Madonna (left) and Julia Garner Courtesy Everett Collection; Matthias Nareyek/WireImage Perhaps it’s no surprise that Madonna, who proudly boasted of loving the finer things in hit single “Material Girl,” would have money concerns surrounding a biopic that never came to fruition.
During a sit-down with Interview, Madonna discussed the fact that the movie that she planned to direct about her life, which had Julia Garner attached to star, never moved forward at Universal Pictures. Madonna is a Grammy-winning music icon known for such multi-platinum-selling albums as Like a Virgin, True Blue and Like a Prayer, in addition to an acting career that includes A League of Their Own and Evita.
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“I was supposed to make a movie about my life,” Madonna told the publication. “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. I’ve had a huge life, so I needed a big budget.”
She went on to note that the film could never have an indie-level production: “They couldn’t get their heads around it. I found a way to make it for less money in Serbia, but I don’t think they were into the idea of — I don’t know. 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.”
Madonna explained that Netflix later connected with her to make a series based on her life and career, but the matter was complicated due to the star not being able to use the script from the Universal project. In May 2025, The Hollywood Reporter reported that producer Shawn Levy was working with Madonna on developing the limited series.
“I was in limbo when that fell apart, and then Netflix reached out to make a series,” Madonna said. “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 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.”
THR previously reported that Universal’s Madonna movie, which was first announced in 2020, was put into turnaround in late 2022. Madonna worked on drafts of the script with Diablo Cody and Cressida Wilson, and THR reported that no version ever came in under 180 pages, leading to questions about the film’s potential length.
Last year, Garner told the SmartLess podcast that the biopic was “supposed to still happen,” with the Emmy-winning actress calling herself “such a fan of Madonna’s.”
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