Madonna news - Aug. 2013


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Mysterious billboard hints at 2014 project

Source: ATRL - 31 August 2013

Madonna teaser on a Tokyo billboard Pictures are circulating online of a billboard that has appeared in the streets of Tokyo, picturing Madonna with the teaser line "2014.02.12 to be unveiled. www.mdna-0212.com".

Strangely, the mentioned website only returns a blank page.

While many believe it to be a fake, other sources confirm that the billboard does indeed exist.

Speculations include the opening of a new fitness center in Tokyo or a new fragrance, though the website seems to indicate it is related to the MDNA era. This sparks rumours of a new MDNA Tour leg for Japan, though it seems unlikely the tour will have an extension more than a year after its ending.

If there's real project behind, we'll surely hear more in the coming weeks... To be continued?



Former back-up singer Donna De Lory talks about Madonna, MDNA, Kabbalah, and Truth or Dare

Source: Fox News - 31 August 2013

Donna De Lory spent decades performing in sold out arenas as Madonna's leading back-up singer, but now, she's set out to become the face of devotional music. Her new album “The Unchanging” is her most artistic and deeply personal to-date – a far cry from bopping under spotlights to Like a Virgin and Holiday.

Donna De Lory performing with Madonna at the Girlie Show “My initial passion was just to sing, it gave me such bliss. But at some point in my life, I wanted to be of service to other people,” De Lory told FOX411's Pop Tarts column. “I want my voice to be that vehicle that heals the hearts of others. I love having fun and dancing, and I love the celebration of performing, but I want to use my voice for something more.”

De Lory's musical path originates from a strong family legacy – her grandfather was a musician in the Warner Bros. studio orchestra, working on classic films including “Casablanca” and “Gone With the Wind,” while her father was a part of Phil Spector's band, additionally playing keyboard for the Beach Boys and producing several Glen Campbell hits. By the end of her teen years, De Lory was lending her unique voice to albums by the likes of Carly Simon, Bette Midler, Selena and Belinda Carlisle, while at the same time delving into the religious practices and spiritual philosophies that shape the music she makes today.

“I was babysitting as a teenager in Beverly Hills and the mom said ‘come to Church.' It was about going inside yourself and healing your own suffering and being part of a community,” she recalled. “I love finding the truth in every religion. One grandmother was a Catholic and the other was a Christian, and I see clearly that it is all pointing reference to the same place…I hope when people hear my music they will just hear how much I love God and how thankful I am.”

But it was in 1987-- when De Lory was barely 21 years old-- that she became part of Madonna's exclusive touring ensemble, becoming the Queen of Pop's right-hand woman for the legendary Who's that Girl, Blond Ambition, Drowned World, Girlie Show and Confessions tours. She then soared to notoriety in Alek Keshishian's iconic documentary Truth or Dare. And when you are keeping company with the big M, it comes as no surprise that her devotion to Kabbalah would come into play.

Kabbalah, all of a sudden, was mandatory. I thought it couldn't hurt, but it wasn't my belief system per se. However, two times the teacher tied on the [Kabbalah symbol of the] red-string, and two times I watched it untie and come off me,” De Lory noted. “They tie these things and knot them and they aren't supposed to come off for a long time. After it came off two times on its own, I figured that I didn't need that to protect me.”

The 2008 Sticky & Sweet tour marked the first time in more than two decades that she wasn't by Madonna's side on-stage, and De Lory, who now resides with her husband and two young children in California's Topanga Canyon, chose to skip last year's MDNA showdown as well.

“I looked at some clips online. I know her and what she is trying to do. But the whole thing in trying to advocate non-violence and then be on stage with guns?” De Lory observed. “Even though she is very wealthy and very famous, Madonna is still human and like all of us, she is trying to figure it all out. She was always a great example for me; she worked so hard and wanted something so badly.”

Early on, that extraordinary level of stardom was what De Lory wanted too. In 1993, she debuted as pop solo artist with a self-titled album through MCA/Universal Records – even recording a song that didn't make Madonna's Like a Prayer album as her own – but it soon became apparent that the Tinseltown machine just wasn't her jam.

