The Queen of Pop will adapt and direct a new film based on a novel that explores
themes of gender and sexual identity
She may just have adopted four-year-old twin girls from an orphanage in Malawi after hearing of their plight through her charity work (for those counting, she now has six children), but it looks like Madonna is still getting back in the director’s chair.
The Queen of Pop, who previously directed the 2008 comedy Filth and Wisdom and 2011’s stylish period romance W.E., is planning on directing a film in 2017 that she hopes will speak to audiences about sexuality and women’s rights.
In a recent interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Madonna revealed that she is working on a film called Loved, based on Andrew Sean Greer’s novel The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells.
From Harper’s: “On her coffee table, there were binders filled with research for the project—potential settings, costumes, and so on. Madonna is thorough. In fact, she co-wrote the screenplay and will be directing the film. The novel follows the title character as she moves through time and negotiates three different lives she could have lived. The story also focuses on Greta’s relationship with her gay twin brother, Felix, in those different lives.”
Of course, many of the themes and subjects of Loved are those Madonna has touched upon in envelope-pushing ways throughout her career.
“I’ve always felt oppressed,” she said. “I know a lot of people would go, ‘Oh, that’s ridiculous for you to say that. You’re a successful white, wealthy pop star,’ but I’ve had the shit kicked out of me for my entire career, and a large part of that is because I’m female and also because I refuse to live a conventional life. I’ve created a very unconventional family. I have lovers who are three decades younger than me. This makes people very uncomfortable. I feel like everything I do makes people feel really uncomfortable.”
The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells follows a depressed woman who, after being prescribed electrotherapy by her doctor, begins to experience travelling through time. Along the way, the novel further explores her relationship with gay brother Felix.
“Why does this book appeal to me? Why did I want to adapt it into a screenplay? Because it touches me on so many levels and it deals with so many important topics. Right now, more than ever, it’s an extremely timely story to tell,” Madonna said.
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