Madonna is an American pop icon a
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revolutionary who remains one of the
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most influential figures in American
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music and culture every time she needs
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to reinvent herself she manages to do it
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from the sexy kind of symbolism that she
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brings with her clothing to this more
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sophisticated glamour now I mean she's
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ever-changing Madonna is a Material Girl
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who made it through the wilderness to
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become one of the most enduring icons
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and entertainers of all time her fame
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has endured for decades through
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reinvention and the fact she refuses to
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let go of his stranglehold of cool it's
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kind of like you see her on stage but
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then you'll socia on the red carpet or
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going out to dinner and she's kind of
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emulating the people that she's playing
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in either her music videos or in her
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movie Madonna has the unique ability to
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fascinate the media with her music music
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videos controversial publicity and her
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sexuality
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way that she's been brought up over the
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past 30 years in the spotlight you know
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in front of all these millions of people
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the adrenaline rush from being at the
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shows
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it'll only spur her on to her next kind
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of bath look there is so much more to
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Madonna than meets the eye she is an
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astute businesswoman and an
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inspirational nubbin well to a certain
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extent there's the life that I live out
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in the public the life that I present to
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the public and there's hopefully in my
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private life that people don't know
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anything about I think that the only way
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to maintain sanity being a person being
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a public figure or celebrity whatever
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you want to call it is to have a private
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life and to be very clear you know which
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is which Madonna is recognized as one of
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the world's top-selling female recording
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artists and her name is crystallized in
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music history Madonna Louise Ciccone
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ease adolescent years were in the disco
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era of the 70s when Diana Ross ruled the
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chance having lost her mother to breast
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cancer at an early age and enduring a
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strained relationship with her father
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after he married their housekeeper she
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became a rebellious teenager Madonna
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didn't shave her underarms or wear
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makeup like other girls she studied hard
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and got good grades and was determined
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to be somebody she was a disciplined
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dancer who graduated from high school a
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semester earlier than her peers and one
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of full dance of a ship at the
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University of Michigan she dropped out
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of college after only two years of study
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in order to move to New York and further
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her dance career she sent her resume and
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a demo tape to millennium records to the
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attention of Jimmy Lennon and was
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rejected
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Lenna wrote the only thing missing from
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this project is the material I do not
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feel that she is ready yet if it weren't
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for this rejection letter
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Madonna may have been put on a totally
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different career path millennium records
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were not a big label they had a small
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marketing budget eventually Madonna
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signed with sire records which was owned
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by Warner Brothers well she's a rags to
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riches story she came here and too came
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to New York City in 1978
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you know with 37 dollars in her pocket
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and you know scraped and scratched and
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you know it was very impressive eared
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and you know became a great temptress
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songwriter and she became one of the
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great performers and she has reinvented
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herself over and over again which is
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really unprecedented and she's sexy
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she's a siren she's a star she's done
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movies she's a legend
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she's Madonna controversy has always
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kept her in the headlines she famously
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painted the lyrics of her hit single
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Like a Prayer and the music video saw
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her attached to a crucifix which shocked
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many the Hollywood marriage of 1985 was
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that of Madonna and Sean Penn the phrase
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opposites attract was never more
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appropriate Madonna was driven and
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fueled by press adulation and attention
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while Penn absolutely loved it the Union
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only lasted four years
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Madonna's career was going from strength
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to strength as she set the fashion
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trends of the 80s back in the beginning
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of the 80s when she was very first
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starting you know she was favored for