I would go to her parties, name any star and they would be there. But these people weren't my friends. I didn't feel comfortable. To think of myself in a scene like that felt empty,” De Lory explained. “And I got more and more into world music and the record company was like, what is she tripping on? They were telling me I was overweight, I looked too big in my music videos. I was belly-dancing and wanted my stomach to actually be a stomach. I stood up and told them tough luck, I had already passed that point in my 20's of being so insecure with trying to be skinny.”

And even though De Lory became suspicious when camera crews started following them around in 1990 with the claim that “Madonna just wants home footage” and warned everyone else to be careful about what they said, one Hollywood star almost caused her undoing.

“I had a French boyfriend I met on the first tour, we were going to breakup, but we were holding off. So I was off with Madonna in London and I met Robert Downey Jr. He just rocked my world. We started hanging out,” she added with a nervous smile. “Then in ‘Truth or Dare' they asked me if I had ever messed around on my boyfriend and told the truth. Sitting in the screening, I was so afraid, even though I was breaking up with my boyfriend, that he would see this… Luckily, none of that about me ended up in there.”



MDNA breakdancer Lilou: "Madonna should never stop dancing"

Source: ContactMusic - 31 August 2013

Madonna should always take risks with her dancing and should never have less routines in her live shows, says breakdancer Lilou - who joined her on her 2012 'MDNA Tour'.

Lilou performing with Madonna at the MDNA TourMadonna should not stop dancing because it is integral to her stage act, says breakdancer Lilou.

The Algerian b-boy joined the 55-year-old pop superstar on her 2012 MDNA Tour as a dancer and choreographer.

Although the 'Material Girl' singer attracted some criticism for her raunchy dancing during her last run of shows, Lilou wants her to stay edgy when it comes to dance because she is famous for it

He said: ''Madonna shouldn't stop dancing because it is a part of her act.''

Even though he is an expert at breakdancing and a two-time winner of the Red Bull BC One All Star competition and a two-time World Final Champion, Lilou insists he learnt a lot from working with Madonna.

He exclusively told BANG Showbiz: ''When I was doing some stuff with her, like a duo, we needed to be specific and careful. She helped me with that. We needed to not hurt her because she was the main act of the show, so when we did some stuff with her we had to be very clear.''

The 29-year-old dancer's first performance with Madonna was when she played the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show in February 2012 and he admits he felt the pressure of dancing in front of such a large crowd and millions of TV viewers.

He explained: ''I was a little bit stressed at the Super Bowl because it was the first time I performed with Madonna. Our part was quite risky because we had to carry Madonna and we were dancing on benches, so there was a lot of risk. You couldn't mess up.''

Lilou will be competing at the Red Bull BC One World Finals - the world's leading one-on-one B-Boy World Championship - in Seoul, Korea, on November 30

The organisers are commemorating their 10-year anniversary this year and they are inviting back all of the eight previous winners to compete against each other. Lilou is the only person to have won twice and he cannot wait to test his skills again.

He said: ''I'm very excited about it because it will be a good competition this year with good dancers and all of the champions here, so it will be intense.''

The Red Bull BC One competition will be live-streamed on Redbullbcone.com



Camille Paglia: "Young performers like Miley will never equal Madonna"

Source: Time - 31 August 2013

Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke performing at the VMA 2013 “Disgusting!” “Raunchy!” “Desperate!” So went the scathing reviews that poured in after once wholesome Disney star Miley Cyrus' recent bizarre performance at the MTV Video Music Awards.

Bopping up and down the catwalk in hair-twist devil's horns and a flesh-colored latex bikini, Cyrus lewdly wagged her tongue, tickled her crotch with a foam finger, shook her buttocks in the air and spanked a 6-ft. 7-in. black burlesque queen.

Most of the media backlash focused on Cyrus' crass opportunism, which stole the show from Lady Gaga, normally no slouch in the foot-stamping look-at-me department. But the real scandal was how atrocious Cyrus' performance was in artistic terms. She was clumsy, flat-footed and cringingly unsexy, an effect heightened by her manic grin.

