Madonna news - Sep. 2002

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30 September - M taking ballet lessons for NY show? *rumour*
Madonna seems set to take to the Broadway stage for a one-off performance. She has apparently been in secret talks with the choreographer from her 2001 Drowned World tour and is said to be close to signing a deal to appear for a limited time in November in a so-far unnamed show in New York. Choreographer Jamie King is said to have given Madge orders to train in ballet for the show, which will feature a number of celebrity guests. But we don't think the 44-year-old mother of two will have too much trouble getting into ballet as it was one of her first loves before she became a superstar. In the early 1980s she would dance for hours with her mentor Christopher Flynn, who inspired her early career. She was a perfectionist even in those days, so learning a few moves for this latest show should be simple. But Madge may have taken on too much of late. She has her disastrous film to promote, a Bond theme tune to release and a brand new album to record. Not to mention bringing up her children, Lourdes and Rocco. (source: The Mirror, thanx to Madonnarama)

29 September - Does 'Can't You See My Mind' exist after all? *rumour*
Victor Calderone has told website Madonnapower that he remixed a song for Madonna called 'Can't You See My Mind', and that it's completely separate from Die Another Day. He seemed to indicate that it would also be on the James Bond soundtrack, although it is more likely to be included with the next album. It was originally rumored to be the title of Die Another Day. (source: AbsoluteMadonna)

29 September - Swept Away soundtrack
The soundtrack album to Swept Away will be released October 15th but is already available for pre-orders at several internet sites, like Amazon.com. Check fansite Madonnapower for the artwork and tracklisting. It doesn't feature any song by Madonna.

29 September - Madonna second only to God on the web
They say you can judge celebrities' popularity by the number of websites devoted to their very being. Type Britney Spears's name into the Google search engine and you will be bombarded with 1.3 million results. Madonna garners a whopping 2.3 million - way short of the adoration for God, who strikes back with 36.5 million. So, imagine Colin Firth's humiliation - shame even - that his name elicits a mere 47,800 comebacks. That's fewer references than to Australia's ho-hum and comparatively nondescript Prime Minister, John Howard - he manages at least 69,400 hits - or our own girl-next-door-cum-star Nicole Kidman's 287,000. (source: Herald Sun, thanx to AbsoluteMadonna)

29 September - More on DAD video
Here's the low-down from a fan who recently got to see the video in full: "It's a very dark video. There appears to be a total of 3 Madonnas in the video. One is being interrogated/tortured by dunking her face in ice water, electric chair, etc. but she fights back. It's bruised and battered Madonna again (think Drowned World Tour) except she has blonde hair. Other sequences that are going on have two dueling Madonnas - one in black and one in white. They start out fencing each other. Then it appears that they are in some type of James Bond museum and they use a bunch of weapons on each other from various past James Bond movies. It appears they are trying to kill each other. One of the Madonna gets her stomach sliced and the scene is kind of bloody. At one point during the fight, there is a painting of Pierce Brosnan (as James Bond) in a fencing suit. The fencing sword lands right on his crotch. Though the song is dark and violent (again), it is a good showcase for the new song." (source: Madonnarama)

29 September - Radio release date pushed forward
Got the Die Another Day MP3? Well, if not, you can expect to hear it on the radio immediately following the unauthorised leak yesterday. Radio stations worldwide have now been given the goahead to play the single - ahead of the planned radio date of 7 October - following the leak on Z100 Radio in the US. There is even talk of bringing the single release date forward, though - as far as we know, the video is still to premiere at the same time. (source: Madonnarama)

27 September - DAD ONLINE NOW
Die Another Day premiered on US radio Z100 is can now be downloaded here. And read the updated lyrics here.

