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Interviews

Madonna & Andrea Riseborough Talk The Music & The Rumored Nazi Ties Of Edward VIII & Wallis Simpson In 'W.E.'

By Jen Vineyard
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January 30, 2012 10:58 AM
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1 Comment

News

Madonna found a kindred spirit of sorts when she started researching the life of Wallis Simpson -- long before she dreamed of directing and co-writing a "Julie & Julia"-style take on the Duchess of Windsor in "W.E." Feeling very much the foreigner when she first moved to England, Madonna started reading up on the history of the monarchy, and was especially intrigued by the story of Edward VIII abdicating his throne for an American divorcee.

By Kevin Jagernauth
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August 1, 2011 5:43 AM
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4 Comments

Update: Photos removed by the request of the Weinstein Company. Update 2: 1 photo back up at the TIFF site.

By Kevin Jagernauth
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April 25, 2011 4:00 AM
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2 Comments

For her sophomore directorial effort "W.E.," Madonna is certainly surrounding herself with some solid talent. She's got Abbie Cornish, Oscar Isaac, Andrea Riseborough and James D’Arcy to lead the cast in the highly ambitious film, that tells the parallel stories of the love affair between King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, which led to the royal’s abdication, and the contemporary story of a woman, Wally Winthrop, with romantic problems of her own, in addition to an obsession with the life of the Duchess of Windsor. And with all that pomp and circumstance going on, a classical score is unsurprisingly being prepped and the Queen Of Pop has roped in some intriguing collaborators.

By Simon Dang
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March 13, 2011 3:02 AM
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1 Comment

Film Eyeing Premiere At The Venice Film Festival This FallDuring its production, rumor had it that Madonna's daughter, Lourdes, had been cast in her mother's picture in an unknown role. While it was reportedly debunked at the time, the casting turned out to be true with star Abbie Cornish revealing the famous offspring will play a younger version of her own character, Wally Simpson.

By The Playlist
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March 6, 2011 5:23 AM
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0 Comments

Aussie Actress Says 'W.E.' Filmmaker Madonna Is A "Natural" DirectorOK, actress Abbie Cornish went on far too long this weekend during the "Limitless" junket about being a vegetarian (booooring), but the Australian beauty is still tops in our book. Coming off an amazing (and sadly unrecognized turn) in Jane Campion's "Bright Star," Cornish's career has taken some interesting twists and turns. While it feels as if she's gone mainstream or at least is taking off, nabbing roles in Zack Snyder's tentpole ,"Sucker Punch," the high-concept "Limitless," and seemingly finding herself in the mix for several hot projects ("The Great Gatsby," "Prometheus" and many more), Cornish's journey seems to simply be an exploratory one; trying on whatever comes her way that sounds like a new challenge, indie, tentpole or otherwise.

By Kevin Jagernauth
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January 28, 2011 7:24 AM
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0 Comments

With Brad Pitt (and Angelina Jolie likely in tow) and Sean Penn pretty much guaranteed to hit the Cannes Film Festival this year for Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life," paparazzi are going to be out in full force, and when reports surfaced last week that the Queen Of Pop herself was headed for the Croisette with her latest directorial effort "W.E." we can only imagine that photogs thought they had struck gold. But alas, Madonna won't be hitting the south of France this spring.

By Kevin Jagernauth
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January 21, 2011 5:07 AM
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1 Comment

OK, so Madonna's first attempt behind the camera "Filth and Wisdom" was a bit of misfire, but damn if Ms. Ciccone isn't raising the stakes for her for sophomore effort "W.E."