Evita

Todd: You know what Madonna's not good at? Movies. You know what she is good at? Music. If she really wants to make movies, why doesn't she just make a musical already?


 * Clips from 1980 and 2012 Tony Awards, both featuring performances from the musical Evita

Todd (VO): Broadway smash Evita is the story of a young girl from humble beginnings who used her feminine wiles and arguably scandalous ways to rise to the top and become a world-renowned international idol of fashion and power, and eventually becoming one of the most important female icons of the 20th century.

Todd: It does not take a genius to figure out why Madonna would be attracted to this role.


 * Clip from trailer for Evita

Todd (VO): So when Hollywood announced they were finally gonna make the long-awaited film version of the Broadway hit, Madonna decided that she absolutely had to play the title role. And this was super-controversial because 1., Eva Peron is still very much beloved in Argentina, so the country was not thrilled with having their dearest Evita played [picture of Madonna in the throes of passion with a man]by a borderline porn star; and 2., Madonna is a bad actress...

Todd: ...who makes terrible movies.

Todd (VO): But against all odds, she pulled it off. She not only got the role, she also got a hefty portion of critical acclaim for the first time ever. She won a Golden Globe for Best Actress that year, and there was outrage that she was snubbed for an Oscar nomination.

Todd: Even saying Madonna in the same sentence as Oscar would've been laughable the year before, so...

Todd (VO): ...even though she didn't get nominated, this was a humongous leap forward for her film career. Finally, she had the vehicle that proved that she could do something in Hollywood besides make shitty B-movies.

Todd: By God, she could also make shitty prestige movies! [Gives thumbs up]

Cinemadonna intro

Transcript in progress