Snail Mail auditioned to play Madonna in scrapped biopic

Snail Mail, also known as Lindsey Jordan, was one of the many artists who auditioned for the starring role in the now-scrapped Madonna biopic.

• READ MORE: The Big Read – Snail Mail: “It’s awesome seeing lots of women and queer people in music”

In a new interview with Inked, Jordan spoke about the audition process, which was allegedly also contested by the likes of Sky Ferreira and Bebe Rexha. “I had to come up with a dance routine based on one of her music videos – I had to look at what she was doing but not imitate it, but be inspired by it,” Jordan explained, adding that she is a “huge” Madonna fan.

“She’s a dance legend. I watched a documentary. I was watching interviews with her. I was taking notes and I had to do three scenes. It was a good learning experience. I didn’t think I’d get the role, but if I didn’t work hard I’d feel bad for not giving it my all,” she concluded.

Madonna was set to write and direct the biopic, with Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody coming onboard as a co-writer. The diva has commented on her reasons for taking control of a biopic about her life and career, stating, “I’ve had an extraordinary life, I must make an extraordinary film. It was also a preemptive strike because a lot of people were trying to make movies about me. Mostly misogynistic men. So I put my foot in the door and said, ‘No one’s going to tell my story, but me’.”

First announced in 2020, the biopic was set to star Julia Garner after she impressed from a field of twelve contenders, but was scrapped as Madonna has committed to her mammoth 40th anniversary tour. Madonna is due to hit the road for the 35-city ‘Celebration Tour’ starting in July, with concerts in Antwerp, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Paris, New York, Chicago, Miami and more announced.

Snail Mail recently concluded a five-night residency in her hometown of Baltimore, Maryland, marking her first performances in the city after five years. Dubbed ‘Valentine Fest’, the concert series ran from February 10 to 14 at the 350-capacity Ottobar and saw Jordan and her band performing each night.

The concert series was also held in support of Jordan’s second album as Snail Mail, the titular ‘Valentine’. The November 2022 album includes previously released singles ‘Ben Franklin’, ‘Madonna’ and the title track, with the album itself earning a five-star review from NME’s El Hunt.

Hunt called the record “expertly curated”, opining that every song on it “feels like a fully-realised gem”.

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