On December 13 2019, it was announced that Danny Aiello, who played the part of Madonna’s father in her Papa Don’t Preach music video, had died the day before in New Jersey at the age of 86. Danny was best known for his roles in Do The Right Thing, Moonstruck and The Godfather Part II.
On December 12 2001, Madonna participated in a MSN Live Chat, to promote GHV2 (Greatest Hits Volume 2), which was released on November 12.
Here are some GHV2 related questions from Madonna’s fans and her answers from the live chat:
Do you think that the journey that the Immaculate Collection covers is greater than GHV2?
No, actually the opposite. I experienced a much greater journey later, and I was paying attention more.
Which song do you wish was on GHV2 but was left off?
I don’t. At the end of the day, if people want to hear a song, they can go get the record it was on. I don’t regret not having anything else on it (GHV2).
I am really pleased to have a new greatest hits collection from you but why aren’t there any new songs in GHV2?
Because they are my greatest hits. New songs would be false advertising because if it’s a new song, it wouldn’t be considered a greatest hit. That’s a little presumptuous isn’t it?
I found some Japanese expression in the cover of your GHV2. That reads “mo-dzi-ji-ra-mi-mi-dzi” (this is how we pronounce it). What does it mean?
It’s supposed to be my name in Japanese.
Madonna, thank you for joining us today to talk with your fans from around the world. Continued success with GHV2 and from all your fans and from all of us here on MSN, happiest of holidays.
Thank you! I enjoyed it immensely, happy holidays!
On December 11 2009, Madonna’s official website announced that Revolver would be released as the second single from the deluxe edition of her greatest hits collection, Celebration. The digital maxi-single would be released on December 29th, with the CD maxi-single hitting North American stores in late January and a vinyl 12″ following in early February 2010. This would be Madonna’s final single release under her contract with Warner Bros. Records.
On December 10 1992, Madonna’s Erotica single was certified gold in the USA for the shipment of 500,000 units.
In 2011, Slant Magazine listed Erotica at number thirty-four on their list “The 100 Best Singles of the 1990s”, stating that Madonna’s “throaty” delivery throughout the song was effective in making the lyrics “incredibly honest”. The magazine went on to say that Madonna’s “invitation to the dance, a slithering, sinister snake rising from a gaudily ornate chalice. The beats are, by design, hypnotic—at once alluring and devious. With Erotica, Madonna promises to get you off, but not without giving you something”.
On December 9 2003, Madonna’s Nothing Fails CD maxi-single (featuring remixes of Nobody Knows Me) was released in the USA.
The CD included the following remixes:
Were CD single designers on strike when this was released? What happened to cool designs for singles? Lame lame lame ..
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.
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.
