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Madonna’s Oscar pick: ‘The Tree of Life’

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‘The Tree of Life,’ which collected three Oscar nominations Tuesday, has a high-profile advocate in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — Madonna.

In an interview from her Sunset Boulevard home, which appears in Sunday’s paper, the singer spoke about her new movie as a director, ‘W.E.,’ her nervousness about her upcoming Super Bowl performance and the sounds she’s mining on her new album, ‘MDNA.’ Amid her many projects, Madonna, who is a member of the academy in the actor’s branch, said she does make time to watch the screeners Oscar voters receive and had selected a top choice.

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‘ ‘Tree of Life’ is stunningly beautiful. That’s my favorite,’ Madonna said. ‘I think it’s a spiritual, deeply profound movie. My mouth was hanging open the entire time I was watching it.’

‘W.E.,’ which Madonna co-wrote with Alek Keshishian, tells the story of Wallis Simpson (Andrea Riseborough), the American divorcee for whom Britain’s King Edward VIII (James D’Arcy) famously abdicated the throne in 1936.

As a filmmaker, Madonna said she is inspired by the singularity of vision reflected in ‘Tree of Life’ director Terrence Malick’s nonlinear drama starring Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain and Madonna’s ex-husband, Sean Penn. The film, which chronicles the origins of the universe and a 1950s Texas family’s tragic loss, was nominated for Oscars in the categories of best picture, director and cinematography.

‘[Malick] really does make the movie he wants to make,’ Madonna said. ‘It’s completely and utterly authentic. And I feel like he really is channeling something without anybody else’s input. No one’s saying he should do that, he shouldn’t do that. He gets amazing performances out of his actors.’

For more on Madonna, see this photo gallery and this interview in Sunday’s paper.

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— Rebecca Keegan

twitter.com/@thatrebecca

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