Madonna Reveals Why Her Biopic Collapsed: 'I Needed a Big Budget'

The Biopic That Never Was

Madonna’s long-planned biopic is dead – killed by a budget battle with Universal Studios and a fruitless nine-month hunt for a showrunner at Netflix. In her eleventh cover appearance for Interview magazine, the singer lays out exactly what went wrong, and why she had to walk away.

“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 says. “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.”

Universal balked. “One of their first reactions was, ‘We don’t believe you’d stay in Serbia 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.” After the split, Netflix stepped in with a series idea – but complications over the script rights forced her to start over.

“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 extortionist’s price, even though I wrote it,” she explains. “We spent eight or nine months looking for a showrunner, and we never found one.” Her verdict: “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.”

Back to the Dance Floor

That other job is, of course, her music. On July 3, Madonna will release Confessions II, the long-awaited sequel to her 2005 chart-topper Confessions on a Dance Floor. Reuniting with producer Stuart Price, she’s already teased the project with a surprise Coachella appearance alongside Sabrina Carpenter, where they performed the new duet “Bring Your Love.”

The first single “I Feel So Free” shot to No. 1 on the Billboard Dance Airplay chart, while “Bring Your Love” topped UK Club Charts. A ten-minute short film, Confessions II – The Film, directed by TORSO, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 5, followed by a conversation with Jimmy Fallon.

Nakedness is Out, Covering Up is In

Madonna also used the Interview session to explain her evolving relationship with provocation. Once known for shattering taboos with nudity, she now says the real rebellion lies in hiding the body.

With Confessions II arriving in weeks and a biopic saga that still stings, Madonna remains the blueprint for pop reinvention – and she’s not done writing the script.