The 1993 Mike Myers movie Madonna was banned from starring in: “I wanted to be in it!”
As one of the most famous, successful, and wealthiest singers on the planet, Madonna has never really been one to adhere to convention or to what she’s told, which is why she became who she is.
And yet, when she was told she was forbidden from starring in a movie with Mike Myers, she didn’t put up a fight. The ‘Queen of Pop’ was informed in no uncertain terms that no matter how much she wanted to be in it, it wasn’t going to happen, and that was pretty much the end of the conversation.
That’s enough to make you wonder how much of a say Madge’s representatives had in her big-screen career. If they could convince her not to join forces with a rising comedic star, then surely they could have had a word in her ear about the onslaught of shitty scripts that piled up on her desk throughout the 1990s.
After all, she’s a nine-time Razzie-winning actor, and the worst thespian to have ever besmirched the good name of the silver screen, findings that came directly from science. Shanghai Surprise and Swept Away were fine, apparently, but a jet-black romantic comedy with killer intentions was a step too far.
Sandwiched in between the two Wayne’s World films, Myers headlined 1993’s So I Married an Axe Murderer, which wasn’t a hit. It has become a slow-burning cult classic, though, even if the leading man was up to his usual tricks on set by being a nightmare for almost anyone unlucky enough to be in his orbit.
As the title implies, Myers’ Charlie MacKenzie becomes smitten with Nancy Travis’ Harriet Michaels, only for his family to become increasingly convinced that she’s the titular serial killer. Presumably, that’s the part that Madonna was after, based on the explanation she offered to the Saturday Night Live alum when they interviewed each other the year of the picture’s release.
“I know what it’s called, I wanted to be in it!” she told him, which Myers had no idea about. “Did you?” he asked, with the pop icon pointing the finger of blame. “Yeah, but my agents thought it would be bad for my reputation,” Madonna conceded. “I read the script. It’s cute.”
On one hand, you can understand why her team didn’t want her to star in a film that revolves around a murderess, whether it was Travis’ role she wanted to play or Amanda Plummer’s Rose Michaels, who was ultimately revealed as the infamous ‘Mrs X’. On the other hand, they didn’t stop her from starring in many, many movies that were exponentially worse, which is bizarre.
They did eventually get to collaborate 16 years behind schedule, though, when Myers played Austin Powers in the music video for Madonna’s ‘Beautiful Stranger’, which was part of the soundtrack for The Spy Who Shagged Me, even if she didn’t get to think about murdering him with an axe.