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her tutus little lace gloves and
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Wayfarer glasses Madonna's fame and
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success was not limited to the United
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States and in 1987 she took her show on
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the road
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when she touched I had Heathrow Airport
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in the UK madonna mania hitch fever
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pitch the who's that girl tour with
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Madonna stressed world tour taking her
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to Asia North America and Europe
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she played four concerts in Britain two
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over a quarter of a million people which
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is fantastic is this the best singer and
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the best singer ever
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ARCA music but she's such an extravagant
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person as well and she's got such an
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image the concerts in the UK received
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positive feedback from critics praising
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Madonna for her showmanship and
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exquisite style she also won the respect
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of the English media I think she's an
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ambitious woman and I say that because
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she's done things very shrewdly she went
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to New York to make it from Michigan she
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associated with and moved her way
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through all of the top producers and
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thus got a sequence of hit records that
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to the point where finally she herself
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could call the shots
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Madonna then made her acting debut in
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the stage play speed-the-plow on New
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York's Broadway
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it was one of the most eagerly awaited
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show business events of the year I know
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that you're frightened I know what you
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are you see that's what I'm telling you
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I'm frightened I know that you are
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what's it's exciting I mean she's
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you know a legend she's talented she's
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wonderful everyone's curious about you
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know what she'll do in a Broadway
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playing she's really great
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the play was a box-office success even
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before opening night in part because of
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the star power of Madonna and acclaimed
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actors Joe Mantegna and Ron silver
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advance ticket sales exceeded 1 million
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u.s. dollars Madonna
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played the role of Karen a temporary
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secretary in a Hollywood film producers
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office the play generally received good
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reviews during its time on Broadway so
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about two to exhilaratingly foul-mouthed
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joyously bad-tempered mean-spirited
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cynical guys and and there's sort of
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adventures with this temporary office
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secretary who's Madonna after the
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opening night she was hounded by the
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press and asked to appraise her own
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performance Madonna had a killer
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performance when tonight
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Madonna but when she fronted up to the
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cameras inside she had a mole considered
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answer to the same question it felt like
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really good sex
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sex has been a focal point of Madonna's
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image throughout her career one of her
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most famous fashion statements was the
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Jean Paul Gaultier conical corset
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designed for Madonna's Blonde Ambition
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Tour the corset at the time was
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considered very avant-garde and kept
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Madonna on the front line of fashion
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trends probably her most iconic clothing
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moment is the conical bra the flesh tone
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with the black wide leg pants
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Madonna has never been afraid of pushing
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the limits in 1990 the independent
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Broadcasting Authority in the United
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Kingdom banned her music video justify
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my love from being broadcast for for
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9:00 p.m. at night the clip was
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considered too sexually explicit the
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music video gained Madonna more free
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controversial publicity well I really
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feel that Madonna has plumbed the depths
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of hype it's less of a pop promo video
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more of a soft porn movie it's really
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taking the public for a ride it's got
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very little to do with music what's
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actually happening on the screen is
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irrelevant to the hum which is the music
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in the background music itself is
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extremely good and this one takes the
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view that all pop music is appalling
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then I don't see that how you can take
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that how anyone can take that view I
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don't think it's an agent for corruption
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either I think actually the video itself
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is a justifiable work of art in its own
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form two years later she used her
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sexuality again to whip up another media
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frenzy ahead of the release of her
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ambiguously titled book sex the metal
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covered books sealed in plastic
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contained full frontal nude shots of the
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author as well as graphic sexual
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fantasies
