madonnalicious

Russian Magazines: Tatler

The Russian version of Tatler magazine featured these two Madonna-related articles in the March edition of the magazine. Click to enlarge.

Thanks to Elmira

Malawian staff sue Madonna for 'unfair dismissal'

Eight ex-employees of a Malawian charity founded by Madonna are suing the pop diva for unfair dismissal after being fired from her $15-million girls' academy, a court official said Monday.
'The staff at Madonna's charity Raising Malawi accuse the singer of terminating their employment due to (a) change in strategy which had not been properly explained to them,' the official told AFP.
'The staff are demanding their terminal benefits because they think their employment was terminated without proper procedures,' added the source, an official of the country's industrial relations court who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Led by the former head of the much-publicised girls' academy, Anjimile Oponya, the senior staff members also claim they are being 'forced to sign a discriminatory termination agreement which is unfair and unconstitutional,' the official said.
Madonna announced in January that she was overhauling plans for Raising Malawi, which was originally to be a school that would offer 500 scholarships to girls from poor backgrounds.
But the pop star said she realised the academy 'would not serve enough children in a country where 33 percent of Malawian girls attend secondary school'.
She said she wanted to 'reach thousands not hundreds of girls with education and would expand the charity's mission and change its management'.
'We are focused on an approach, which builds schools within communities across the country,' she said.
'The implementation of my original vision is now on a much bigger scale. I want to do more and I want to do it better. We are in the process of implementing several changes and additions to the management of Raising Malawi both in the US and Malawi,' she said.
Malawi's education standards have plummeted because of overcrowded classrooms, shortages of teachers and learning materials.
Madonna has adopted two orphans from the impoverished country, David and Mercy, among an army of one million orphaned children whose parents have died of AIDS.
She funds several orphanages, including Home of Hope in Mchinji, 100 kilometres (62 miles) from the capital, Lilongwe, where she first adopted David in 2006.
The orphanages feed, clothe and house 25,000 orphans in central Malawi.

From AFP Via Yahoo! News

US Magazines: Us Weekly

US magazine Us Weekly told its readers that 'Madonna did it first' in this article! Click on the article to enlarge.

Thanks to Elmira

Isaac: Madonna wanted pecs appeal

Oscar Isaac has admitted stripping off for Madonna on the set of her new film was 'incredibly intimidating'.
The Sucker Punch actor filmed a passionate love scene for the Queen of Pop's latest movie project W.E, playing a Russian security guard who embarks on an affair with New York socialite Wally Winthrop (Abbie Cornish).
Oscar said of his superstar director: 'She was adamant that both men and women scream when I take my shirt off so I had to do a lot of training for that. I was passable by the end she said!'
He went on: 'That was something actually. Having to do a love scene with Abbie (Cornish) and then having Madonna yelling direction about how to make love better was definitely a surreal moment.'
The film, which Madonna also co-wrote, focuses on the affair between King Edward VIII (James D'Arcy) and American divorcee Wallis Simpson (Andrea Riseborough), plus the contemporary romance between Oscar and Abbie's characters. Oscar revealed gym fan Madonna was keen to ensure his physique looked the part.
'(It was) incredibly intimidating, she really inspected to make sure every muscle was in its place. But it was an amazing experience doing that film and I'm really excited to see it.'

From www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk

Madonna wanted to be Elizabeth Taylor

If Madonna could've been anyone else besides Madonna, she would've been Elizabeth Taylor.
Madonna told Taylor at her 65th birthday party, she grew up idolizing her. She said 'I wanted to ride horses with my long, lustrous hair trailing behind me. I wanted to swing on a swing set with a velvet dress on. I wanted violet eyes and translucent skin.'
She said she also wanted the 16-inch waistline of Taylor's youth and 'wanted Montgomery Clift, Paul Newman, James Dean and Rock Hudson to put their arms around it.'