27 September - Madonna.com on DAD single and video premiere
The soundtrack to the new James Bond film will be released at the beginning of November. The album, to be called Die Another Day, will be released on November 11. However, the film itself isn't released until November 20. The soundtrack includes Madonna's Die Another Day as well as a Paul Oakenfold remix of John Barry's Bond theme and an original score composed by David Arnold. The single to Madonna's Die Another Day will be released in late October with remixes by Dirty Vegas, Deepsky, Felix Da Housecat and Thunderpuss. Here's what some radio DJs are saying about the new song:ERIK BRADLEY, MD, B96, Chicago: "The theme of the upcoming James Bond movie. It's one of the more exciting records I've heard in the last few months... and I'm sooooo excited to play it on B96!"
JERRY McKENNA, PD, WQSX, Boston: "This is a good Pop/Dance record!"
ROB TYLER, MD, WQSX, Boston: "Freakin' smash!"
(source: Madonna.com)
~ Keep track of all the different release dates in our Calendar.

27 September - Guy chats online and with Jay Leno
Guy Ritchie is to take part in an online chat about 'Swept Away' on MSN on the 30th September 9pm ET / 6pm PT. Bookmark now the chatroom on this page. Guy is also scheduled to appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on October 3rd.

27 September - VH1 viewers vote M as the greatest
Madonna has beaten such legendary artists as Aretha Franklin and Billie Holiday to be named the greatest woman in music history. The 44-year-old is the most successful female chart act of all time - with worldwide sales of more than 140 million records in her nearly 20 years at the top of the pop world. More than 750,000 votes were cast in a poll carried out by music channel VH1, and Madonna was the clear winner with 17%. Kylie Minogue's transition from former soap star to pop icon is complete: she made second place. Canadian singer Celine Dion is in third place, followed by Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin. Kate Bush, whose biggest hit was her debut single Wuthering Heights in 1978, is the highest-placed British artist in 10th place. The list of 100 women contained a few surprises - there is no place for "First Lady of Jazz" Ella Fitzgerald, but there is room for the caterwauling Yoko Ono (99). Other British stars named include Annie Lennox (14), Dido (21), Gabrielle (41) and Sharleen Spiteri (49). Eighties favourites Kim Wilde (70) and Bananarama (95) are both there, as is Lulu (93) and the late Kirsty MacColl (74). The Spice Girls are at 44 and Mel C made it in at 58, four places above Geri Halliwell who is at number 62. But Emma Bunton, Mel B and Victoria Beckham are nowhere to be seen. (source: Daily Express)

27 September - Miss Scotland will wear M's tartan
A one-off dress made in a tartan specially designed for Madonna and Guy Ritchie is being given a rare outing at an international beauty pageant in Japan. Romantic Scotland, based on the Ritchie and New York Fire Department tartans, was designed as a first wedding anniversary gift for the couple, who were married at Dornoch Cathedral, Sutherland in December 2002. Both Madonna and film director Guy are often seen showing their love of tartan by wearing kilts. The dress, created for the Romantic Scotland tourism initiative to attract more couples to Scotland, will be worn at the Tokyo pageant by Miss Scotland beauty Juliet Jane Horne, who is competing in the event. Juliet, who is also Miss World runner-up, Miss UK and Miss Europe, wore the dress for its only other outing at the launch of the new tourist initiative. Last night, Fiona Jack, project manager for the Romantic Scotland campaign, said: "Juliet is such an ambassador for Scotland and we are delighted that she has chosen to wear the Romantic Scotland dress at the Miss International pageant." (source: Daily Record)

26 September - M to cameo in Hugh Grant's 'Love, Actually'? *rumour*
Madonna is in talks over a cameo role in Hugh Grant's latest film, Love Actually. It features ten romantic stories that climax on Christmas Eve, and co-stars ex-EastEnders songbird Martine McCutcheon. Hugh plays the newly elected Prime Minister, alongside Emma Thompson as his sister and Alan Rickman as Emma's husband. Martine plays a tea girl with whom Hugh's character falls in love. The film also hails a directing debut from the Four Weddings and a Funeral screenwriter, Richard Curtis. The release date of Love Actually has yet to be announced, but it should hit cinemas in 2003. Ahead of this star-studded montage, expect to see Madonna in the new James Bond adventure, Die Another Day, in which she plays a fencing instructor. Its world premiere takes place at London's Royal Albert Hall on November 18. She is also in a remake of Swept Away, directed by hubbie Guy Ritchie, in which she plays Amber, a rich American shipwrecked on a deserted Mediterranean island together with an Italian sailor. It might be hot stuff - but unlikely to set the world alight, to judge from all the negative word of mouth publicity ahead of opening. (source: ITV)

