Madonna’s daughter Lourdes wanted to play her mother in the singer’s upcoming biopic, but lacked the acting experience needed to take on the Material Girl.
The film, currently titled Who’s That Girl, is finally in the works, four years after a script was completed and nearly two years after it was put on hold while Madonna embarked on her Celebration tour.
Lourdes, aka ‘Lola’, 28, was considered but lost out on the role to actress Julia Garner, who was in a two-horse race with Kathryn Newton, with Madonna and film bosses struggling to make a decision on who would be the queen of the world should play. Pop.
“Lola was considered for the role of her mother, but she didn’t have the acting experience needed to play such a difficult role,” a source told DailyMail.com exclusively.
Who’s That Girl – a reference to Madonna’s 1987 comedy film and single of the same name – will chronicle her decades-long career, as well as aspects of her personal life, including her relationship with Carlos Leon, 58, and the birth of their daughter Lola in 1996.
Madonna’s daughter Lourdes wanted to play her mother in the singer’s upcoming biopic, but lacked the acting experience needed to handle the Material Girl.
Who’s That Girl will chronicle both her career and personal life, including her relationship with Carlos Leon, 58, and the birth of their daughter Lola, 28, in 1996 (pictured)
Carlos championed Lola for the role, claiming she was the perfect casting to play the groundbreaking singer.
“I hope they cast a beautiful baby to play Lola because she was as beautiful then as she is now,” he told DailyMail.com in August. ‘They need to hire an actress who radiates strength, it’s in her blood.
“Lola is a phenomenal actress, I think she would be great.”
Garner, 30, and Newton, 27, had undergone screen tests for the role and took part in an intense 11-hour audition process with the singer’s choreographer.
They also had to participate in several script readings with Madonna and had to perform her songs for her.
Garner, who played con artist and fraudster Anna Delvey in Netflix hit Inventing Anna, previously revealed she prepared for the role by studying Madonna’s music, performances and personal life.
She also joined Madonna on stage during her Celebration Tour in Brooklyn, New York in December 2023.
Lola recently opened up about her career and said she would consider acting if she were given a role that wasn’t “too far away” from who she is.
Lourdes, aka ‘Lola’, 28, was considered but lost out on the role to actress Julia Garner, who competed in a two-horse race alongside Kathryn Newton
Julia joined Madonna on stage during her Celebration Tour at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York in December 2023
‘I don’t have a specific goal. I probably should,” she told her mother’s lifelong friend Debi Mazar for Interview magazine.‘
‘Financially speaking, modeling is a smart decision. I like to be very practical with the campaigns I do, so that I don’t just do modeling.
‘I dance, have a very specific sense of style and am interested in aesthetics, so I like to incorporate all those parts of myself into my projects.’
She continued, “I don’t know how I feel about acting yet. I think it’s about finding a role that isn’t too far removed from who I already am.’
Madonna has been heavily involved with the film, which she announced was returning in an Instagram post in July.
The Vogue singer shared a montage of images of herself sitting at a typewriter, surrounded by what appeared to be pages of script.
“I need a lot of Bandz to make this…..Okay,” Madonna captioned the post.
Filming isn’t underway yet, but according to a source, the interior scenes will be shot at Universal. Exterior scenes are shot on the Lower East Side and Upper East Side of New York City.
Madonna announced on Instagram in July that she was putting the finishing touches to her long-awaited biopic. The project took a backseat to her Celebration Tour (pictured with script)
Madonna’s love story with Lola’s father Carlos, co-founder of an online clothing and cannabis store OG dad – will be documented in the film.
Carlos founded the company with his business partner Josh Tepper.
The exes first met in 1994 during a chance meeting when Madonna was jogging in New York City’s Central Park. She became pregnant while shooting Evita and gave birth to Lola in 1996. They broke up the following year, but have remained good friends.
“This film is one of the greatest urban love stories ever told,” Carlos told DailyMail.com. ‘It’s an honor to be part of history.
“In the long run, there has been more good than bad, and my ex and I have a beautiful daughter made with love.”
American actor Jencarlos Canela is the current frontrunner to play Carlos, who previously said: “I hope a young, unknown Latino actor from Manhattan is chosen to play Carlos Leon in the film. I want the actor to be authentic to my heritage.
‘Most importantly, the actor must embody resilience and protective energy. I am very protective of my daughter and her mother. I think that will continue to shine through. Family comes first.”
The upcoming film was first announced in September 2020, with Madonna revealing what she was working with Oscar-winning Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody under the title Little Sparrow.
Cody and Madonna completed work on the project in 2021. Diablo left and was replaced by Erin Cressida Wilson.
“Lola was considered for the role of her mother, but she didn’t have the acting experience needed to play such a difficult role,” a source told DailyMail.com exclusively.
Madonna and Carlos have remained close friends since their breakup in 1987
American actor Jencarlos Canela is the current frontrunner to play Carlos (pictured), calling for a “young, unknown Latino actor from Manhattan” to play him
During an Instagram Live conversation, the Papa Don’t Preach singer said the film would show her “struggle as an artist trying to survive in a man’s world” as she moved from Michigan to New York.
She claimed it would cover the “happy, sad, crazy, crazy, good, bad and ugly” times.
She had previously dismissed the idea of a ‘biopic’, claiming the project was a ‘visual autobiography’.
“Don’t call it a biopic,” she told The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in October 2021. ‘The reason I do it is because a number of people have tried to write films about me, but it’s always men. ‘
Madonna rose to fame with her 1983 eponymous debut studio album before releasing a string of hits including Vogue, Like a Prayer and Frozen.
She also starred in films such as Desperately Seeking Susan and Evita, for which she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress.
She was married to Sean Penn from 1985 to 1989 and later married Guy Ritchie in 2000. The couple, who share son Rocco, 24, split in 2008. She is also mother to adopted children David, 19, Mercy, 18, and twins Stella. and Esther, 12.