Madonna: A Gifted Actress?

[Brian Damage]

Thandie Newton has defended Madonna's ill-received movie career - insisting the pop superstar is a talented actress. The Crash star says many critics underestimate Madonna's acting skills-- and that she will be remembered as a talented thespian.

The "Holiday" hitmaker won critical acclaim for 1985's Desperately Seeking Susan and in 1997 landed a Golden Globe award for her role in Evita. But her acting career has also been plagued with a string of box office flops including 2002's Swept Away.

But Newton says, "Actually I think Madonna is a great actress and it's only in years to come will people see that. But for me, she is truly gifted."

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)

[MusicJunkie]

well, Madonna isn't exactly Bette Midler or Barbra Streisand in terms of a singer-turned-actress, but I do think her badness comes more from the scripts she picks than her lack of acting talent. She is halfway decent with the right movie, such as A League Of Their Own, but most of the crap she has taken in her career have been vanity pictures, and a number of them have been rejected by other actors. I remember Julia Roberts rejected The Next Best Thing because she hated the script before Madonna took it for instance.

IMO, an actor is only as good as the script they're given, even Meryl Streep or Judi Dench wouldn't be able to save Shanghai Surprise

[Brian Damage]

Originally Posted by MusicJunkie

well, Madonna isn't exactly Bette Midler or Barbra Streisand in terms of a singer-turned-actress, but I do think her badness comes more from the scripts she picks than her lack of acting talent. She is halfway decent with the right movie, such as A League Of Their Own, but most of the crap she has taken in her career have been vanity pictures, and a number of them have been rejected by other actors. I remember Julia Roberts rejected The Next Best Thing because she hated the script before Madonna took it for instance.

IMO, an actor is only as good as the script they're given, even Meryl Streep or Judi Dench wouldn't be able to save Shanghai Surprise

Very true about the scripts. Speaking of Meryl Streep, She Devil anyone?

[Janice]

Not straight acting, but am I the only person in the world who liked Evita?

[MusicJunkie]

Originally Posted by Janice

Not straight acting, but am I the only person in the world who liked Evita?

no, I think Evita was rather well-received. That, A League Of Their Own and Desperately Seeking Susan have been the only performances of hers that received really good reviews.

Regarding her script choices, it's funny that she has turned down some well-received movies to do flops. I remember hearing that Bette's role in Ruthless People was written for her and she turned it down to do Shanghai Surprise, and she was also wanted for Catherine Zeta-Jones' part in Chicago and she turned it down for Swept Away. That casting agent should've been fired pronto

[Schmoopie]

Originally Posted by MusicJunkie

no, I think Evita was rather well-received. That, A League Of Their Own and Desperately Seeking Susan have been the only performances of hers that received really good reviews.

I haven't seen Evita yet, but I want to. It looks good. And as for A League of Their Own, I absolutely LOVED her in that! One of my all-time favorite movies! Considering her past reputation, I thought that part was perfect for her and she "hit it out of the park" (pun intended!)!!

Originally Posted by MusicJunkie

I remember hearing that Bette's role in Ruthless People was written for her and she turned it down to do Shanghai Surprise

Wasn't she married to Sean Penn at the time? And wasn't he in it? She probably did it just to be with him-although it was definitely a bad choice.

Originally Posted by MusicJunkie

and she was also wanted for Catherine Zeta-Jones' part in Chicago and she turned it down for Swept Away. That casting agent should've been fired pronto

I loved Catherine Zeta Jones in Chicago, but Madonna would have been great!

Andrea

[MusicJunkie]

Originally Posted by Schmoopie

I haven't seen Evita yet, but I want to. It looks good. And as for A League of Their Own, I absolutely LOVED her in that! One of my all-time favorite movies! Considering her past reputation, I thought that part was perfect for her and she "hit it out of the park" (pun intended!)!!

have you ever seen Desperately Seeking Susan? Like ALOTO, that role worked because Madonna was playing a character similarly to herself.