26 September - VH1 on DAD video
Madonna is moving into the field of covert operations. In her new video for "Die Another Day," the pop diva, lusty temptress and maternal nurturer becomes involved in a world of intrigue and espionage. The song is the title track for the next James Bond movie, which opens in theaters November 22. The upbeat dance cut is filled with electronic flourishes and the stealthy, suspenseful vibe essential to all Bond themes. It will be released to radio October 7.
In the clip, which was shot in Los Angeles earlier this month by directing team Traktor, Madonna plays a secret agent placed in death-defying situations reminiscent of scenes from past 007 films. In once clip, she's strapped into an electric chair; in another, she has her head held underwater by double agents; and a third features the nephew of Harold Sakata - the Oddjob character from "Goldfinger" - flinging deadly bowler hats at Madonna as his uncle did to Sean Connery back in 1964. In one highlight, a "good" Madonna dressed in white engages in a duel with her evil alter ego, who wears black. The scene makes reference to Madonna's cameo role in the movie as a fencing instructor.
The soundtrack for "Die Another Day," which features Paul Oakenfold and others, will be released November 12. (source: VH1)

26 September - DAD details from Warner France
Warner France has issued a press release stating following details about Die Another Day:

The French title is 'Meurs Un Autre Jour'
AOL can air DAD exclusively on Oct. 7th - radio stations worldwide will follow on Oct. 8th.
There will be remixes of Dirty Vegas, Felix Da Housecat, Deep Sky and Thunderpuss
The commercial single will be released October 28th
Madonna will probably attend the Die Another Day premiere in London on November 18th
No confirmation as yet if she'll appear at the MTV Video Music Awards which are held in Barcelona on November 14th
The DAD video, directed by The Tractor Collective, will be exclusively broadcast by MTV on October 10th. It won't contain any images of the movie. Parts of the will appear in the third DAD trailer, which will be shown in theatres.
(source: Warner France, thanx to Madonna Electronica)

26 September - M in ad against illegal music downloads
Pop princess Britney Spears, the bubbly dancing spokesgirl for Pepsi, will soon be hawking again but on a more serious note in a commercial to warn people of the evils of online piracy. Spears, rapper Nelly, hip-hop diva Missy Elliott and other pop stars will be featured in coming weeks in TV spots funded by the world's biggest record labels to educate people about illegal downloading of music, which the music industry blames for a protracted sales slump. [...] The print ads ask the question, "Who Really Cares About Illegal Downloading?," then answer it with a diverse list of nearly 90 major recording artists and songwriters, including such superstars as Eminem, Madonna, the Dixie Chicks, Missy Elliott, Elton John, Sting, Phil Collins, Luciano Pavarotti, Brian Wilson, Spears, and Natalie Cole. (source: Reuters)

25 September - Swept Away screening has 'em laughing
'Swept Away', a remake of the 1974 Lina Wertmuller film is due for release next month, starring Madonna and directed by hubby, Guy Ritchie. The project was been plagued with rumors of problems — and reportedly was pulled from Cannes after test audiences gave it a thumbs down. It has reportedly been re-edited since then, and was shown last week at the Conde Nast International Film Forum at the AMC movie theater. Insiders say the audience was howling with laughter — and that was during Madonna’s dramatic scenes. "Yes, Madonna says 'f - - -' a lot and she gets slapped in the face three times, but the movie was a complete bore," a self-described fan named John wrote on the fan site Madonnarama.com. “The audience was snickering and laughing throughout the entire second half of the film." Fans say that the singer's yogafied body looks fab and the film's fashions are amazing. But the word is that people in the audience were leaving the theater in droves. Another Madonna fan declared it the "worst movie ever. And her acting was terrible." Madonna’s spokeswoman has told The Scoop, "Give the film a chance and see it before you decide if you hate it." (source: MSNBC)

