King Edward VIII as 'very punk rock': Madonna

"I thought King Edward VIII was very punk rock," she said, explaining how a salty anarchist anthem by the English punk band The Sex Pistols ended up on the soundtrack for her second directorial work, starring British actors James D'Arcy and Andrea Riseborough.

The band's 1977 single "God Save the Queen" attacked Britons' social conformity and deference to the Crown.

"I thought he (King Edward VIII) was quite rebellious and cutting edge in his point of view about life and about how to run the empire and using the Sex Pistols was a perfect marriage," Madonna said.

In Venice, where the film premiere earlier this month, the Queen of Pop said there were "elements of myself" in the film, and said she could sympathise with Wallis as an outsider, an American living in London.

"I empathize with Wallis. Public figures or icons are often just reduced to a sound-bite, just a handful of attributes. I think people tried to diminish her... I tried to make her human," she said in Venice.

The controversial passion between the king and extravagant socialite Simpson is told through the eyes of a lonely modern-day New Yorker, desperately seeking the fairytale happy ending that she believes the famous couple had.

At the Toronto International Film Festival, Madonna added that Wallis "was and is a very provocative character.

"She is also a mysterious and enigmatic creature, not conventionally beautiful, not young, twice divorced, not anything fabulous about her background and somehow she managed to capture the heart of the man who at the time held the most important position in the world.

"That story intrigued me immensely and I wanted to understand it."

"But also I was interested in the concept of the cult of celebrity which we are all consumed with now, and then."

Polish classical composer Abel Korzeniowski set up the movie's haunting score.

He tried to explain to reporters that Madonna had urged him to "not try to be talented." Madonna interrupted, "No, I said: 'Don't over-think it.' I always wanted you to be talented."

The clash of his classical and Madonna's pop backgrounds, he continued, resulted in "the most interesting thing."

"I found myself learning very interesting things (from Madonna) about music, which helped me in my classical thinking," Korzeniowski added.

During filming, it was also revealed that Madonna and the cast held sing-a-longs "to pass the time" during rainy days when shooting was interrupted.

In Toronto, Madonna serenaded journalists with a few impromptu lyrics they had sung together: "We're making a movie, isn't it groovy, welcome to my house," -- not a Billboard hit, for sure.

But Madonna has already conquered the music industry, and is more focused on filmmaking now.

"I had to earn my way ... to be taken seriously in the music department, and now I'm well aware that I have to do the same in the world of film," she said, welcoming critics' reviews of her film (not her personal life).

"W.E." is scheduled for wide release in December at the peak of the pre-Oscar season. "I'm keeping my legs and fingers crossed" for a nod, she quipped.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011