London, Jan 31: Madonna's “W.E.,” blends the story of a modern woman (Abbie Cornish) in an unhappy marriage with the 1930s scandal over the abdication of King Edward so he could marry divorcee Wallis Simpson (Andrea Riseborough).
The material girl says directing her second feature film was one of the most difficult things she ever done—besides being a mom.
“For sure directing is the most challenging thing I've ever, ever done next to motherhood, yes. Um, yeah, it's so all-encompassing and there's so many people involved and it's such a huge collaborative effort but very rewarding to.”
Madonna, who also co-wrote the film, says her musical background played a role in her storytelling, albeit subconsciously.
“I mean it must I wasn't consciously trying to make a film that looked musical. I think I loved using the steady cam and I used it a lot in the movie and it's a camera that's strapped to a person's body so there's a lot of movement and it feels musical and it feels dance-like so if you put that together with a sweeping score like Abel Korzeniowski did I think you end up having that feeling. There's something musical about the film itself even though it's not a musical but I did think music was important and often times when I was filming scenes that didn't have dialogue I would play music on the set just to set the mood.”
British actress Andrea Riseborough, who plays Simpson, says she felt “totally supported” by her famous director.
“In my experience that I had was a wonderful one of going to set every day with somebody who was totally passionate and so prepared and had thought through ever last moment emotionally something you appreciate so much as an actor and I felt totally supported and I trusted implicitly that I could go to her at any one moment and she would be able to tell me emotionally exactly where I needed to be tonally.”
