Madonna
Produced, Written & Directed by Jason Goodman
Madonna was the first star with an active career to agree to do the show, and the network kept reminding me the show had to be great – after all, it debut date was August 16 – her 40th birthday. I’m not sure I’ve ever been under quite so much pressure, and to complicate matters, I was making The Eden Alternative Film in Indiana at the same time. I renting a cabin in scenic Brown County, just outside of Bloomington, for the July 4th weekend, and started a manic five week writing and editing craze to create the show you see here.
While we were waiting for Madonna to arrive for the interview, her guru/publicist, Liz Rosenberg, told me that if I asked one wrong question, Madonna might get up and leave. I remember going around the corner to a little neighborhood antique store, and talking the owner into letting me borrow a toddler-sized rocking chair, so Lola would have someplace to chill, and I could hopefully win some brownie points with her mother. Madonna even has a picture of a two-year-old Lola in that chair somewhere, although I doubt she remembers our time together. But I certainly do.
Click here to watch my favorite act.
Behind The Music: Madonna • My Favorite Act • Written, Produced & Directed by Jason Goodman
Madonna had a great deal of influence who appeared on her Behind The Music – but we had no restrictions on what we could cover. That said, the 40-year Madonna who was a new mother and about to release her most spiritual cd, Ray of Light, was very far away from the sexual provocateur she had been during the Erotica phase. The network spoke with me beforehand about this – suggesting it was so sensitive that perhaps it would be best if I didn’t ask her about it at all.
But I decided to talk sex with Madonna, and it was the moment that she settled into the interview and started to really engage me. I’ve always thought her answers about her Sex Book days are some of the most interesting and insightful parts of the interview.
