Given her pedigree as a respected dramatic actress, Evan Rachel Wood never thought portraying a scheming, wicked Madonna would land on her resume.
The versatile Wood – seen recently on HBO’s recently canceled ‘Westworld’ – says she ‘couldn’t stop laughing’ when the email arrived offering her the role of a version twisted from the often imitated pop icon.
It’s a portrayal that fits perfectly with the goofy tenor of “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story,” a rather true, crazy, and trippy retelling of the life story of the reigning maestro of pop parody songwriting. The film debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and is now streaming for free on The Roku Channel.
Daniel Radcliffe stars and in this upside-down world take on Yankovic’s story, the accordion genius behind “Eat It” and “Amish Paradise” falls into immediate lust with Wood’s Madonna blowing chewing gum.
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Wood, 35, laughs as she recalls filming her first scene with Radcliffe – who she describes as “a brilliant actor and a lovely human” – during the fast-paced 18 Day shoot earlier this year in California.
“Of course it was the kissing scene in the mansion,” she says. “We had dinner the night before with the director (Eric Appel) and the next day it was just ‘Hi, nice to see you again’ and we dove into it.”
Wood’s physical transformation into the Madonna of the 80s – mostly the “Like a Virgin” era, with a few “Borderline” sunglasses to boot – is impressive. Along with an overall likeness, Wood nails Madonna’s artfully arched eyebrow and, more specifically, her unique cadence.
To prepare, Wood watched tons of interviews and performances with the early 1980s superstar as she “tried to incorporate as many -isms” as possible.
On set, Wood kept Madonna’s interviews playing on her headphones to maintain her speaking style.
“I feel like Madonna has her own dialect,” Wood says. “She almost has, like, an old Hollywood twang. She spells certain words differently and after I figured that out, so it was, how can I ooze confidence? Because I think Madonna is the most confident person on earth.
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Wood says she wasn’t initially worried about how the pop titan would react to her performance because she assumed the producers (including Yankovic, who contributes the new song, “Now You Know,” during the end credits of the film) had obtained permission.
“Halfway through filming, they said, we didn’t speak to Madonna. We don’t need permission because she’s a public figure. That was the only time I went there …whoop,” Wood recalled with a laugh.
While the more absurd parts of the movie – especially Madonna and Yankovic’s relationship – are clearly fiction, there are elements of truth. Madonna really wanted Yankovic to turn her monster hit “Like a Virgin” into “Like a Surgeon” because the “Yankovic bump,” when an artist’s original song received a sales boost through publicity, had a real effect. Madonna also brought up the title of the song herself, a rarity in Yankovic’s universe.
Additionally, a bit of Madonna’s dialogue in the film, about wanting to “rule the world,” is taken directly from her famous comment to Dick Clark during a 1984 appearance on “American Bandstand.”
One thing Wood doesn’t do in the film is sing. Although she has tremendous singing experience (she starred in ‘Frozen II’, starred in the duos Rebel and a Basketcase and Evan + Zane, and starred in 2007’s Beatles-themed ‘Across the Universe’) , her ability to imitate Madonna wasn’t fully realized until a wrap-up party at a karaoke bar.
“I got up and did ‘Material Girl’ and Daniel and Eric were like, ‘We’re so stupid! Why didn’t we ask you to sing in the movie? But they didn’t know I could so well do an imitation of Madonna. I I didn’t know I could do a Madonna impersonation so well! she says. “I’m just glad they didn’t ask me to dance, because nobody dances like Madonna.”
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Wood hopes her goofy portrayal will make it clear to casting directors that she’s open to doing comedy, a genre she’s not usually considered for because she’s known for her “dark and brooding” roles. “But then people come up to me and say, ‘You’re bubbly and fun! ”
That levity seeps into every frame of “Weird,” and Wood hopes that if nothing else, people enjoy the movie for its fun factor.
“We laugh at ourselves, we laugh at Hollywood, we definitely laugh at musical biopics,” she says. “And everyone needs a good laugh right now – including me.”
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