Madonna's big screen directorial debut W.E. will be cut by up to 10 minutes ahead of its release in December (11) after it was panned by critics at film festivals in Italy and Canada.
The Material Girl hitmaker stepped behind the camera for the royal drama, which documents the scandalous relationship between Britain's King Edward VIII and American divorcee Wallis Simpson, a romance which prompted the monarch to abdicate in 1936 when the love affair became public.
The movie was panned by reviewers for its lack of substance upon its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in Italy earlier this month (Sep11), and it attracted similar responses after a screening at Canada's Toronto International Film Festival days later.
But studio executives are determined to give W.E. another shot at success by trimming its running time before it hits movie theatres worldwide at the end of the year (11).
According to the New York Post's Page Six column, distributor Harvey Weinstein is working with Madonna and the film's producers to edit the drama one last time.
W.E. will receive its U.K. premiere at the British Film Institute's London Film Festival next month (Oct11).
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