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demand for the book ran so high that one
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London bookstore decided to open up at
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midnight on the official release date to
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get ahead of the competition the store
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even employed a Madonna look-alike in a
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bid to add to the hype
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within days sex had sold more than 1.5
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million copies neatly boosting publicity
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for the release of her forthcoming album
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the equally provocatively titled erotica
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under a court order
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Madonna testified in the trial of a man
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that was accused of stalking her she
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identified mr. Hoskins as the man who
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came to her estate and threatened to
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slice his throat from ear to ear if she
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didn't agree to become his wife she was
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reluctant to testify because you didn't
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want to be in the same room as the man
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who threatened to life it's a
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constitutional right of my client to
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confront the witnesses against them it's
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plain and simple that's almost a
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no-brainer
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during her painful testimony Madonna
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said I felt incredibly violated and even
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more frightened adding she suffered
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nightmares as a result of the threats
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well she obviously wasn't too happy
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about being in the courtroom a couple of
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moments when describing some of her
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fears and nightmares that she claimed
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resulted from which he believes to be
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the breath the defendant posed against
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her she appeared to be on the verge of
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tears admittedly once or twice she was a
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little snippy the judge told her to be
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specific at one point and she responded
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I was being specific but other than that
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it was a very subdued Madonna and she
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did testify that as she sat there she
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was still frightened of mr. Hoskins the
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man she claimed stalked her and
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threatened her as he sat perhaps 20 feet
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from her while she's enjoyed runaway
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success in almost every aspect of her
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creative life it
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fair to say that Madonna's assault on
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the big screen has been somewhat less
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effective she rebounded her acting
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career with a Golden Globe winning
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performance in the big-screen adaptation
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of the musical Evita still even that
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triumph brought its controversies with
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protesters in Argentina complaining that
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she had cheapened the image of real-life
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Evita I think the most amazing thing
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about her life stories that she came
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from nothing and rose to such power and
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had such a great influence on her
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country and when I found out a little
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bit about her I wanted to know more and
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the more I knew the more I wanted to
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know Madonna and her co-star Antonio
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Banderas were forced to endure a rather
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intense press conference in be honest
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Aires as journalists aired their
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disappointment in Madonna's portrayal of
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Evita very well I can't say I didn't
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feel hurt by them but truthfully I think
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that the negative remarks that people
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have made are based on things that
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people don't know and don't understand
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and I urge you all to form your opinions
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after you see the movie
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on a happier note age 38
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Madonna celebrated the more traditional
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role of motherhood she gave birth to a
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baby girl named Lourdes Maria's psycho
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Lili on at the Good Samaritan Hospital
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in Los Angeles the father Karl's Leon
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was Madonna's personal trainer earlier
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Madonna said half jokingly on television
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that she planned to find a suitable
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candidate for the father would give by
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taking out a personal ad I am here to
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ask you to a beg of you to plead with
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you please please from the bottom of my
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heart stop sending baby gifts to my home
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there's no room sometime laters you hid
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the promotional trail for the historical
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musical Evita
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I was extremely passionate about it I
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knew that it was a chance for me as an
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actress and a singer to do things I had
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never done before and to push myself and
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to grow for years Madonna sought
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recognition as an actress and finally
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her role in Evita won her the respect
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that she desired it's widely agreed that
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a vita is Madonna's best film today and
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that her success in the movie is
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actually due to the fact it's a musical
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her singing is naturally superior to her
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acting ability so a movie in which she
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sings most of the time is logically a
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better vehicle for her
