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Madonna Picks Up The Rights To The Impossible Lives Of Greta Wells

Madonna's directorial efforts have not been blessed thus far. The two films to her credit - Filth & Wisdom and W.E. - have not been box offices successes. They haven't been successes, period. But she'll keep trying, no matter what, and we've got to respect that. We've heard that Madonna recently picked up the rights to The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells, which is a good bet for her next film.

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Madonna’s directorial efforts have not been blessed thus far. The two films to her credit – Filth & Wisdom and W.E. – have not been box offices successes. In fact, they haven’t been successes, period. But she’ll keep trying, no matter what, and we’ve got to respect that.

Today, we’re hearing that Madonna recently picked up the rights to The Impossible Lives of Greta Wellswhich is a good bet for her next film.

The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells follows the story of a woman who undergoes electroshock therapy. The therapy transports her to 1918, then 1941, and then back to the present, discovering alternate worlds with alter egos: one a devoted mother, the other an adultress. She discovers her twin brother, dead in one world and alive in the next, and her lover turned husband. These are the ‘other lives’ she might have lived, and each has their prices and their rewards. The book was written by Andrew Sean Greer, author of The Confessions of Max Tivoli, whom Madonna phoned directly to discuss The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells.

Here’s what Greer said about his conversation with Madonna:

I got a phone call last week…I think it’s fine. No one’s asked me about this… from a celebrity who read the book and loved it so much she called me up personally to talk to me about it. I thought it was going to be one of her assistants who was like, loved your book, she’s interested. Right. She didn’t read it. But oh no no no. She called me. She read it. She totally got it. There were a couple other people interested and they sort of all made a deal together, and she’s optioned the rights to it. We’ll see what happens. But it’s fun because it was Madonna.

There’s nothing further on Madonna’s interest in the novel, beyond the obvious fact that she’s intrigued enough to option it. She could be planning to direct, to star, or simply to produce. The plot sounds interesting to me at least – I may even get the book – but Madonna’s track record has not been great in the director’s chair. She’s fared better as an actress, despite some missteps. But really, the Material Girl should probably stick to pop music. She does it so well.

We’ll keep an eye on the future of The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells. Financing, scripting and casting come next, but we could be favored with another movie by Madonna in the next few years; whether that’s a good thing or not remains to be seen.