guardian.co.uk
Madonna's film W.E. is to be re-edited ahead of its December release after failing to strike a chord with critics at the Venice and Toronto film festivals, according to reports.
The drama, which segues from the controversial romance between King Edward VIII and his American divorcee wife Wallis Simpson to the story of a 21st-century New Yorker who becomes obsessed with the pair, is the singer's first full-length film as a director. It is being distributed in the US by the Weinstein company, which is co-owned by Harvey Weinstein, a producer known for his interventionist approach in the cutting room.
Both the Daily Mail's Baz Bamigboye and the New York Post's Page Six column said W.E. would probably lose 10 minutes from its running time.
The singer reportedly signalled her willingness to return to the editing room in conversation with Bamigboye in Venice. "Maybe it needs a bit of this and a bit of that, and maybe it is still a work in progress," she said, adding: "For God's sake, I hope it's over with soon!"
Critical response to W.E., which stars Abbie Cornish, Andrea Riseborough, Oscar Isaac and James D'Arcy, has been mixed at best during its festival run. The Guardian's Xan Brooks handed the film a one-star verdict at Venice, labelling it a "primped and simpering folly, the turkey that dreamed it was a peacock". He added: "What an extraordinarily silly, preening, fatally mishandled film this is. It may even surpass 2008's Filth and Wisdom, Madonna's calamitous first outing as a film-maker. Her direction is so all over the shop that it barely qualifies as direction at all."
There had been some talk of awards season buzz for W.E. prior to its festival run. Last year's big UK winner at the Oscars, The King's Speech, also touched on the story of the relationship between Edward and Mrs Simpson, a romance which prompted the monarch to abdicate in 1936.
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