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Madonna also won high praise from the
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film's director Alan Parker she's
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extraordinarily professional amazingly
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hard working always brilliantly prepared
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and she's extraordinary special and
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charismatic evaders cast was on an
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all-time high at the Los Angeles
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premiere of the film they went on to win
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an Oscar for Best Song and another 1997
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Golden Globe Award for Best Motion
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Picture with a production budget of 55
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million u.s. dollars it cashed in over
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140 million of the box office madonna
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then returned to the recording studio
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for the first time in five years she
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recorded the album ray of light the
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sound was heavily influenced by
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electronica techno trip-hop
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and drum and bass thereby updating her
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classic dance pop sound from the late
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90s this was another example of Madonna
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evolving and keeping a step ahead of the
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times all I can tell you is that people
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seem very consumed with the idea of me
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reinventing myself I I disagree what
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I've been doing in my opinion is I've
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been slowly revealing myself taking off
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the layers and getting closer and closer
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to to who I really am and I think the
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difference is because of certain events
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in my life I really I think I really
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looked at myself in a more truthful way
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than I haven't
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and faced myself in a more fearless way
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um so if there is a difference that is
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the difference
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Madonna's moved towards techno surprised
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many but the combination of Madonna and
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producer William Orbit working together
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created the sound she was seeking the
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for the past couple of years I really
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been listening to a lot more sort of
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electronic techno kind of music but one
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of the things that I thought was
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interesting is that in my opinion also I
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don't really think that techno music is
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very emotional
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well I like the sound of it and I like
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the energy of it there's nothing very
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personal or intimate about it so my idea
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was that I wanted to take that sound and
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make it more personal and intimate and
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William Orbit has done several remixes
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for me in the past that I really liked
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and I just thought well why give him
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something when I'm finished with it why
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not start the process with him and so I
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called him up to write music with me and
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it went very well so then I decided when
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I heard the results because the first
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song we wrote together was the first
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song on the record round world I just
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loved the way it sounded and then I
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decided this is how I want my record to
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sound Madonna returned to the movie set
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to work on the production of the next
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big thing she teamed up with real-life
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friend Rupert Everett to co-star in the
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film Madonna played the part of a bee
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who is unlucky in love and yearns to
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have a baby she has a one-night stand
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with a gay landscape gardener and the
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couple agreed to keep and raise a child
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together whilst filming Madonna fell in
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love with Guy Ritchie a British film
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director before too long
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Madonna would be having another baby of
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her own with her newfound love
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a pregnant Madonna arrived at the
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premiere of the next big thing with Guy
18:53
Ritchie in tow it was announced that Guy
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Ritchie and Madonna would marry in 2000
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and she gave birth to their son Rocco
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John Ritchie in the same year after they
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went Ritchie began focusing his
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filmmaking on his wife he directed her
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in the music video what it feels like
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for a girl and numerous other films with
19:17
varying success Rocco's christening was
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held in the small town of Dornoch
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Sutherland in Scotland hundreds of
19:30
locals gathered a Cathedral Square in
19:32
the hope of seeing the couple on their
19:34
last public appearance before their
19:36
wedding the following day Madonna was
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being as Guy Ritchie carefully carried
19:43
their four month old son in his white
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christening rogue
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Madonna was understandably nervous
19:55
before her first British concert in
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seven years at the Brixton Academy in
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South London the show killed a world
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record webcast audience of nine million
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a lucky 3,500 ticket holders including
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celebrities and competition winners from
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all over the world were in attendance
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Madonna's fans were simply blown away by
20:18
her performance incredible sensational
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fantastic couldn't fall to our voice it
20:24
was just funny when you recover it's
20:26
just absolutely incredible the
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exclusivity of the tickets turned the
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show into a public relations triumph a
