…And she did her job brilliantly

Director Alan Parker talked to The Times’ journalist Ariel Leve in an interview featured on yesterday’s edition of the Sunday Times, reliving the greatest triumphs – and disasters of hi career.

Here’s wht ha has to say about the direction of Evita.

It is widely recognised that Madonna‘s best performance on film is in Evita. Michelle Pfeiffer had done a test for it but she had two small children at the time and wasn’t keen to go to Buenos Aires. “At the same time I got this four-page letter from Madonna saying how brilliant she would be in the part and I really should consider her. It was a very sweet letter. I met with her and she ended up doing it.”

All concerns he had about her being able to do the serious dramatic moments were obliterated, he says, once he recognised that her commitment was total. She was easy to direct because she was prepared. “Her lip-synching was immaculate. She worked out her moves in the mirror the night before we’d shoot. She would work so hard. She was not someone who went out clubbing every night. She was the one who said, ‘I want to be there at 5.30 in the morning so I have enough time to get the hair and make-up right.’ So before the crew had even arrived, she would be there.”

She was demanding, but mostly with hair and make-up. “By the time she arrived at the set she was smiling and she did her job. And she did her job brilliantly.”

Read the full interview on The Times Online by clicking here.

Thanks to Mark.