Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Madonna's Ziegfeld Follies

After a weekend mostly sick in bed, Michael and I ended up attending the star-studded premiere of Madonna's "W.E." at the Ziegfeld Theater. The film -- which we aren't allowed to review until it comes out -- definitely took a back seat to the well-heeled crowd that turned out, which included every hot guy in New York City plus bold-faced names like Martha Stewart (who paraded up and down the aisle repeatedly a la Sally Field in "Soapdish"), Calvin Klein (looking very scary, sans boy toy), a buzzed-head-with-Coke-bottle-glasses Jerry Seinfeld, along with wife Jessica (sporting her own short 'n' sassy hairdo), Ewan McGregor, Donna Karan, Diane von Furstenberg, Patti Smith, Lou Reed, Julia Stiles, Andrew McCarthy, Gayle King, Russell Simmons and Lady Bunny (thank god she wasn't seated in front of us with that hair!). When we sat down, we noticed daughter Lourdes (we saw Papa Carlos later in the lobby), Guy Oseary, Liz Rosenberg as well as the Seinfelds a couple rows ahead of us, so we knew Madonna was going to be seated nearby.

But before the show, the lady of the (too many) hour(s) came out to introduce the film, and to thank her many collaborators. The speech was heartfelt -- Madge was not suffering from her usual case of the "ums," better known as Caroline Kennedy Syndrome -- and it was sweet to hear her say how shocked she was, even after all she's accomplished, to be standing in front of an audience at the famed Ziegfeld to introduce a film that she had directed. She said reporters were constantly asking why she'd even decided to take this task on, to which she humbly said: "My life seems to be made of never-imagined-I'd-be-here moments." (Call me breathless heartless, but I think she got a little carried away with the whole thanking her mom for giving birth to her bit, but I suppose it beats God.)


Madonna gets CK'd

As the credits began to roll, Madonna stood up and began to walk up the aisle -- she really was a couple rows in front of us! -- and the crowd gave her a standing ovation, which prompted a huge smile just inches before my eyes.

More than anything, the film got me excited for her upcoming album -- another clunky alphabet soup of a title -- an area where Madonna is far more at home. It's been a long time since she really dazzled me -- "Ray of Light" came out in 1998, after all -- so it would nice to have something really great again from a woman who has given us so much in the past.

More photos that aren't mine HERE.


1 comment:

CC said...

Would it violate any release you signed if you allowed a link to BBC 5 movie reviewer Mark Kermode's review?

http://youtu.be/SE2LMHQmQS0

I think he does a pretty good (hatchet) job!