On December 10 2002, Madonna’s West End debut in Up For Grabs at the Wyndham’s Theatre was nominated for the Planet Hollywood Theatre Event of the Year at the Theatregoers’ Choice Awards.
Monthly Archives: December 2015
Today in Madonna History: December 9, 2001
On December 9 2001, Madonna presented the Turner Prize to artist Martin Creed at London’s Tate Britain gallery.
Madonna half-seriously plugged her greatest hits album, GHV2, before explaining her feelings of ambivalence towards the merit of awards in relation to the artistic process.
“Art is always at its best when there is no money, because art has nothing to do with money and everything to do with love. Like love, it can be inspiring, inexplicable, provocative and sometimes infuriating. Nevertheless, we can not live without it, so that is why I’m here – not because I think one artist is better than another, but because I want to support any artist who not only has something to say, but has the balls to say it. In a time when political correctness is valued over honesty, I would also like to say – right on motherfuckers! – everyone is a winner.”
Channel 4 unsuccessfully attempted to censor the speech during the live broadcast, and later issued an apology for Madonna’s choice of words, which aired prior to the 9pm watershed. Madonna later explained that she had not intended to use profanity until the producers asked to review the content of her speech prior to the broadcast, sparking her defiance.
Today in Madonna History: December 8, 1997
On December 8 1997, Madonna attended the Met Gala at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Madonna attended the Met Gala with Ingrid Casares, Donatella Versace and Cher.
The Met Gala (formerly called the Costume Institute Gala) is a fundraising benefit that serves as an opening celebration for the Institute’s annual fashion exhibit. Following the event, the exhibition runs for several months.
Each year the event has a theme, and includes a cocktail hour and a formal dinner. During the cocktail hour, guests arrive to walk on the red carpet, tour the years themed exhibition, and be seated before the dinner party that includes entertainment. The theme of the December 1997-March 1998 exhibition was Gianni Versace.
Today in Madonna History: December 7, 2006
On December 7 2006, H&M announced that Madonna would design a range of clothes and accessories to be released in March 2007.
“The M by Madonna fashion line will reflect Madonna’s timeless, unique and always glamorous style,” H&M said of the new collection.
“I’ve made no secret of my love for fashion and trends,” Madonna said in a statement announcing her partnership with H&M’s head of design Margareta van den Bosch. “Working with Margareta and H&M was an exciting and new creative challenge for me. I’m really happy with the results and look forward to wearing M by Madonna along with the rest of the world.”
H&M clothed Madonna and her dancers for her Confessions World Tour.
Today in Madonna History: December 6, 1992
On December 6 1992, Madonna bought a 1920’s mansion on Mulholland Drive overlooking Hollywood for $5 million. The nine-story, 8,000 square foot home with nine bedrooms and six baths was previously owned and used as a gambling den by Bugsy Siegel, the original owner of the Flamingo Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas.
Soon after buying the mansion, called Castillo del Lago, Madonna had it painted with pink and yellow stripes, making it both hated by neighbours and easy to locate by both fans and stalkers. Christopher Ciccone, Madonna’s brother and former interior designer, says the stripes were inspired by a church in Portofino.
The home gave Madonna a 300-degree view of Los Angeles and the ocean. Designed by John De Lario, it was completed in 1926.
Today in Madonna History: December 5, 1996
On December 5 1996, The Making of Evita book was released.
The introduction was written by Madonna. Director Alan Parker wrote about the the trials, tribulations and triumphs he and the cast endured to bring the musical to the big screen.
Here’s an excerpt from Alan Parker’s essay on the making of Evita:
For fifteen years I watched as the film of Evita was about to be made, and the various press releases were printed in the media. I have been furnished with the various news clippings from those years, and would first like to mention the stars that would supposedly be starring in the film. They include: Elaine Paige, Patti LuPone, Charo, Raquel Welch, Ann-Margret, Bette Midler, Meryl Streep, Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli, Diane Keaton, Olivia Newton-John, Elton John, John Travolta, Pia Zadora, Meat Loaf, Elliott Gould, Sylvester Stallone, Barry Gibb, Cyndi Lauper, Gloria Estefan, Mariah Carey, Jeremy Irons, Raul Julia and Michelle Pfeiffer. And then there were the directors: Ken Russell, Herb Ross, Alan Pakula, Hector Babenco, Francis Coppola, Franco Zeffirelli, Michael Cimino, Richard Attenborough, Glenn Gordon Caron and Oliver Stone.
So why didn’t it get made until now? And with none of the individuals mentioned above? I’m sure I don’t know. All I do know is that all those years, I sort of regretted saying no to Robert in that dusty street. So I was glad that everything came full circle when I was asked to make the film again by Robert Stigwood and Andy Vajna at the end of 1994.
When I began work on the film, the incumbent actress to play Evita was Michelle Pfeiffer. She had waited such a long time to do the film that she had even had a baby in the meantime. I met with Michelle, whom I greatly admire, and it was clear that with two small children she wasn’t about to embark on the long Lewis and Clark journey I had in mind—a long way from the comfort of nearby Hollywood sound stages. While spending Christmas in England in 1994, I received out of the blue a letter from Madonna. (I had developed a remake of The Blue Angel with her some years previously, but it had bitten the Hollywood dust.) Her handwritten, four-page letter was extraordinarily passionate and sincere. As far as she was concerned, no one could play Evita as well as she could, and she said that she would sing, dance and act her heart out, and put everything else on hold to devote all her time to it should I decide to go with her. And that’s exactly what she did do. (Well, she didn’t put everything on hold, as she did get pregnant before we finished filming).
You can watch a making of Evita documentary from Alan Parker’s official website.
Today in Madonna History: December 4, 2011
On December 4 2011, shoe designer John Fluevog told the Calgary Herald’s Theresa Tayler that he never expected that Madonna would pay her respects by whipping out a pair of shoes he had gifted to her, putting them on during a scene in her infamous, documentary Truth Or Dare.
“Yah like ‘em?!” she said, as she flirted with the camera, showing off the “Munster” platforms. At the time, it was a massive publicity break for the respected, but still little-known, Canadian designer.
Fluevog told Tayler that he rarely tells the story of how Madge ended up with a pair of his kicks:
“I don’t really like giving away shoes. It’s not what I do. This is a business. One night I was watching Madonna on one of those American talk shows. She was being very naughty, talking about spankings and saying all of these silly things. I thought, this is a game player. Her whole thing is a game. She needs a pair of my shoes.”
Fluevog then sent one of Madonna’s stylists a pair of his shoes and he never heard back.
“Not a thank you, not anything. Then, someone told me she wore them in the movie . . . I didn’t like Madonna’s game. I found it annoying, but I respected what she was doing. The movie moment was a game-changer for Fluevog. Things exploded for us. It was all a bit of shock to me.”
Today In Madonna History 