20:36
42 year old Madonna was thrilled after
20:39
the show which was a wonderful platform
20:41
to launch her next album titled music
20:47
Madonna was embroiled in more
20:49
controversy when she canceled the
20:51
release of her video American Life out
20:53
of sensitivity and respect for the Armed
20:56
Forces I think that Madonna in the past
21:00
has used extreme things and shock value
21:05
and encouraged a controversy for
21:09
publicity but I think in this instance
21:11
she genuinely doesn't want it released
21:16
because of her support for the troops I
21:21
mean she has said time and time again
21:22
that she's anti-war and she's a pacifist
21:25
and the video is certainly an anti-war
21:29
statement the music video shows the ugly
21:33
aspects of American culture one scene
21:36
featured Madonna tossing a grenade at a
21:38
George Bush look-alike who uses a
21:41
grenade to light a cigar in a written
21:44
statement Madonna said that the video
21:46
was filmed before the Iraq war began and
21:49
she was blocking its release because she
21:51
did not wish to offend anyone who might
21:54
misinterpret its meaning
21:57
well I mean Madonna's never been
21:59
appropriate and pretty much anything
22:01
she's ever done and certainly the first
22:03
thing she's gonna attack are things that
22:05
people think are inappropriate which
22:07
would be for example the military in a
22:09
music video and in this particular video
22:11
the military's at a fashion show I mean
22:13
this is like you know her very unique
22:17
way of expressing irony and of
22:20
expressing her opinions I mean nothing
22:22
she's never been couth about anything
22:25
that she decides to do so that doesn't
22:27
surprise me at all
22:29
Madonna reinvented herself again when
22:32
she became a children's book author she
22:35
launched her book the English roses in
22:37
100 countries and 30 languages in an
22:41
unprecedented publishing fleet
22:43
she had clearly turned over a new leaf
22:46
since she released her first book sex
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Madonna had greatly toned down her image
22:52
since becoming a mother and marrying Guy
22:54
Ritchie
22:56
she said her studies into the mystical
22:58
Kabbalah faith an offshoot of Judaism
23:01
inspired her new venture it is the
23:05
widest release of any book in publishing
23:08
history
23:09
ladies and gentlemen Madonna
23:14
within hours of release it went to
23:16
number seven on Amazon coms bestseller
23:19
list and in time became a New York Times
23:22
best seller when I published the book
23:26
sex I was at a point in my life where I
23:28
was interested in pushing boundaries and
23:36
questioning society and dealing with
23:39
taboo subjects and I was into showing
23:43
off and I was interested in myself
23:47
essentially and when I think about where
23:52
and obviously I'm writing children's
23:54
books now and I'm interested in children
23:57
and I look back at the journey that I've
24:00
made from then until now and I'm I'm
24:02
actually quite proud of my journey
24:04
because the sex book book was about me
24:09
and saying hey look at me and the and
24:12
the children's books were about
24:15
hopefully imparting some wisdom to
24:17
people to children
24:20
Madonna hit the red carpet in New York
24:22
to promote a documentary I'm gonna tell
24:25
you a secret the film chronicles
24:28
Madonna's life whilst on the road during
24:30
her reinvention tour and reveals
24:33
insights into her life and how she has
24:35
changed in recent years the Madonna on
24:38
display in the film stands in great
24:40
contrast to her first documentary of the
24:43
same ilk
24:43
truth or dare aka in bed with Madonna
24:47
that was released in 1991 well I'm
24:51
different I mean a lots happened to me
24:52
between
24:53
in this film so I've changed my views
24:57
and I have changed
24:58
hopefully I've grown up evolved I have a
25:00
family of children and I I don't know I
25:05
hope that the movies is a reflection of
25:08
that about evolution the documentary
25:13
also featured events on the tour such as
25:15
dancer auditions rehearsals opening
25:18
night and continues all the way through
25:20
to the final show of the tour in Israel
25:23
the film premiered commercial-free on
25:26
MTV in the United States Jason a column
25:30
directed the documentary film is about
25:34
everything that she thinks is important
25:36
in life right now and it's a it's a lot
25:38
of spirituality and it's a lot about
25:39
creativity and it's a lot about her
25:41
thoughts and you know where she is today
25:44
as a grown woman I think you know this
25:49
the whole this documentaries a big
25:50
insight into so many areas but honest I
25:53
think people probably haven't seen yet
25:54
and even people are followed her a long
25:56
time don't really know what she's like
25:58
with a family and what she's like with
26:00
her band and what she's like with all
26:02
those kind of things I think she can be
26:04
quite misunderstood for a lot reason
26:06
ultimately the film received mixed
26:08
reviews with Rolling Stone magazine
26:11
stating that it lacks the dishy delights
26:13
of the 1991 truth-or-dare dokgo was the
26:17
Guardian newspaper described it as
26:19
fascinating the reinvention world tour
26:26
was Madonna's sixth concert tour fans
26:29
flocked to the Great Western forum in
26:31
Los Angeles from all over the United
26:33
States for the opening night Madiba
26:37
who is really a man named Chris dressed
26:39
up as his favorite icon in full makeup
26:41
and French Baroque corset and lacy bra
26:45
I'm here to see Madonna on my on my
26:49
first stop of this tour I'm going to 35
26:50
shows all across country the reinvention
26:53
2 was a commercial success tickets were
26:56
completely sold out as soon as dates and
26:59
venues of the tool were announced
27:01
prompting the organizers to add more
27:03
dates
27:04
after it rest up the Torah was named the
27:07
highest grossing tour of 2004 earning
27:11
125 million u.s. dollars with 900
27:15
thousand fans in attendance the
27:18
following year Madonna arrived at Narita
27:20
International Airport in Japan to
27:23
promote the release of her album
27:25
confessions on deathful the last time
27:29
she visited Japan was way back in 1993
27:33
Warner Music Japan collected 200
27:36
thousand signatures from fans in order
27:38
to arrange Madonna's greatly anticipated
27:40
visit she was enthusiastically welcomed
27:44
upon her arrival although a previous
27:52
album American life was filled with
27:54
political messages the Material Girl
27:56
said it was time to lighten the mood my
28:01
last record was very political but my
28:02
documentary is sown has some kind of
28:05
political moments in it and I think I
28:08
was working on the record at the same
28:09
time as making the movie and I wanted to
28:13
make dance music as an antidote to the
28:16
seriousness of the film that I was
28:17
making so um I don't know I don't like
28:21
to repeat myself don't like to stay in
28:22
the same place for too long and I'm in
28:24
the mood to dance so didn't think about
28:26
it too much it just we started a Stuart
28:29
price and I the guy that I co-produced
28:31
and co-wrote the record with we just
28:32
started experimenting with things and
28:35
hung up which is the first single was
28:37
the first song we did together and I
28:39
said okay that's it I love the song and
28:41
this is the direction I want the records
28:42
are gone
28:46
Madonna's sustain longevity in the
28:48
public arena is almost unprecedented
28:51
other music icons such as Elvis and Jim
28:55
Morrison eventually imploded as a result
28:58
of the pressure and disorientation that
29:00
comes with Fame I think it's hard for
29:03
all of us I think you know being famous
29:05
and you know being in the public eye all
29:07
the time and the pressure of that and
29:09
pressure of people's expectations can
29:11
weird you out you know what I mean and I
29:14
think a lot of people compensate for
29:17
that kind of pressure by doing things
29:20
that are self-destructive or or they
29:22
start to believe the hype you know what
29:24
I mean and I do think you have to work
29:27
at staying real and surround yourself
29:29
with people who are Madonna has always
29:33
been a mastered using the press to
29:35
advance her own career but now she also
29:38
uses her fame for the greater good
29:40
as an active humanitarian one of her
29:43
favorite charities is spirituality for
29:46
kids um I would say the thing that um
29:51
I'm very involved with is you know
29:58
spirituality for kids it's a it's an
30:01
organization that um that brings kids
30:05
all over the world together to and you
30:07
know kids from challenged living
30:12
environment some kids from abused homes
30:14
I think that's that's like my biggest
30:17
passion and bringing kids together and
30:20
and giving them tools to deal with the
30:24
challenges of life and teaching them
30:26
about human dignity and how to stand up
30:30
for themselves and I think that's that's
30:33
a big one for me yeah
30:39
Madonna took a field trip to Malawi in
30:42
Africa in a bid to improve the lives of
30:45
thousands of needy orphans she visited
30:48
orphans and met with government
30:50
officials and charity workers as part of
30:52
a campaign to highlight the plight of
30:54
some 900,000 orphans in this
30:57
impoverished nation where AIDS has
31:00
destroyed many families Madonna has
31:05
pledged to donate around 3 million u.s.