25 September - Madonna in German Gala Magazine
Madonna is on cover of the German magazine GALA's September 12, 2002 issue. Inside there's 4 pages dedicated to Madonna including a lot of great pictures. (source: MLVC mailing list)

25 September - DAD soundtrack release date confirmed (again)
The soundtrack to the new James Bond film will be released at the beginning of November. The album, to be called Die Another Day, will be released on November 11. However, the film itself isn't released until November 20. The soundtrack includes Madonna's Can't You See My Mind as well as a Paul Oakenfold remix of John Barry's Bond theme and an original score composed by David Arnold. (source: Ananova)
~ The rumours about the Bond title actually being called 'Can't You See My Mind' instead of 'Die Another Day' are still circulating. Some remixers seem to call that song that way, but we stress that official sources talk about 'Die Another Day' so to us that seems to be the correct title.

25 September - Madonna talks about her Bond role and song
In an interview with Genre magazine Madonna has spoken of her two roles in Die Another Day; that is, of the title song and of her cameo role. To begin with, Madonna has confirmed earlier reports that her role in Die Another Day would be that of James Bond's fencing instructor. Obviously, the role will see her on screen opposite Pierce Brosnan. There is still no word on how long Madonna will be seen on screen, thought it was recently revealed that her characters name is Verity. Of the theme song for Die Another Day Madonna has told Genre, "The song I wrote for the Bond film is about destroying your ego, and it's juxtaposing the metaphor of, you know, the fight against good and bad, and it's set inside the whole universe of Bond. Like all Bond films, somebody's chasing him or he's chasing somebody and it's always a fight against good and evil. I wanted to take it to another level. It's kind of a metaphor.. I'm fighting myself." If you'd like to discuss Madonna's comments please visit this thread of the Die Another Day Forums. (source: CommanderBond, thanks to robster006)

25 September - DAD single artwork
The cover photo for 'Die Another Day' will be one of the black and white pictures from the 'Pop' magazine shoot, featuring Madonna in the black jacket (almost certainly the same picture as on Genre magazine, as seen on the right). The artwork features maroon and black stripes in the background. The entire artwork is based on black, white, maroon and grey. (source: Madonnarama)

24 September - Madonna.com confirms DAD release dates
The title song to the new James Bond film 'Die Another Day' is going to US radio on October 10th and also that day MTV will have a worldwide simultaneous video debut. This is the first time that MTV has ever done this! The commercial single will be released in late October on Warner Bros. The b-side will be remixes of the single. (source: Madonna.com)

23 September - Swept Away soundtrack
The Swept Away soundtrack is set to be released in America on October the 15th, according to amazon.com. The album will feature original score by Madonna-collaborator Michel Colombier. Amazon is taking pre-orders already. This should be a great preview of what Colombier can do! (source: Madonnarama)

22 September - DWT loses at Emmy's but wins at AOL
Tonight the 54th Annual Emmy Awards, which celebrates the Best US TV shows, were broadcast. Though the Drowned World Tour was nominated twice for an Emmy Award, once for Outstanding Choreography and once for Outstanding Costumes, it lost out to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games 2002 in Salt Lake City. However, at the second annual AOL TV Viewer Awards, the Drowned World Tour was chosen by viewers as Best TV Concert.

21 September - DAD single and soundtrack details
Fansite Madonnarama claims to have following information on the DAD single and soudtrack confirmed:

7 Oct: single brought to radio
10 Oct: worldwide simultaneous video debut
28 Oct: commercial single release
Making of the video is being done by MTV for all MTV channels around the world
The 'Die Another Day' soundtrack will be released on WB (not Maverick) on 11 November (12 November for the US). The UK catalogue no. is 9362 48389-2
The music contained will be:
- 'Die Another Day' performed by Madonna and produced by Mirwais
- 'James Bond Theme' remixed by Paul Oakenfold.
- Original score music composed by David Arnold.
As previously mentioned, the CD-E will include Madonna's video for the single 'Die Another Day' plus an extract of the MTV Making Of documentary. For the UK, the Enhanced CD will be a limited edition (so that it does not break chart eligibility rules).
The album artwork will be based on the film poster, though there will be localised versions for international territories (featuring an inserted card).
The main title sequence for the film, which will include Madonna's song, will last for approximately 10 minutes. There will be a radio edit plus an album version of the song. The UK promo will have the catalogue no. PRO 3599.
The commercial single will be released on October 28th. The b-side will be an as yet unconfirmed remix of the single.
Despite what you may have read elsewhere, the definitive title of the single is 'Die Another Day'. Reviews of the single which relate it to sounding like 'Music' and featuring heavily-autotuned vocals in parts are accurate.

