Madonna (30 page)

Then, of course, there were Sean's temper tantrums that Madonna had to deal with as well. “Some of the tensions were on the set, some were because of the paparazzi,” she says. “Sean's whole image was sort of blown up into this impossible person out of control.”
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Although the release of
Shanghai Surprise
was comparable to the
Titanic
when it bumped into that iceberg, Madonna at this point was proving to be unsinkable. She was already making plans for her next movie role.

One of the most interesting ideas then being batted around Hollywood was getting Madonna to play the coveted role of Eva Peron in the proposed screen adaptation of the Broadway biographical musical,
Evita
. It was a fascinating casting idea. The role was someone Madonna could believably portray: a poor girl from South America who dates all of the right guys until one day—married to a political leader—she finds herself the glamorous first lady of Argentina. It seemed ideal, after all—the concept of useful boyfriends was one with which Madonna could surely identify. At that time, the film rights to
Evita
were in the hands of producer Robert Stigwood and negotiations were well under way.

Madonna had several meetings with Robert Stigwood, and while she was in China she read tons of literature on Evita Peron. Madonna envisioned the project as a classic American movie musical, while Stigwood insisted that it be filmed as the operetta it was written as. Ultimately, they locked horns at this initial stage of the project. While it didn't work out, this was to be merely the first round in the ongoing
Madonna/Evita
saga.

Exactly what was it that Madonna saw herself doing in future films? She had been offered several scripts—in spite of what the word-of-mouth reports about
Shanghai Surprise
foretold. When Mary Lambert was signed to direct
Siesta
, Madonna was considered for the lead in the film. However, she passed and Ellen Barkin starred in it instead. “I loved the script of
Siesta
, but I couldn't deal with all the nudity in it,” she claimed. “I'm at a stage in my career where any kind of nudity would be an incredible distraction within a given movie.”
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She was looking for a role that was sexy and not erotic, filled with action but nonviolent, featuring music but not a musical. “I think it's really difficult for Americans to express passion and desire in movies,” she contemplated. “Something bad always has to happen—violence—or the relationship doesn't last. I will not be attracted to making violent films. I'm attracted to roles where women are strong, and aren't victimized. Everything I do has to be some kind of celebration of life.”
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The films she liked most were the classic screwball comedies of the thirties like
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
, with Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery. Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant's 1938 classic
Bringing Up Baby
was another film that Madonna mentioned on her list of favorites. “I just love those films where the woman gets away with murder, but her weapon is laughter, and you end up falling in love with her.”
⁷

Working along those lines, talk was widespread about Madonna starring in a remake of
The Blue Angel
, the 1930 German film that made Marlene Dietrich a star. Filmed in simultaneous German and English versions, Dietrich became the toast of two continents when this cinema classic was released. It was all about “naughty” Lola, the trampy showgirl who seduces a school professor. Diane Keaton, who had a development deal at Fox, reportedly worked with producer Joe Kelly at enticing Madonna to play the title role. Robert De Niro was discussed as the ideal actor for the male lead. Although a great idea, it never quite panned out.

Meanwhile, in June 1986, before the resounding thud of
Shanghai Surprise
graced movie screens, another remarkable thing happened. Madonna was approached by Universal about starting her own production company, with her own office based on the lot. She aptly entitled her production company “Siren” and hired a staff to assist her in finding film properties. According to Carol Lees, Vice President, Acquisitions and Development, for Siren Productions, Madonna oversees the whole operation. “She's got her hands in everything,” says Lees. “She's in a special position, she has a little bit of clout because of the success of her music.”
²⁶

With her crew at Siren, Madonna was considering several different properties. There was talk about a remake of
Dead End Street
, originally directed by Israeli cinematographer Yaki Yosha. It is the story of a documentary filmmaker who finds his life turned upside down when he falls madly in love with a prostitute. The way it was discussed, Sean Penn would play the filmmaker; his father, Leo Penn, would direct; and Madonna would naturally portray the lady of the night. Another remake under consideration was of the 1962 French film
Cleo from 5 to 7
. Directed by Agnes Varda, the film chronicles two hours in the life of an aspiring singer in New York City. Also discussed was a romance thriller called
Angel Flight
, which would co-star French actor Jean-Hugues Anglade.