From The Associated Press / Brandon Sun

Events: Madonna and Me US Premiere

Madonna-backed group ends plans for Malawi school

A charitable group backed by pop star Madonna has scrapped its plan to build a school for impoverished girls in Malawi due to mismanagement, the New York Times reported on Thursday.
The organization, Raising Malawi, has ousted its board of directors and replaced its members with a new set of officials that includes Madonna and her manager, the Times reported.
'A thoughtful decision has been made to discontinue plans for the Raising Malawi Academy for Girls, as it was originally conceived,' Michael Berg, co-founder of Raising Malawi, said Thursday in an e-mail to the center's members who had contributed to the project, according to the Times.
Berg, a co-director of the spiritual and educational organization Kabbalah Center International in Los Angeles, could not be reached for comment on Thursday night.
The Times said the effort to build the Malawi school had collapsed after spending $3.8 million on the project and its executive director left in October amid criticism of his management style and cost overruns.
Madonna lent $11 million of her money to the organization. She has been a frequent visitor to Malawi and has adopted two children from the country.
On Thursday, the singer issued a statement to the Times saying she was still intent on working with Raising Malawi.
'There's a real education crisis in Malawi,' she said in the statement given to the Times. 'Sixty-seven percent of girls don't go to secondary school, and this is simply unacceptable.'
A spokeswoman for Madonna could not be reached on Thursday night.

From Reuters Via Yahoo! News

Madonna remembers Elizabeth Taylor

Madonna has spoken about the death of Elizabeth Taylor in this statement:

'I am so sorry to hear that this great legend has passed. I admired and respected her not only as an actress but for her amazing and inspiring work as an AIDS activist. She was one of a kind.'

Thanks to Alex

Sugarland and Little Big Town cover Like a Prayer

Tanner Stransky at EW.com wrote this piece below on the Sugarland/Little Big Town country version of Madonna's Like a Prayer:

Should Madonna’s 'Like a Prayer' maybe have been a country song this whole time? Don’t worry: I realize what I’ve opened myself up to by asking that question.
But seriously, that’s what I asked myself as I watched this cover of the classic Madge song by Sugarland and Little Big Town, recorded live at a concert in Bloomington, IL, on Friday night. It’s real good.
I think my affection for 'Like a Prayer' as a country song is a three-parter: 1) I’m so familiar with the song. Like, what cover of 'Like a Prayer' wouldn’t be good? 2) The semi-religious undertones (overtones?) in the song—well, at least the use of the word 'prayer' - very much seem at home in any country song. Right? Seems like it to me, at least, and the Sugarland/LBT folks give it a pureness. And, lastly, 3) Jennifer Nettles just rules; her voice gives me chills. Throw in Little Big Town - who Sugarland is pretty regularly collaborating with at this point—and it’s just all that much better.
This six-some did Madonna justice. Watch here:

Thanks to Derek

Madonna dresses up as Charlie Chaplin for Purim

Madonna celebrated the Jewish holiday of Purim by dressing up as Charlie Chaplin in New York City this past weekend.

To view a picture of Madonna arriving at the party visit www.tmz.com

Events: Madonna Yoga Flow Party in Ottawa

Where: Rama Lotus Yoga Centre, Ottawa, Ontario

When: Friday 01 April from 7:30-9.00pm

What: Get into your groove and celebrate with a playful Ashtanga-based yoga class to the music of Madonna (yes, THE Madonna). Music arrangement by MixMaster Mike, (aka. Mike Block). During the 90-minutes you have a chance to work on your strength, flexibility and definitely lots of sweat. Show up early, this class is busy!

Cost: April's Madonna Flow Party will be done on a donation basis with 100% of the proceeds going to the relief efforts in Japan c/o CARE Canada.

For more information visit: www.ottawayoga.com/event

Thanks to Jennifer

Liz Smith on 'W.E.'

US columnist Liz Smith has written this small snippet of news about Madonna's new film in her latest column at www.wowowow.com/culture/liz-smith:

Madonna is just about done editing her film, 'W.E.' The star wrote and directed this tale of a modern young woman (Abbie Cornish) who is fascinated by the historic 'fairytale' romance of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Frustratingly, I cannot say too much about the film. But I do feel safe in saying that Madonna is going to surprise just about everybody with her finesse here. 'W.E.' is lush, compelling, romantic, funny and tragic. The pop icon is one hell of a director. But that’s no surprise to me.