31:08
dollars to help these children since
31:11
January I've been involved with her
31:14
foundation called raising Malawi which
31:16
essentially it was created to look after
31:20
the needs of orphans and um and I guess
31:25
I I feel like it's um it's a in Africa
31:30
in Malawi for instance there are over a
31:32
million orphans and I feel like if you
31:35
added up all the orphans in in Africa I
31:38
don't I mean I don't know what it would
31:40
come to but it's an astronomically high
31:42
number and and I feel like it's a
31:44
problem in the world that we need to pay
31:46
attention to and so I did it for two
31:49
reasons one to raise awareness and one
31:51
to raise money so moved by the plight of
31:54
the children in Malawi Madonna and
31:57
husband Guy Ritchie attempted to adopt a
32:00
little boy named David the adoption
32:04
caused a media furor due to objections
32:07
within Malawi the Madonna and Guy
32:10
Ritchie had not met the legal
32:12
requirements of living in the country
32:14
the case dominated international
32:17
headlines I was doing it privately and
32:20
but you know when you when you do an
32:23
inch or country adoption then the
32:25
government knows about it and once the
32:26
government knows about it it's not
32:28
private anymore so you know it was my
32:31
hope that it would be private as private
32:33
as possible but theum the press arrived
32:35
and they started snooping around and
32:37
you know there was no way I could
32:39
control that finally the Malawi and
32:43
authorities waived local rules to
32:45
Grandma Donna the adoption the child
32:48
David Banda arrived at London's Heathrow
32:51
Airport in the arms of Madonna's
32:53
personal assistant accompanied by a
32:55
bodyguard and police escort it's nice
32:59
it's lovely it's so great to hold him
33:02
and you know he's just starting to he's
33:07
just starting to walk and um just to see
33:10
that you know the whole world being new
33:12
again and to see the world through his
33:13
eyes is wonderful and to see my children
33:16
my older children with him although
33:20
David would be raised in a Western
33:22
society in England
33:23
Madonna insisted that she wants David to
33:26
be in touch with his Malawi and heritage
33:28
and customs I definitely want Malawi and
33:34
his culture and his roots and his
33:36
background to be a part of his life I
33:38
want him to learn to speak to Choa um so
33:41
I want to keep him connected to his his
33:44
culture and where he comes from Madonna
33:48
has visited Malawi in 2006 she said she
33:52
enjoyed her timely largely because most
33:55
of the residents had no idea who she was
33:58
she was free to interact with the local
34:02
people as a real person rather than
34:06
being perceived as a celebrity icon they
34:09
didn't and that was wonderful
34:11
it was and in fact it was really nice um
34:15
when I first arrived to to not be
34:19
bothered at all in that way and to be
34:21
able to walk around through all the
34:22
orphanages and no one had a clue who I
34:24
was in fact no one knew that I was
34:25
anybody until the photographer showed up
34:27
and even though they didn't know who I
34:28
was they just saw there was
34:30
photographers everywhere and then people
34:32
started to say my name and they didn't
34:33
even know who you know they never heard
34:35
of Madonna and in chicawa the word
34:38
Madonna means distinguished white lady
34:40
so I think they got very confused
34:45
now that Madonna has David in her care
34:49
she wants to make a difference to more
34:51
Malawi in children's lives
34:53
her plans include building an orphan
34:55
care center and to continue donating
34:58
money to several other orphanages in the
35:01
country my short-term goals are to build
35:08
an orphan care center that will service
35:11
and reach at least a thousand children
35:14
and I'm also actively involved in
35:17
funding several orphanages that already
35:19
exist and building a millennium village
35:24
with Jeffrey Sachs which deals with
35:26
agricultural medical education providing
35:32
clean water and healthcare for for the
35:36
orphans um and you know it's just the
35:39
beginning I mean I want to do many other
35:41
things but you know I want to start slow
35:43
and I had to go to Malawi and get to
35:45
know the lay of the land and and see how
35:47
best I could be of service
35:51
Madonna published another children's
35:53
book too-good-to-be-true
35:55
with 100% of the proceeds benefitting
35:58
Malawi and orphans she also wrote and
36:02
produced the documentary I am because we
36:04
are the film tells the story of the
36:07
orphans in Malawi and won several awards
36:11
um well I would I want things to do well
36:15
I would be lying to say that I didn't
36:16
want whatever I work on they would put
36:19
my you know time and effort into I want
36:22
people to enjoy what I do and to I want
36:29
people to like what I do that's the
36:30
whole point of being in the
36:31
entertainment business
36:32
um I'm I'm up but I have to you know I
36:37
worked as hard as I could on my TV
36:39
special just as an example and now all I
36:41
can do is let it go and hope for the
36:43
best and that you know that goes for my
36:44
children's book you can only worry so
