheaper in Serbia.”
Madonna said, “Maybe they didn’t believe me.” “Their first reaction was, ‘I don’t think you’re going to be in Serbia for more than four days.’ So I said, ‘Have you read the script?’ My whole life has been about survival. I’m not going there on vacation. Anyway, I was at a loss when it fell apart, but then Netflix reached out to me to make a series. It was a different and longer process because even if I wrote it, I couldn’t use the script I had from Universal unless I bought it from Universal at a usurper’s price. Please don’t ask. ”
“That’s just the way it is,” she continued. “I started trying to understand how making a series works. It’s a very, very different process. You meet a lot of writers, you have to find the right showrunner, and I couldn’t find one. This went on for another eight or nine months. I thought, ‘I need a job, and I’m glad I have another job, because I have to create. I have to fulfill my mission on this earth.’
Variety has reached out to Universal Pictures for comment.
Sources previously told Variety that the film will trace Madonna’s humble beginnings in Michigan to her artistic growth in New York City in the ’80s. This film would have lasted until the release of Ray of Light in 1998. Netflix is currently developing an autobiographical series about Madonna through Shawn Levy’s exclusive television deal with the streamer, but Garner is not involved in this version.
Although the Madonna biopic never materialized at Universal, the film will live on in a fictional form in Season 2 of Apple’s The Studio. Madonna and Garner filmed an episode of the new season of the Emmy-winning comedy series directed by Seth Rogen at the Venice Film Festival last year. One of the season 2 story arcs sees the Madonna biopic starring Garner heading to Venice for its world premiere.