That summer there was also talk about Madonna taking the female lead in
Blind Date
, with Blake Edwards directing, but negotiations broke down when Madonna found out that Bruce Willis had been signed as the male lead. About the same time, Jamie Foley approached her with a script for a comedy called
Slammer
, which ultimately became
Who's That Girl?
When Foley proposed
Slammer
, she thought that the opportunity was going to somehow be her reward for being selective.

While the script wasn't perfect, it was promising. She liked it, but realized it needed a lot of work. They ultimately went through several writers and several revisions until it was just the way they envisioned it.

After his work on the “Papa Don't Preach” video that everyone liked so much, Madonna knew that she had at last found a director she could work with. “Jamie Foley is a genius!” Madonna proclaimed. Echoing the “mutual admiration,” Foley complimented Madonna by gushing glowingly, “There's always been this twinkle in her eye, only now it's in wide-screen Technicolor, and her sexuality is an undercurrent to her playfulness.”
⁷

If they could just capture this on film, they'd be all set.

In September of 1986 preproduction began on
Slammer
. It sounded like a potential winner. In it Madonna would portray the role of Nikki Finn, a wrongly incarcerated con artist who has a penchant for turning everyone's life upside down. Unlike her last foray this role was at least believable casting.

Before filming started, Madonna had a lot on her mind. Not only was she concerned about her film career, but she was also intently monitoring Martin Burgoyne's health. On August 30 he had given his ticket to
Goose and Tomtom
to Andy Warhol and had made plans to join his friends backstage after the show. He had seen the production earlier that week but now felt he was just too weak to sit still for its two-hour duration. After the show that evening, Martin arrived backstage to find Andy and Liza Minnelli among the well-wishers. People who hadn't seen him in recent weeks were aghast to see the sores that dotted his face. Someone had sent Madonna a large piece of Kron chocolate shaped like a leg as a “break a leg” gift. People were concerned as they watched Madonna taking a bite of the leg-shaped confection, giving Martin a bite, and then resuming eating it herself, but she was bravely oblivious. She knew that she couldn't contract Martin's disease from biting the same piece of chocolate, and she wasn't about to make him feel ill at ease.

Martin's friends did what they could to help him. Andy Warhol promised to do a portrait of Martin, so that he would have something of value to sell if he needed more money for his medical bills. On September 4, 1986, there was a benefit for Burgoyne at the Pyramid on Avenue A. At different points in the evening Warhol and Madonna came and gave their support. How odd to think that in six months both Andy and Martin would both be dead.

On October 13, Sean and Madonna were on the cover of the
National Enquirer
, which featured the headline:
MADONNA'S FORMER ROOMMATE HAS AIDS—SEAN IS TERRIFIED & FURIOUS
. “It's What's Really Ripping Their Marriage Apart.” It was horrifying for Martin to read an article about himself in the
Enquirer
announcing to the world that he was dying. Friends consoled him on the phone all day.

On November 10, there was an AIDS benefit in the women's department at Barney's clothing store. It featured celebrity models in denim jackets that had been hand-painted by well-known artists. Madonna was on hand to model a jacket that had been painted by Martin. The money raised went to St. Vincent's Hospital, and, in addition to Madonna, models included Debbie Harry, Peter Allen, Paloma Picasso, Fran Lebowitz, and Paulina Porizkova. Other artists whose painted jackets graced the show included Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg.

Less than three weeks later, Martin Burgoyne died. He passed away in his new apartment in Greenwich Village—the apartment that the benefit at Pyramid had enabled him to rent. On December 2, Madonna presided over a wake held in Martin's honor. From that day on, Madonna has done all that she can to raise money for AIDS research and become an active soldier in the battle against the disease.

