Madonna stans have been having a collective meltdown the past few days after rumors began swirling over the weekend that her self-written/directed/produced biopic was on the verge of being shelved.
It all started when a Twitter account that peddles in celebrity gossip posted a screenshot of an alleged DM from someone claiming to be a Madonna insider who said the hotly-anticipated biopic “might actually not happen.”
According to the unnamed source, the project is a “nightmare”, the script needs “constant changes”, and the whole thing is “costing a ton of money.”
Ah, yes. Sounds highly credible to us!
According to a new post from @deuxmoiworld, the biopic May no longer be happening anymore pic.twitter.com/j1chExjp7W
— The Madonna Bible : a FAN account! (@madonnabible_) August 26, 2022
While all of those claims sound plausible, they are also extremely vague, impossible to verify, and not unlike 90% of films when they’re in development. They don’t call it “development hell” for nothing, after all.
The claims also don’t align with what Madonna herself just said about the project to Variety earlier this month during a Q&A to promote her new remix album Finally Enough Love, which debuted at #8 on the Billboard 200.
“I have a very long script that is really hard for me to make shorter,” she said. “I’ve been whittling away at it, but it’s like hacking off my limbs.”
Related: WATCH: Madonna’s “bad influence” is all over the new trailer for the Weird Al biopic
When asked why she decided to write and direct her own biopic, the singer replied, “I’ve had an extraordinary life, I must make an extraordinary film. It was also a preemptive strike because a lot of people were trying to make movies about me. Mostly misogynistic men. So I put my foot in the door and said, ‘No one’s going to tell my story, but me.’”
That said, when the movie was first announced last year, Madonna revealed screenwriter Diablo Cody was helping with the script. After Cody left the project, Erin Cressida Wilson signed on as co-writer. It’s unclear whether Wilson is still attached to the project.
On top of that, two-time Emmy nominee Julia Garner was reportedly tapped to play the Material Girl back in June, but no actual deal has been publicly reported and Garner hasn’t said anything publicly about being cast.
Related: Lori Petty’s crazy response to having to share a trailer with Madonna during ‘A League of Their Own’
For now, however, the official report is that Universal Pictures still plans to produce the film, which will chronicle the early days of Madonna’s life and career.
Despite the fact that that project still appears to be moving forward, diehard fans are freaking out about rumors it’s on life support. Check out what they’re saying…
Omg being her fan is so stressful 💆🏻♀️
— Emanuele (@motomammt) August 26, 2022
me reading the madonna biopic might not happen but then reading a cher movie is apparently on the way: https://t.co/79nigrnIA4 pic.twitter.com/qnW8zZ2hZz
— disco heaven (@angeldowwn) August 27, 2022
I’d be sad if the Madonna movie was canned as I’m very much here for the project, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all. At the least, I expect it to be delayed by some years.
— Inside The Groove (@insidethegroove) August 26, 2022
just make a movie about the madonna biopic bootcamp instead… 10/10 would watch it pic.twitter.com/YMALmGx4cu
— toni (@roykeeleys) August 26, 2022
I’m in stitches! Screw the biopic this needs to happen #Madonna #Cher https://t.co/TO08q9NmT2
— TheJosher (@Just_Joshing_92) August 22, 2022
I never thought the idea of her directing was a good idea. Producer yes, like Elton, but being so hands on could only ever be a disaster. I’d love her to write a biography instead.
— Thom Collins (@ThomWolf) August 26, 2022
Watch Madonna talk about her biopic the “Finally Enough Talk: 50 Questions With Madonna” video she just posted…
Related: Rufus Wainwright just spilled the tea about Madonna: “She’s been quite mean to me a couple of times”
abfab
Did she have her jaws broken and rearranged? She now looks like a creepy alien, which is sad-I thought she was fine just the way she was…..that big lovable Italian guinea wop face a mother could love. Now? And her trip to Sicily was pretty embarrassing….that stupid straw hat and those dumb batcha-galloops she surrounded herself with.
abfab
One more face lift and she’ll have a beard.
Bertram
All that plasticsurgery didn’t help her face much BUT her neck has disappeared. Looks like her head is plopped down on her shoulders.
abfab
Every time she crosses her legs the mouth pops open.
white-queer-african
Sorry, i really don’t care. Yes, I’ve read the article. I must say that I do feel a little sorry for her fans who’s lives are falling apart because of the tragic news. NOT!
abfab
So what you’re really saying is that you care…..a little.
bachy
I have hope because W.E. was actually pretty good. She’s always been a perfectionist, and in recent years she seems increasingly eccentric. Madonna’s in her “Fat Elvis” phase of rock stardom, and only time will tell if she manages (unlike contemporaries Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and George Michael) to traverse a particularly dangerous chapter and emerge on the other side of it.
sfhairy
Really? Not shocked.
Paris in Santiago
I love love love Madonna, but no one has the balls nor tits to tell her she is way too close to the source material and really needs to step back from the writing of the screenplay. She will be certifiable soon, if she doesn’t step away. No good will come of it.
moneyplnatia
Ohh! That surprising ….
at least for me
—————————————————–
@ moneyplantresearch.com
Jim
Maybe she realizes that she is a has-been and doesn’t want to be embarrassed
JJP
LOL!! I’ve been hearing that she’s a “has-been”, “flash-in-the-pan”, and that her 15 minutes of fame are up, since the early 90’s. Madonna ain’t going anywhere. She’s an ICON! And, most recently, the first female artist to have a top 10 album in the Billboard 200 in each of the last 5 decades! What are your accomplishments?