How could American pop have gotten this bad? Sex has been a crucial component of the entertainment industry since the seductive vamps of silent film and the bawdy big mamas of roadhouse blues. Elvis Presley, James Brown and Mick Jagger brought sizzling heat to rock, soul and funk music, which in turn spawned the controversial raw explicitness of urban hip-hop.

The Cyrus fiasco, however, is symptomatic of the still heavy influence of Madonna, who sprang to world fame in the 1980s with sophisticated videos that were suffused with a daring European art-film eroticism and that were arguably among the best artworks of the decade. Madonna's provocations were smolderingly sexy because she had a good Catholic girl's keen sense of transgression. Subversion requires limits to violate.

Young performers will probably never equal or surpass the genuine shocks delivered by the young Madonna, as when she sensually rolled around in a lacy wedding dress and thumped her chest with the mic while singing Like a Virgin at the first MTV awards show in 1984. Her influence was massive and profound, on a global scale.

But more important, Madonna, a trained modern dancer, was originally inspired by work of tremendous quality — above all, Marlene Dietrich's glamorous movie roles as a bisexual blond dominatrix and Bob Fosse's stunningly forceful strip-club choreography for the 1972 film Cabaret , set in decadent Weimar-era Berlin. Today's aspiring singers, teethed on frenetically edited small-screen videos, rarely have direct contact with those superb precursors and are simply aping feeble imitations of Madonna at 10th remove.

Pop is suffering from the same malady as the art world, which is stuck on the tired old rubric that shock automatically confers value. But those once powerful avant-garde gestures have lost their relevance in our diffuse and technology-saturated era, when there is no longer an ossified high-culture establishment to rebel against. On the contrary, the fine arts are alarmingly distant or marginal to most young people today.

Read on



Madonna tops Forbes 2013 list of the Top-Earning Celebrities

Source: Forbes - 26 August 2013

Kiss My Ass Forbes Forbes reports that Madonna tops their list of Highest Earning Celebrities of 2013, with an estimated earning of $125 million between June 2012 and June 2013. The biggest part of that comes of course from the massive MDNA Tour, which already earned her the Top Touring Award at the Billboard Music Awards. Add to that strong merchandise sales, a clothing line, fragrance and investments in companies like Vita Coco.

It's the highest amount that Madonna has earned since Forbes started compiling their Celebrity 100 list. The closest she came to $125 million was in 2009 when she earned $110 million.

Celebrities who complete the rest of the Top 5 are Steven Spielberg, who earned an estimate $100 million, and Simon Cowell, Howard Stern and E.L. James, who eached earned $95 million.

The only other female celebrity is Lady Gaga, who closest the Top 10 with $80 million.

~ Since Forbes continues its tradition of writing articles infused with their Madonna-hatred instead of analysis, we summarized only the facts.



Rocco records own rap demos

Source: Herald Sun - 26 August 2013

Madonna and Rocco on the MDNA Tour He was never going to be an accountant, was he? Seems young Rocco Ritchie is following in the footsteps of his superstar mum Madonna by embarking, shockingly, on a music career.

The 13-year-old, who served as a dancer on his mum's world tour last year (and he was awesome), is said to be busy working on six new tunes in one of his mother's studios, with best mate Dominic Sesto.

Apparently, the duo has called themselves Modoccor (er, it sounds like Madonna) and they combine rapping with break-dancing and gymnastics.

"The pair are virtually inseparable and have recorded six demo tracks to send to record bosses," a Madge source said.

"Madonna is obviously helping them as much as she can."

Rocco has already posted a clip of himself rapping to his Instagram feed and is said to have been inspired by his big sister Lourdes, who has already had some substantial creative success.

The 16-year-old already designs for her own fashion label - Material Girl - in partnership with her mother, while studying at the famous LaGuardia Performing Arts high school in New York.

Perhaps Rocco's love of rap has influenced his mother who has been parading a set of questionable gold grills on her teeth.



Italian fans get Secret Project preview session with Madonna

22 August 2013

Fansite MadonnaTribe reports:

Secret Project "A preview of Madonna's Secret Project has been presented last night in Rome at the event held at the Hard Candy Fitness center.