Meanwhile, in the
Slammer
camp, casting was completed, and by October principal filming had begun. In the male lead, Griffin Dunne was signed to play Loudon Trout. Dunne had been a big hit in
American Werewolf in London
, and when he saw Madonna in
Goose and Tomtom
, he felt that their chemistry would be strong on screen. Sir John Mills was added to the cast as Montgomery Bell, a millionaire chum of Madonna's character, and Coati Mundi (a/k/a Andy Hernandez) was cast as Raoul, the film's villain.

The plot centers around Madonna's character of Nikki Finn and begins the day she is released from jail. It seems that she has been framed for a crime that she didn't commit. Playing a Cary Grant—like Loudon Trout, Dunne is instructed by his future father-in-law to pick up Ms. Finn as she leaves the jailhouse and to escort her to the nearest bus station. However, instead of being able to execute the seemingly simple task, he becomes embroiled in Nikki's life-endangering scheme to clear her name. Alternately torn between completing the assignment of getting Nikki out of town and getting ready for his upcoming wedding, thanks to Nikki all of Loudon's plans go awry. What follows is a madcap, plot-twisting romp through the streets of Manhattan. Nikki's old adversary, Raoul, is in hot pursuit of her, because she is in possession of a safe deposit box key that he wants. She and Loudon end up comically undermining his efforts. Loudon has his heart set on marrying into a wealthy family, but Nikki Finn's antics soon put him out of favor with his fiancée and her family. By the end of this slapstick film, Loudon's would-be father-in-law is unmasked as the real villain, and Loudon discovers that he has fallen head-over-heels in love with Nikki.

Coati Mundi and Madonna had known each other for years in New York. Coati was one of the original members of the group Kid Creole & the Coconuts when they met. In 1983, along with James Brown, George Clinton, Lou Reed, Nona Hendryx, Peter Wolf, and John Oates of Hall and Oates, Coati and Madonna were members of an artists' panel at the 1983 New Music Seminar, an annual music industry convention. They became friendly then and found their paths constantly crossing. Madonna and Jellybean Benitez came to a couple of Coati's performances in New York clubs, and they ran into each other at parties. They were also both signed to Sire Records, so they had several things in common.

When casting began on
Slammer
, in a single day Coati heard about the role of Raoul from three different sources: his agent, an executive at Warner Brothers, and an actor friend. They all told him how he fit the type they were looking for. Since he had just played a villain on the hit TV show “Miami Vice,” everyone who knew him thought he'd be perfect in this film.

He auditioned for the casting director, who asked him to audition for director Jamie Foley, who liked Coati's morning audition so much, he had him return that same evening for a “call-back” audition. A month passed and Coati didn't hear a thing from the film's producers; then the call came and he was suddenly slated to be Madonna's co-star.

“At the first cast rehearsal we just had a reading at the Mayflower Hotel,” says Coati. “And Madonna, she came up to me and she said, ‘Look, I knew you were auditioning for it, but I didn't want to pull anything.' She wanted me to get it on my own—she didn't want to use her influence.”
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Coati recalls that the atmosphere on the set was very friendly. He got along well with Foley, and he was most impressed with Madonna. “On the set, we got along great. What was flipping me out was that she's—as you probably know—a hard worker. She doesn't rest. She's got a bit of that perfectionist thing in her. She was doing the movie, and the soundtrack album for the movie, and also planning her tour at the same time. She's doing all this stuff, plus she's got the lead in the film!”
¹⁵⁰

According to Coati, “The film actually started filming in October of ‘86, up to about February of ‘87. So, it was kind of a Warner Brothers family kind of thing, because Madonna's on Warner Brothers/Sire Records, I was on Sire Records. We had known each other from the early eighties, so she made me feel comfortable. Most people are kind of intimidated by her, because they think that she's this big star—and she is, but I had known her for a long time and I felt very comfortable with her. We were always greeting each other, and hanging out, and dancing on the set all of the time. I had my radio turned on, and we would dance occasionally.”
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