36:46
much not one to lay idle Madonna then
36:50
released her hit album hard candy which
36:53
featured the lead single four minutes to
36:55
save the world
36:57
a collaboration with Justin Timberlake
36:59
the song achieved worldwide success by
37:02
reaching number one in 21 countries
37:05
giving Madonna the 37th top-ten single
37:09
in turn breaking the record previously
37:11
held by Elvis Presley as the artist with
37:15
the most top 10 hits to a certain extent
37:18
I think the first single four minutes to
37:20
save the world is you know kind of B
37:23
axis with which the rest of the album
37:26
rotates off of because there's a sense
37:28
of urgency to it and there's a sense of
37:32
seriousness about it but at the same
37:33
time there's a sense of fun and levity
37:35
so I think I think you get that through
37:38
the whole record
37:43
Madonna traveled to Paris France to
37:45
perform at the Olympia Theatre to
37:48
promote the new album about 1,500 people
37:52
managed to secure seats for the
37:54
promotional concerts that lasted 35
37:56
minutes
37:59
despite approaching 50s
38:01
Madonna strutted her stuff with a crew
38:03
of hip hop dancers in a pair of lace-up
38:06
boots with six-inch heel in terms of
38:09
creativity the first place that I
38:13
started expressing myself as an artist
38:15
was through dance and that's completely
38:17
and utterly connected to music so for me
38:20
becoming a songwriter and a singer and a
38:22
performer was a perfect segue from
38:25
dancing and I think that even when I get
38:29
involved in film projects I always think
38:31
of them in a very musical way I think
38:33
about what what music is going to be
38:34
scoring the scene music inspires me to
38:37
write a scene so I feel like music is
38:42
still very much an integral part of
38:44
every aspect of my creativity
38:47
few otters have such a diverse range of
38:50
talents Madonna is an accomplished
38:52
author producing actress and fashion
38:56
trendsetter just to name a few
38:58
but creating music is her greatest love
39:01
I'm always going to want to write music
39:06
and I just I just feel like music music
39:09
speaks to people in a way and that no
39:12
other no other or art form can and it is
39:18
in my opinion the most accessible art
39:22
form so yeah you could say it's my first
39:25
love yes the premiere of I am because we
39:30
are
39:30
Madonna's documentary about orphans in
39:33
Malawi was staged at the Tribeca Film
39:36
Festival in New York the film received
39:41
positive reviews in the media The Times
39:44
gave it four out of five stars and wrote
39:46
this rich material makes for a
39:49
completely absorbing film well it was
39:52
important for me to make this film
39:53
because when I heard about the story I
39:54
when I heard about the hardships that
39:56
all the children in Malawi were
39:57
experiencing or that I understood the
40:00
details
40:02
I sort of mean you hear stories all the
40:05
time about things going on around the
40:08
world and you feel crushed by them but
40:10
there was something about this story I
40:12
didn't I don't know why but it just was
40:14
that moment in my in my life or I said
40:16
okay I've got to do something so I
40:18
jumped in and I ended up going on the
40:23
journey of a lifetime
40:24
the documentary describes the journey
40:26
that Madonna embarked on when exploring
40:29
the lives of children who have been
40:31
orphaned due to AIDS and the suffering
40:34
that they have endured she leads the
40:36
audience through many heart-wrenching
40:38
stories that ultimately remind us of how
40:41
interconnected we are this project is
40:47
closer to my heart than anything I've
40:48
ever done yeah
40:53
because because it's about children and
40:56
because it's about children in need and
40:58
because but you're making this film I
41:01
met my son so there's a lot of
41:04
importance attached to it yeah having a
41:08
documentary under her belt
41:10
Madonna set her sights even higher she
41:14
made her feature film directorial debut
41:16
on the production of filth and wisdom
41:23
when Madonna aft husband Guy Ritchie for
41:26
advice about directing the film he told
41:29
her the key was to exude confidence
41:32
confidence has never been in short
41:34
supply for the queen of reinvention and
41:36
she enjoyed making the film so much
41:39
she was now considering making a career
41:41
of it the movie was unveiled at the
41:45
Berlin Film Festival and was the
41:47
Protestant in town well the movie is
41:51
really about two things it's about the
41:53
duality of life and it's also about the
41:56
struggle with that duality and filth and
42:00
wisdom is the ultimate duality it sounds
42:03
like there that complete opposite ends
42:06
of the spectrum but in fact they're not
42:09
that far apart and I think that what I
42:11
was trying to say with the film is that
42:13
you can learn and find enlightenment in
42:18
either place you can find wisdom and
42:22
filth and vice versa the movie focuses
42:25
on a character called a Kay an aspiring
42:28
musician and Holly a ballerina
42:31
who reluctantly becomes a stripper their
42:34
individual stories are close to
42:36
Madonna's heart what if I look back to
42:39