19 September - Madonna is the sexiest
What is sexy? How do you define it? What exact combination of sex appeal, confidence, beauty, class and attitude are needed to make it? VH1 has voted Madonna as the sexiest artist of Rock and Roll. Whether she's provocatively posing for her SEX book or successfully combining motherhood and her career, Madonna still has that "Je ne sais quoi" that leaves us mesmerized. Now, VH1 adds it all up and counts down music's "100 Sexiest Artists" in a new five-hour, five consecutive night special. Premiering Monday, September 23, each special airs at 10:00-11:00 p.m. (ET/PT). (source: VH1)

17 September - M in Guinness Book of Records 2003
Madonna appears twice in the 2003 edition of the Guinness Book of Records: she's had the most costume changes in Evita, and What It Feels Like For A Girl is the best selling DVD. The categorie 'Best Selling Female Artist' has been removed, probably because of claims of record companies of some other pop bitches. But we all know who earned and still owns this title.

16 September - No family pop group for Guy
Guy Ritchie has finally given up on his dreams of forming a family pop group. He bought wife Madonna a guitar after Rocco was born. 'I really fancied playing together but we just tended to get really ratty with each other. I've got no sense of time and I always wanted to lead,' he says. (source: PeopleNews)

16 September - Dying octopus?
More ravishing details of Swept Away have been revealed by Madonna's co-star Adriano Giannini. First it was a bowl of pasta thrown in her face, now it is a live octopus. 'We used a real one,' he explains, 'the thing was dying and at one point I had to give it mouth to mouth resuscitation.' Perhaps a veiled reference to Madge's acting talents? (source: PeopleNews)

16 September - GM buys rights of M music for ad
The overhaul of General Motors Corp.'s advertising campaign continues this week as the automaker rolls out two new spots over the next several days, including one featuring music by hometown diva Madonna. Christopher J. Fraleigh, executive director of advertising and corporate marketing for GM, said the automaker has acquired the rights to Madonna's music for the new corporate ad touting its newest vehicles. [...] Fraleigh, however, was careful to note GM has not asked the controversial pop star, who grew up in Rochester Hills and whose father worked at General Motors, to act as a spokeswoman for the company. "We just bought the rights to her music, that's all," he said. (source: Oakland Press)

16 September - DAD remix played in club
Clubgoers got a hot surprise last night in New York! A 15 minute dub-like remix of Madonna's Die Another Day was played last night at New York gay club 'Splash'. The club went nuts as they played the song and our sources described as a "fresh, new sound" for Madonna, noting that it was a very original sounding remix and had a harder edge to it than her last few singles. It is believed that one of the members of Thunderpusswas spinning at the club and that it was their remix! (source: Madonnarama)

16 September - Madonna pays medical costs for mother of Lola's pal
Kind hearted Madonna has unofficially "adopted" her daughter's pal after the girl's mum caught a deadly disease. The school mate became a friend of little Lourdes when they met at a school in Los Angelos. Madonna stepped in after the school pal stopped attending classes because her mum was suffering from a blood disorder. Madge immediately arranged for a limo to pick up the youngster from her home on one of the city's working class estates. She and film director hubby Guy ritchie are also paying for expert medical care for the woman. And Madge has pledged to look after the schoolgirl should anything happen to her. A source explained: "Lourdes met the girl at the Kabbalah Children's Academy and the pair quickly became pals. This is costing Madonna a small fortune. And she couldn't care less about how much she's spending. What matters is getting this woman better." (source: Daily Star, thanx to Madonnarama)

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