The five fans selected outside the venue to visit the gym with Madonna had also the privilege to see the preview of this long awaited project with her.

Madonna sat on the floor with her five fans to watch Secret Project on a big screen and was anxious to know if they would appreciate what they saw of this mini feature shot almost all in black and white by Steven Klein. She was then very pleased with their positive reaction.

Secret Project has a length of 20 Minutes and it is shot as a black and white documentary about all kind of denied freedoms. It's the ultimate hymn to freedom of speech and freedom of expression.

At present time, if nothing changes, Secret Project is set to be released next month for everybody to see and enjoy."



Madonna visits Hard Candy Fitness Center in Rome

Source: Daily Mail - 22 August 2013

Madonna just couldn't wipe the smile off her face earlier this week, and little wonder – the pop legend was keen to give fans and photographers a closer look at her distinctive grills.

Madonna visits Hard Candy Fitness Center in Rome Madonna visits Hard Candy Fitness Center in Rome Madonna visits Hard Candy Fitness Center in Rome Madonna visits Hard Candy Fitness Center in Rome Madonna visits Hard Candy Fitness Center in Rome Madonna visits Hard Candy Fitness Center in Rome Madonna visits Hard Candy Fitness Center in Rome Madonna visits Hard Candy Fitness Center in Rome

While the unusual fashion accessory is a common feature in the mouths of younger stars like Justin Bieber and Rihanna, Madonna – who celebrated her 55th birthday last week – clearly puts no limit on what she can get away with.

Indeed, the Borderline singer cheerfully showed off her glittering grills when she paid a visit to the Rome branch of her Hard Candy fitness studio chain on Wednesday.

Wearing a black mini-dress, black tights and those fingerless leather gloves she's so fond of sporting, Madonna called in to the Colosseo gym for what amounted to a quick inspection, but all eyes were inspecting her mouth as she made her across the threshold.

The singer and actress let her hair down in France recently at the Menton music festival before celebrating son Rocco's 13th birthday with a game of paintball that included young boyfriend Brahmin Zaibat and her teenage daughter, Lourdes.

Her own birthday fell on August 16, and Madonna celebrated by throwing a raunchy fancy dress party themed around the French Revolution.

With the party over she's now getting down to the series business of managing her gym empire – with her latest visit to the Rome studio her second in as many days. .

The superstar previously ditched her workout attire for a chic designer outfit when she visited her fitness centre on Tuesday.

Madonna turned on the style big-time in a tight black skirt teamed with a black and white blouse and black Christian Louboutin heels.

The singer accessorised with sunglasses, a gold chain and black leather bag as she entered the building flanked by two bodyguards.

Madonna seemed in good spirits as she left her car and was surrounded by a throng of waiting fans and photographers as she rushed inside.

It has been a busy few days for the multi-millionaire performer following her Marie Antoinette lavish themed party in which she wore a curly blonde wig and eye patch in keeping with the theme of the celebrations.

Completing the famous look - for the milestone event catered by luxury bakery Ladurée - Madonna was clad in an extravagant, embellished garment that revealed her lean legs and ample cleavage.

She was pictured sitting on her younger boyfriend Brahim Zaibat's lap at the bash with a cocktail clasped firmly in her hand.

The two lovebirds seemed smitten with one another at the event and Madonna had a blast.

'Perhaps we had too much Cale! But at my Birthday Party all I could see was LOVE,' she posted along with an Instagram shot of herself during the night.

'Perhaps I had too much Champagne! I meant to write CAKE!' Madonna added, insinuating that she may have indulged at her special soiree.



Madonna hosts Marie Antoinette-themed birthday bash

Source: ContactMusic - 19 August 2013

Pop icon Madonna showed off her sexy side by donning a skimpy outfit to celebrate her 55th birthday at a lavish costume party on Saturday (17Aug13).

Madonna hosts Marie Antoinette-themed birthday bash Madonna hosts Marie Antoinette-themed birthday bash Madonna hosts Marie Antoinette-themed birthday bash Madonna hosts Marie Antoinette-themed birthday bash Madonna hosts Marie Antoinette-themed birthday bash

The Material Girl, whose big day was on Friday (16Aug13), made sure all eyes were on her by turning up dressed as French queen Marie Antoinette in a sexy purple corset, a heart-shaped eye patch, fishnet stockings and a towering blonde wig.

