The War to Play Madonna
+ Brad Pitt's 'Beetlejuice', Cuarón casting, mid-level agency scramble
Hollywood Transom is part of The Ankler. Written by Jeff Sneider, the column’s mission is to deliver brief scoops and news about this industry’s current state of play and its players.
Hot Role: Madonna
The role that every young actress wants right now is the lead in the Madonna biopic, which the Material Girl is directing herself. Sources say that Euphoria stars Sydney Sweeney and Barbara Ferreira both auditioned for the plum part, as did Julia Garner, the Emmy-winning star of Ozark who has been linked to the role before by wishful fans. Madonna initially set her sights on Florence Pugh "if she'll have me" but if they're auditioning as many actresses as they have been, it doesn't seem as though that one worked out. Whoever plays Madonna will have to be able to pull off a certain "bad girl" attitude and all three of these actresses seem like they could deliver that element. Reps have equated this role to the female version of the Elvis biopic, which saw Hollywood's up-and-coming leading men jostle to curry favor with Baz Luhrmann, only for Austin Butler (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) to beat out bigger names such as Harry Styles and Miles Teller. Speaking of which, a source who has seen Elvis believes that Butler will receive an Oscar nomination for his performance, which they insist is going to surprise a lot of people, but they were less enthusiastic about Tom Hanks' turn as Colonel Tom Parker, or his uneven accent. Overall, they seemed to like the movie, but only to a point, which recalls the general consensus on Bohemian Rhapsody. Elvis should be so lucky, both at the box office and next year's Oscars.
Brad Pitt and Beetlejuice 2
I'm told it hasn't gone before WB's greenlight committee just yet, but Beetlejuice 2 appears to be closer to happening than ever before, as the Transom has learned that Plan B — yes, Brad Pitt's production company —