Thanks to Alex

UK Magazines: Look

UK magazine Look (14 March issue) featured a look at the fashions worn at the Academy Awards last month. Click on the article to enlarge.

UK Magazines: Grazia

The 14 March issue of UK magazine Grazia featured coverage of the Academy Awards and Madonna and Lourdes appearance at the Vanity Fair Oscars party - click on the articles to enlarge.

UK Magazines: Closer

UK magazine Closer featured Kelly Osbourne talking in her column about being the new face of the Material Girl collection and what it was like to shoot the adverts.

Madonna in Out: Young and gritty photos from 1982

Out magazine’s Ladies We Love issue, which featured pop chanteuse Britney Spears on its first cover that came out last week, just keeps delivering the gay goods: The issue’s second and final cover has hit, and it’s another lady they (and we) love from the world of music: Madonna.
But they didn’t put together just another profile of Madge. Instead, they’ve constructed a pretty cool (and never-before-seen!) photo portfolio from one of Madonna’s earliest photo shoots, just before she was about to hit it big. The gritty photos - hot in and around the apartment building that Madonna lived in in New York City’s East Village - were taken by now-famed photographer Richard Corman, who contributes a short essay about this experience with the diva to the package, in the summer of 1982.
Corman recounts how Madonna was already an icon to the kids in the nabe. 'She was like the Pied Piper of the neighborhood - they loved her,' Corman remembers. 'They followed her, they danced with her, they sang with her. It was something they did on a daily basis, and it was remarkable. We just walked up and they gathered around. She put the boom box on - it was her music, though I don’t remember which song - and they just started dancing and singing. She was so alive and unpretentious. She was fierce, determined. Nothing was going to stop her.'
Later, Corman recounts how things have changed for both he and Madonna since this innocent little shoot: 'For me, like her, when I do a shoot now, I’ve got eight people around me - but that day it was just the two of us.'
It’s kinda sweet, thinking about Madonna as just a girl with a boom box and a bunch of neighborhood kids on her heels, right? Do you love these photos? Do they take you back?

From The Music Mix / EW.com

Express Yourself: International Download Day

On Thursday 17 March Madonna fans around the world will attempt to take her classic track Express Yourself to the top of the iTunes To make the project work, fans all have to download the same version of the track, and that is the version on the Celebration Deluxe Edition on iTunes.

For more information visit www.facebook.com/Express-Yourself-Download-Day

Direct links to different iTunes stores can be viewed at nobodyknows.com.au

US Magazines: Out

US magazine Out have previewed the Richard Corman images that are featured in the upcoming April 2011 issue of the magazine.

A year before her first album, an unknown Madonna invited Richard Corman to photograph her in and around her New York City walk-up. The pictures he took that day, published here for the first time, capture the energy and vitality of a woman destined to become a legend. Plus: See an extra 18 web-exclusive images!

To view all the pictures in full size and read the article visit www.Out.com

'Stalker' Arrested In Madonna's Home

An alleged 'stalker' was arrested after breaking into Madonna's home.
Grzegorz Matlok, 29, was wrestled to the ground by bodyguards at the 52-year-old star's £10 million 10-bedroom mansion in London's Marylebone area at 5.30am on Saturday morning (12.03.11) after being found clutching several of the 'Material Girl' hitmaker's possessions.
Despite having a huge security team and a state of the art CCTV system in place, the intruder - who the singer's bodyguards told police was a 'stalker' - gained entry to the Georgian townhouse by smashing a side window while the singer was in the US mourning the death of her grandmother Elsie Mae Fortin.
A senior police source told The Sun newspaper: 'Something dreadful has happened here. The security around the world's most famous pop star should be impregnable.'
Polish-born Matlok was charged with burglary last night (13.03.11) and is now due to appear before magistrates in Westminster today (14.03.11).
Madonna and her family were in the USA at the time of the arrest.

From contactmusic.com

First Look: Madonna's April 2011 Out cover

Almost three decades ago, and a year before her first album was released, a then-unknown Madonna invited Richard Corman to photograph her in and around her New York City walk-up. The pictures he took that day, unpublished until now, capture the energy and vitality of a woman destined to become a legend.