Madonna drank Champagne and partied with her boyfriend Brahim Zaibat and daughter Lourdes, and was later presented with a five-tier pink cake decorated with sparklers at the extravagant bash, held in the south of France.

Madonna later posted snapshots of the evening online and tweeted, "Perhaps we had too much cale (sic)! But at my birthday party all I could see was love," before adding, "Perhaps I had too much Champagne! I meant to write cake!"



Happy 55th Birthday Madonna!!!

16 August 2013

Dear Madonna,

Happy 55th Birthday Madonna!!!When you were 25 years old, you unleashed your first single onto the world. The 30 years that followed were a wild rollercoaster and it hasn't stopped yet. At 55, you still entertain us, your loyal fans, every day. Not only entertain, you inspire us. You've opened our eyes to different art forms, to different lifestyles, to different people. Today we toast to that, and hope we can ride along on that rollercoaster for many years to come!

To our Queen, we wish you the best birthday ever!!!



Madonna arms up for paintballing session for Rocco's birthday

Source: OK - 14 August 2013

MADONNA donned camouflage gear and brandished a large fake gun for a paintballing session with her children on Sunday (11Aug13).

Rocco posted a picture of his mother and him playing paintball on his birthday Madonna, Brahim, Rocco & friends playing paintball

The pop superstar marked her son Rocco's 13th birthday by taking the family on an energetic outing in the south of France.

Madonna was pictured taking part in the paintball game, along with her 16-year-old daughter Lourdes, adopted son David, eight, and birthday boy Rocco, who turned 13 that day.

The singer's boyfriend, Brahim Zaibat, also joined in the fun.



Madonna shows off diamond encrusted grills at Menton music festival

Source: Daily Mail - 14 August 2013

Madonna showed off her distinctive looking grills when she arrived in the south of France accompanied by boyfriend Brahim Zaibat.

The 54-year-old singer was paying a visit to Menton, a picturesque coastal town close to the French-Italian border and site of the annual Festival de Musique de Menton – a celebration of classical music with performances from a range of global artists and symphony orchestras.

Madonna and Brahim at the Menton music festival Madonna and Brahim at the Menton music festival Madonna and Brahim at the Menton music festival Madonna and Brahim at the Menton music festival Madonna and Brahim at the Menton music festival Madonna and Brahim at the Menton music festival Madonna and Brahim at the Menton music festival Madonna previously showed off her grills on Instagram

But while then occasion was all about classical music, Madonna also took the opportunity to show off the distinctly urban grills she previously showcased for followers on picture messaging service Instagram.

The bizarre fashion accessory includes 24 diamonds and an open-tooth design that shows her real teeth underneath.

Evidently delighted with her new mouthpiece, Madonna has since showing them off in a range of shots over the last few weeks, including one in which he appears to be biting down on a sword.

Dressed a little less provocatively than usual in a polka dotted black dress and white cardigan, Madonna was spotted taking in performances from concert pianist sisters Katia and Marielle Labèque and Basque band Kalakan, with whom the singer is close friends.

But while Zaibat looked bright and cheerful in a Comme des Garcons T-shirt, his famous girlfriend looked distinctly weary as they entered the venue for a night of world music.

Indeed, Madonna appeared to be ready for a good nights sleep as she ran a hand through her hair, her eyes downcast as she followed festival art director Paul Thomas Emmanuel into the event, with a grinning Zaibat bringing up the rear.

The Borderline singer added a touch of mainstream glamour to an event not generally known for attracting mainstream celebrities.

But while she was warmly greeted at the event, she's said to be less welcome in Russia after reportedly violating the terms of her visa by claiming money for a performance in St. Petersburg last year.

According to ABC performers are not allowed to earn money in the country while visiting on a tourist visa.

Lady Gaga has been accused of breaching the same rule while performing in Moscow and St. Petersburg with her Born This Way tour in 2012, but insiders claim real the source of the controversy is their apparent promotion of gay rights while visitors.

