Madonna Talks About ‘W.E.’ And The “Cult Of Celebrity” In ‘Rolling Stone’

Evita notwithstanding, Madonna’s cinematic efforts have been iffy at best (and Swept Away at worst), and now that she’s behind the scenes, fans are curious to see if last month’s birthday girl is more talented at directing than most think she is as an actress. (Unfortunately, early buzz has critics reacting to the film as favorably as Madge responds to hydrangeas.) A new Rolling Stone piece finds the vodka-friendly diva chatting up W.E.‘s themes involving “the cult of celebrity” (something the Queen of Pop should know a little something about) using Jesus Christ and Cleopatra as comparisons, and likening her burgeoning filmmaking career to her early days as a singer. Read more below.

“I was interested in the idea or the concept of the cult of celebrity, which we are all consumed with, now and then,” Madonna states in the piece. “There are so many rumors that are now believed to be true about Wallis Simpson. When I investigated her story, there were so many of them, yet I could find no empirical evidence stating that they were true.

“I realized that we have always – since the time of Christ or Cleopatra, or you can go back through history and name any iconic or historical figure – it’s like Chinese whispers. It starts off as one story and by the time it gets to us, it’s something different, and we believe it to be true. And we often reduce our historical figures, or our iconic figures, to a sound-bite. And it’s tremendously unfair.

“We forget that they are human beings. What was important to me was to portray Wallis Simpson as a human being with flaws, imperfections and a human, vulnerable side.”

She could just as easily be talking about her status as a pop icon, no?

Regarding helming a movie for only the second time (following 2008’s little-seen and poorly-reviewed Filth & Wisdom), she declares: “I had the same kind of pressure when I began my music career. I was nervous and I didn’t know what to expect, and people didn’t know what to expect. I had to earn my way [to] being taken seriously in the music department, and now I’m well aware that I have to do the same in the world of film.”

Is this just the beginning of the Material Girl’s Scorsesean ambitions? Or will negative buzz from the Venice Film Festival prevent the ambitious blonde from going further? Would you rather see Madonna put all her attention toward her upcoming single instead?

W.E. concerns the love life of England’s King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson. Read the full Rolling Stone piece here.