Madonna needs a big budget to tell her extraordinary life story

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Madonna needs a big budget to tell her extraordinary life story

Writer: Heidi Hsia

The Material Girl has had an extraordinary life

24 Jun - Madonna has recently opened up about the biopic that did not come to fruition, stating that money was the cause of the whole issue.

In a recent sit-down with Interview Magazine, Madonna stated that the project, which was supposed to be financed by Universal Pictures, did not happen after the pop royalty asked for a bigger budget.

"I worked on my script for two years and spent two years at Universal Studios with the line producers doing budgeting and casting. We had a falling out, me and Universal, regarding budget because I needed - I've had an extraordinary life," she said.

Madonna asks for a bigger budget and Universal says no

Madonna stated that she told the studio that they could make the movie for less money in Serbia, but that Universal wasn't into the idea.

"Maybe they just didn't believe in me. 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," she added.

The "Like a Virgin" singer also stated that Netflix contacted her about making a series about her life later on, but that the matter was complicated by the fact that she wasn't able to use the script from the Universal project.

Julia Garner was supposed to play Madonna in her biopic

"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 said, adding that making a series was another challenge. "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."

Madonna previously worked with Diablo Cody and Cressida Wilson on the script, with Julia Garner already being cast to portray her.

Cinema Online, 24 June 2026