‘The Russian government is sending a shot across the bow to Lady Gaga, Madonna, and other performers who are taking up gay rights in Russia,' Centre for the National Interest executive director Paul Saunders told ABC.

During her concert in Russia, Madonna reportedly told the audience: ‘Gay people here and all around the world have the same rights.'

The comment is understood to have incensed advocates of St. Petersburg's anti-gay law, which prohibits people to openly talk about homosexuality around minors.

Anyone breaking the law face potential fines, deportation and – in extreme cases – imprisonment.



Cover of The MDNA Tour DVD/Blu-Ray revealed

8 August 2013

The official cover of Madonna: The MDNA Tour has been revealed.

The recording of Madonna's 2012 tour will be released on September 9th (Worldwide) / 10th (US) in following formats: DVD, Blu-Ray, DVD+2CD (Deluxe Edition), 2CD. Digital formats will be available on iTunes.

According to Universal Music Netherlands, Dutch fans will be lucky enough to receive the DVD already on September 6th.

The official statement on Madonna.com reads:

MDNA World Tour To Be Released In Multiple Formats September 10th

Madonna's MDNA World Tour concert film will be released September 10th on DVD, Blu-ray and as a digital album on Live Nation and Interscope Records.

Directed by Danny B. Tull and Stephane Sennour and produced by Madonna, the two hour nonstop performance includes songs from Madonna's MDNA album such as "Girl Gone Wild" and "Gang Bang," as well as fan favorites including exhilarating versions of "Hung Up," "Express Yourself," "Vogue," "Open Your Heart," "Like A Prayer" and "Celebration."

Pre-order the DVD and Blu-Ray now!

Track-listing:

Virgin Mary (Intro)
Girl Gone Wild
Revolver
Gang Bang
Papa Don't Preach
Hung Up
I Don't Give A
Best Friend (Video Interlude)
Express Yourself
Give me all you Luvin'
Turn up the Radio
Open Your Heart / Sagarra Jo
Masterpiece
Justify my Love (Video Interlude)
Vogue
Erotic Candy Shop
Human Nature
Like a Virgin Waltz
Love Spent
Nobody Knows Me (Video Interlude)
I'm Addicted
I'm a Sinner
Like a Prayer
Celebration

And a behind-the-scenes look at the MDNA workshop that started the tour.



Debi Mazar talks about her BFF Madonna

Source: US Magazine - 2 August 2013

Madonna and Debi at the EPIX premiere of the MDNA Tour in NYC Guess Debi Mazar wants to make sure the "forever" part of "BFF" stays intact when it comes to her friendship with Madonna. While appearing on Watch What Happens Live on Tuesday, July 30, the actress opened up about her bestie, but stayed pretty tight-lipped when it came to the "Give Me All Your Luvin'" singer's closely-guarded secrets.

With host Andy Cohen firing off questions to Mazar, 48, in a 45-second time slot, Mazar spilled that the pop icon smells like gardenias, loves salted fish and that she recently cooked Madonna a "kosher Thanksgiving."

Things then took a juicy turn when Cohen asked her who was Madge's one true love, and she responded back, "Sean." But when asked to clarify if it was Sean Penn, she remained guarded, quipping, "Maybe." (Indeed, Madonna had a passionate, if not controversial four-year marriage with the actor, 52. Marred by hot-blooded outbursts and arguments, they divorced in 1989. Back in 2011, sources revealed to Us Weekly that he stills thinks his ex "is hot" and the two remained close friends).

Other interesting tidbits about the 54-year-old icon? The Lovelace actress spills that her friend used to get "spiritual baths" and blessings from Mama Elsa, who is seen on Real Housewives of Miami.

No doubt Mazar knows a ton about Madonna, 45, as they've been close since first meeting in an elevator in the early 1980s. "I was in Danceteria, working the elevator." Mazar told The Cut of their first meeting. "She came into my elevator, and a great song was spinning and she goes, 'Hey, you wanna dance? And I was like, 'Yeah!' And I parked the elevator, and we had a great dance together and then later on we danced some more."