the beginning of my career I mean I
42:41
could I can I can recall those moments
42:43
of struggle like it was yesterday and
42:46
there are aspects of Holly Juliette and
42:49
a Ches struggle but I could relate to
42:52
completely and I could access that
42:55
memory and put it into the story the
42:58
cinema society and Dolce and Gabanna
43:01
hosted the New York premiere of filth
43:03
and wisdom at the sunshine cinema
43:06
Madonna hit the red carpet solo without
43:09
Guy Ritchie and seemed at ease when
43:12
talking to the press I've been wanting
43:14
to make a film for years
43:16
and I just decided to stop moaning about
43:19
it and do it yeah
43:24
Amos friends and fans of Madonna flooded
43:27
the downtown theater for the premiere
43:30
Eugene Hutz who played the part of a Kay
43:33
spoke highly of Madonna's ability as a
43:36
director very good very enthusiastic
43:39
very upbeat and then he asked Rupa was
43:47
about monster details and also knowing
43:51
where to let go and let somebody do
43:55
their own thing you know Naomi Watts
43:59
Brooke Shields
44:01
Jason Briggs and Erika Christensen were
44:05
all there to lend their support but
44:07
Erika who is a huge fan of Madonna
44:10
struggled to choose her favorite song
44:15
that's so difficult the most difficult
44:18
question ever what do you think in this
44:19
which like lucky star that's a good way
44:23
to figure it out probably I guess I
44:25
would have to go old old school yeah 80s
44:31
Madonna I think like a virgin is
44:33
probably one of my favorites
44:35
I'd have to say and I really love her I
44:39
love what's happened with her since
44:41
she's been studying kabbalah I think
44:43
that's really done something quite
44:44
extraordinary to her and I thinks what
44:46
she's done is come out to a lot of
44:48
people and sort of the spoken about the
44:52
last happy which is people's
44:53
spirituality and I think that's really
44:55
important
44:56
following an emotional divorce with Guy
44:59
Ritchie Madonna traveled back to Malawi
45:01
to adopt three-year-old to fund oh mercy
45:04
James Madonna one permission to adopt a
45:08
second child from Malawi after the
45:11
country's highest court overturned an
45:13
earlier decision that rejected her
45:15
application the Chief Justice said
45:19
Madonna's commitment to disadvantaged
45:22
children and the funds that she has
45:24
raised for the Malawi charity serving
45:27
twenty five thousand orphaned children
45:29
should have been taken into account
45:31
he also said mercy could either stay at
45:36
the orphanage without the love of her
45:37
family and live with the possibility of
45:40
destitution or be with Madonna where she
45:43
is assured of love every child has the
45:46
right to love clearly Madonna has plenty
45:51
of love to give to her young family
46:00
Madonna's fascinating career spans
46:02
decades her journey has not always been
46:05
lazy one but this strong-minded woman
46:08
has found unrivaled success through self
46:11
belief and determination I know that you
46:15
know I've I've earned the position that
46:18
I'm in as a celebrity as an artist as a
46:20
you know a singer and that came through
46:27
a lot of hard work and and it was you
46:30
know it's had a lot of ups and downs and
46:31
you know I know the meaning of hard work
46:36
and I know that anything that's
46:38
important you have to earn and comes
46:41
with struggle if anything the struggles
46:44
in her personal and business life have
46:47
only made her stronger but now in her
46:52
50s for how much longer can she remain
46:55
on the top of the chance there is no
46:58
reason why her career can't go into 60s
47:01
I mean when you think of Madonna when
47:03
she emerged in the early eighties with
47:05
holiday nobody would have believed that
47:09
in 25 years time she would still be
47:12
having number one hits so it's no less
47:15
remarkable that in ten years times
47:17
you're doing the same thing Cuba for her
47:21
have sustained the longevity of her
47:23
career but the Material Girl remains
47:26
optimistic that she will continue whilst
47:29
the passion still burns I don't see it
47:32
coming anytime soon but you know you
47:34
never know is if I stop loving what I do
47:36
that's that's when I stop doing it while
47:40
she remains adored and revered by her
47:42
legions of fans worldwide there seems to
47:45
be no reason for her success to diminish
47:47
but does she have any regrets about her
47:50
life
47:51
um no big regrets I think if you know I
47:55
get a bit freaked out by some of my
47:57
hairstyles and a few outfits a hideous
48:01
photographs I don't know things like
48:03
that maybe a few guys I dated but
48:05
nothing too big right well the same
48:08
regrets we all have if hairstyles and
48:11
bad dates are her greatest concerns she
48:14
has enjoyed a happy life that continues
48:16
to evolve she is a woman that has
48:19
changed the entertainment industry
48:21
forever I would like people to think of
48:24
me as a revolutionary yeah
48:28
few women have had as much power in the
48:31
entertainment industry as Madonna and
48:33
the Queen of Pop doesn't look like she's
48:36
slowing down anytime soon
49:15
you
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