Originally Posted by Schmoopie

Wasn't she married to Sean Penn at the time? And wasn't he in it? She probably did it just to be with him-although it was definitely a bad choice.

very true. Even an Oscar winning actor like Sean couldn't save that movie. What I find funny is that every actor who knows firsthand about not making a movie with your loved one are always the repeat offenders. Madonna and Sean both made bad movies with their second spouses after seeing the bomb of Shanghai Surprise. Same with Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, they've done movies with their spouses after Gigli. Unless you're Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward or Woody Allen and whoever you're with at the time, it's a bad idea to do a movie with your spouse or girlfriend And for gods sake, if the first movie is a bomb, learn your lesson and don't do it again!

[MonarC]

"Madonna: A Gifted Actress?" All I have to say is...

[Schmoopie]

Originally Posted by MusicJunkie

have you ever seen Desperately Seeking Susan? Like ALOTO, that role worked because Madonna was playing a character similarly to herself.

I've only seen the video for "Into the Groove", so I'll put it on my Netflix list! Thanks for the info!

Originally Posted by MusicJunkie

very true. Even an Oscar winning actor like Sean couldn't save that movie. What I find funny is that every actor who knows firsthand about not making a movie with your loved one are always the repeat offenders. Madonna and Sean both made bad movies with their second spouses after seeing the bomb of Shanghai Surprise. Same with Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, they've done movies with their spouses after Gigli. Unless you're Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward or Woody Allen and whoever you're with at the time, it's a bad idea to do a movie with your spouse or girlfriend And for gods sake, if the first movie is a bomb, learn your lesson and don't do it again!

You're right! I never thought about that!

Andrea

[Dude111]

I have not ever seen her acting... I have only heard her music....

I have a VHS tape with a collection of her videos from 1983 to 1995 and I like every song on this tape. Some songs I have heard and some I hadnt.......

I frankly didnt realise she was an actress also!!

[Hawkee]

When you get the general picture when most people think of Madonna they think of her as a singer but when she made her movie debut in Desperately Seeking Susan people were eager to see how well Madonna would perform as a movie star and because of Desperately Seeking Susan Madonna added movies as a second hobby in addition to her singing career but after Shanghai Surprise failed for her I would have to say that Who's That Girl is the one film that showcases Madonna's talent as an actress because not only did she act but she sang on the soundtrack of Who's That Girl as well yielding a hit with the song Causing A Commotion and although Who's That Girl did alright in theaters Madonna had proven herself lucky. In 1990's Dick Tracy we got to see a different side of Madonna we hadn't seen before as she played Breathless Mahoney and just like Who's That Girl Madonna released a soundtrack of songs Breathless sang in Dick Tracy titled I'm Breathless which sprawned two singles. But it wasn't until Evita that Madonna became famous in movies and if Madonna hadn't played the role of Evita her movie career would've gone belly up because that film I think was tailor-made for Madonna because she could sing well and her acting was flawless. But after The Next Best Thing and Swept Away I think Madonna wanted to concentrate on her singing career and after the birth of her first child Lourdes she wanted to focus on being a singer first then acting second. While Madonna is currently focusing on singing we will see another movie where Madonna makes a comeback as an actress. Because like Cher who also has tried acting and had movie hits like Mermaids Moonstruck and The Witches Of Eastwick Madonna has that quality as an actress and she should've an actress first rather than a singer because Madonna is one of those stars that can juggle singing and acting all in one

[icecream]

I did not like A League of Their Own at all, and Madonna was the worst part of Weird Al's recent movie. But she was great in Evita, one of my all time favorite musicals. I have listened to my soundtrack CDs several times, but have only seen the movie once. If Evita ever aired again on linear TV I would watch.

[Dude111]

Was Evita in 1996??

She had some soundtrack to a movie in the 90s (96 or 97)

[icecream]

Originally Posted by Dude111

Was Evita in 1996??

yes

[Dude111]

Thank you buddy