Check out this sneak peek of Madonna on the cover of our April 'Ladies We Love' issue and then come back to Out.com on Monday, March 14 at 11am ET to see the full cover, all of the never-before-published photos, and to read Corman’s personal account of shooting Madonna in 1982.

From www.popnography.com/first-look-madonnas-april-2011-out-cover

Madonna on 'Every Mother Counts' documentary soundtrack

Starbucks will release a companion CD to Christy Turlington Burns' documentary 'No Woman No Cry' that will include music from Rosanne Cash, the Dixie Chicks, Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, Sinead O'Connor, Gwyneth Paltrow and others.
The 'Every Mother Counts' CD will be released April 12. Starbucks will donate $8 from the sale of each CD between April 12 and May 9 to CARE for its maternal health programs in coffee growing countries. The Oprah Winfrey Network, OWN, will broadcast the film on May 7.
Turlington Burns founded the organization Every Mother Counts last year and has screened her film at health conferences and film festivals in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, India, Guatemala, Poland and Zanzibar. The film follows expecting mothers in four countries - Tanzania, Bangladesh, Guatemala and the Unites States - as they face obstacles to receiving healthcare.

The complete track listing:

Martha Wainwright 'Leave Behind'
Carla Bruni 'Le Loup, La Biche et Le Chevalier (Une Chanson Douce)'
Gwyneth Paltrow 'This Woman's Work'
Madonna 'Promise to Try'
Patti Scialfa 'Children's Song'
Toshi Reagon and Bernice Johnson Reagon 'There and Back Again, Pt. 2'
Angelique Kidjo 'Sweet Lullaby'
Ani DiFranco 'Present/Infant' (remix)
Dixie Chicks 'Lullaby'
Rosanne Cash 'Motherless Children' (acoustic version)
Sheryl Crow 'Lullaby for Wyatt'
Jennifer Lopez 'One Step at a Time'
Karen Elson 'The Last Laugh'
Sinead O'Connor 'Petit Poulet'
Martha Wainwright 'No Woman, No Cry'

From Billboard.com

German Magazines: In Touch

The 10 March issue of German magazine In Touch featured this one picture of Madonna attending the Vanity Fair Oscars party in Los Angeles last month.

Thanks to Kirsten

Madonna's grandmother dies, aged 99

Madonna's grandmother Elsie Mae Fortin has died in the singer's hometown of Bay City, MI at the age of 99.
Fortin reportedly passed away from an undisclosed ailment at her home while surrounded by family and friends.
According to local newspaper The Bay City Times, Fortin helped to raise Madonna after the 'Miles Away' star's mother succumbed to breast cancer in 1963.
The popstar's rep Liz Rosenberg released an official statement, which called for the press to respect Madonna's privacy.
'I'm sorry, but Madonna will not be issuing any statements or conversing with the media regarding her grandmother. It is totally a personal matter to her,' Rosenberg noted.
The singer's father Silvio Ciccone praised Fortin as a 'friendly, loving and caring' woman who did a 'great job' taking care of her family.
It is not yet known if Madonna will attend Fortin's funeral, which is to be held on Saturday.

From Digital Spy

Madonna on the cover of Out magazine

For the first time in Out's history, the magazine is dedicating their entire April issue to the women who inspire, scandalize, educate, and excite us - in a different way than they excite the other boys. And they're celebrating the landmark moment with another first for them - two different covers.

One will feature the indelible Britney Spears shot exclusively for Out by Ruven Afanador and the other will feature never-seen-before photos of Madonna shot by photographer Richard Corman in 1982 just months before her career skyrocketed.

On Monday 14 March Out.com will feature their exclusive Madonna photos and begin to roll out the other Ladies We Love featured in the issue.

Out's April 2011 issue featuring Madonna and Britney Spears on dual covers will be on newsstands on Tuesday 29 March.

Thanks to Matthew

Abbie Cornish on working on 'W.E.'

MTV.com have published an interview with actress Abbie Cornish in which she talks about Madonna as a director and exactly what role Lourdes portrays in 'W.E'.