She added, "She wasn't, like, a big star yet. She was just a girl from Detroit who had a real raw sexuality."

Following her second divorce from Guy Ritchie in 2004, mother of four Madonna is now dating dancer Brahim Zaibat, 25. Mazar currently hosts a Cooking Channel show, Extra Virgin , with her husband, Gabriele Corcos. They married in 2002 and they have two kids.



MDNA Tour DVD/Blu-Ray release postponed to September 9th

Source: Amazon - 1 August 2013

The MDNA Tour

The past few weeks, there were several rumours that the DVD/Blu-Ray release of the MDNA Tour was about to be postponed.

This now seems to be confirmed. Amazon US is listing September 10th as the release date for the US and Canada. As usual, the worldwide release date is one day earlier, on September 9th.



Madonna shows interest in new movie project

Source: Litseen - 1 August 2013

The Booksmith hosted Andrew Sean Greer in celebration of his new novel The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells on Wednesday, July 24th 2013.

You can watch the entire evening below: Andrew introduces the book, then reads two excerpts, fields a Q&A, and then plays the ukulele.

I had the pleasure of meeting up with Mr. Greer and his husband David Ross before the reading, at Aub Zam Zam, and am happy to share with you one of my favorite moments of our conversation:

ANDREW SEAN GREER: I think the poets do the hard work of coming up with new stuff and new ways to talk about things, which, as we were talking, is a way to power: a new way to use language. And novelists read poets. Novelists write the novel. They make it into a movie. It gets into the popular culture, and suddenly everyone thinks about things in a new way. Maybe that's a terrible way to think about the power of language, but eventually it changes the culture. And it's not Hollywood that makes up that stuff. It's the poets. It's like Anne Carson came up with a new way to think about things. And it's making its way into the culture.

EVAN KARP: So talk to me about the movie. For this book.

ASG: What can I say? I got a phone call last week… I think it's fine. No one's asked me about this… from a celebrity who read the book and loved it so much she called me up personally to talk to me about it. I thought it was going to be one of her assistants who was like, loved your book, she's interested. Right. She didn't read it. But oh no no no. She called me. She read it. She totally got it. There were a couple other people interested and they sort of all made a deal together, and she's optioned the rights to it. We'll see what happens. But it's fun because it was Madonna.

EK: I'm sorry you got a phone call from Madonna? That's incredible.

ASG: Yeah. Isn't that nuts?

DAVID ROSS: Can you imagine his 15-year-old little self? If he could go back in time, actually, and be like It's all going to be OK, Andy. (laughter) Little Andy. Little gay Andy.

(We all laughed pretty hard right here.)

ASG: Like, let me quote your novel back to you. Which has like five fantasies involved: I'm going to write a novel. Madonna will have read the novel and call me and quote it back to me and want to make a movie.

DR: The fact that Madonna knows his name is enough for me.

EK: Yeah. You should be going to every bar in the neighborhood — you probably, this is what you did all week — like, Madonna…

Their laughter told me they'd been in more than a couple bars this week, doing exactly that. How could they not, right? Madonna and a few others have purchased the rights to The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells (there, that's the sentence). Let's hope it happens! In the meanwhile, go get the book. You can start changing the culture right now.



A new look for Mad-Eyes

1 August 2013

As you can see, my dear loyal visitors, Mad-Eyes has received a brand new look! After several years of the familiar bordeaux-coloured site, it was time for a new and fresh design.

While the look & feel has changed, we opted to keep the content the same, as requested by many of you who consult Mad-Eyes for facts on Madonna's music, movies and tours. At some places, the content has been re-arranged but nothing was removed.

We enlarged all picture thumbnails and updated the Music and Movies sections with a bunch of larger pictures. In the coming weeks and months, we'll update more pictures.

The flash navigation has been replaced by a simpler drop-down menu, which facilitates navigating the website on mobile devices and tablets. We also added a breadcrumb trail on every page, to easily navigate within a section of the website.

Since Madonna has become more involved with social media, we've added an Instagram feed on our homepage, so you can immediately access her updates. As usual, you can find additional stories and Madonna discussions on our Facebook page.

Enjoy your visit!

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