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But on the day Lauer inquired about her critics, Madonna was feeling defiant.
Did the nine-time Razzie winner think she was a good actress?
Yeah, I do, she told him.
Great performances, all of them.
Madonna recently wrappedthe Celebration Tour, the first roadshow built around her greatest hits.
(Even her ex-boyfriends got a slideshow.)
She knows a greatest hit when she sees one.
And what about the other films?
Vulture decided to call up a handful of her Hollywood collaborators to collect anecdotes.
She was more present, in the best sense of the word, than Id ever seen her.
It was a kissing scene, and she went after him in a way that made their chemistry undeniable.
It was very clear that she wanted what she wanted and she was going to make that happen.
Later, he also did something few can claim: He forced Madonna to grovel.
Madonna initially refused, launching years of scorn directed at thereal-estate cheat.
(Hes a wimp, shetoldInterviewin 1990 when asked about his budding presidential prospects.)
But Foley insisted, knowing that Warner Bros. had already negotiated access to the building.
I dont think she made eye contact with him.
At that dinner, we were all mesmerized by her, Jerry says.
It would have been an opportunity for Madonna to go over-the-top, to kick and scream and scheme.
But something didnt click.
Plus, at 27, she still seemed a bit young to play a housewife.
Eventually, everyone agreed it wasnt the right fit.
It also gave her a new beau in Beatty.
They were discreet about it, but you could tell they had a real romantic chemistry, Hornaday recalls.
I think it worked for the movie.
Big Boy hollered at Breathless, mocked her, pushed her, and taunted her chorus girls.
Hes very demanding and very specific about how things should go, Hornaday says of the Broadway legend.
It was a huge challenge for her emotionally, and he was totally happy with her.
Lee and Madonna had hung out on and off as creatures of New Yorks creative class.
Madonna plays a well-manicured superior who rattles off the various acts callers might request.
(Shittings really big right now.
Dont ask me why.
Could be the stock market.)
After the back-to-back bombsBody of EvidenceandDangerous Game, casting Madonna wasnt exactly in vogue.
I didnt give a fuck, Lee says.
Shes who I had in mind, and she wanted to do it, so that was it.
Ever since, theyve had a symbiotic back-and-forth.
She said, Spike, your son is bothering my daughter, Lee laughs.
(Miramax had released Madonnas blockbuster 1991 documentaryTruth or Dare.)
Weinstein also floated the idea of casting Janet Jackson, Poster says, but it never went anywhere.
ImagineChicagostarring Janet and Madonna!
Months passed while Miramax sorted through the development.
Poster told Madonna she couldnt come.
I was not having her at my wedding!
Fortunately, Madonna took it well, sending Poster a really cool pair of Gualtier shoes as a gift.
Can the author of theSexbook headline a classy Disney-backed biopic about Argentine first lady Eva Peron?
I can sing better than she can, if that counts for anything.
(Four short years earlier, DisneysNewsiescrashed at the box office.)
For Madonna, who lobbied hard to get the part, a rebrand was in order.
If you go back and look at what she wore to public events, she was sort of buttoned-up.
Liz saw the wisdom in an image shift.
A final ride:Swept Away(2001)
At lunch, they wrestled.
I said, No, thank you, Im gonna have my burrito, Greenwood recalls.
It was proper wrestling, like submit-or-get-hurt wrestling.
A lot of the guys were really into it.
Swept Awaywould be Madonnas final starring role.
It flopped hard enough for her to throw in the movie towel.
They were really playful in a cantankerous kind of way, he says.
Just taking the piss out of each other, but in a healthy way.
Neither of them are shrinking violets.
Their energy was ribbing each other.
Her acting career was officially over.
I hate to admit it, but Ive decided to give that up,she said in 2006.
Its already dead in the water.
