Debra Winger’s disgust for Madonna caused her to leave “a league of her own”

Debra Winger does not regret having strayed from “A League of Their Own”.

The three-time Oscar nominee was originally slated to play wide receiver Dottie Hinson in the 1992 smash, which featured the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League that began in World War II. Although she trained with the Chicago Cubs for three months before filming began, she quit the project and accused director Penny Marshall of making “an Elvis movie” after Madonna joined the film. casting as center fielder Mae Mordabito.

Almost three decades later, Winger’s views on the film and the Material Girl have not changed, as evidenced by a new interview with The Telegraph.

“The studio agreed with me because it was the only time I ever received a payment or a game on my contract,” said the actor, who can currently be seen on the Apple series. TV + “Mr. Corman” with Joseph Gordon-Levitt. “In other words, I got my salary even though I didn’t play, and it’s very hard to get in court.”

Geena Davis reprized the role of Dottie Hinson after Winger left, and “A League of Their Own” went on to become both a box office and a critical success. The film, which also starred Tom Hanks and Lori Petty, was added to the National Film Registry in 2012 by the Library of Congress for its “cultural, historical or aesthetic significance.”

Winger, however, was not impressed. In her interview with The Telegraph, she said she felt that none of the actors trained long enough to appear convincing as baseball players and that the film as a whole did not fully honor the actual league. on which it was based.

“As fun as [the final film] was, you don’t go off saying, ‘Wow, these women did that,’ ”Winger said. “You say to yourself, ‘Is that true? “”

And as for Madonna’s performance, she added, “I think [her] acting career spoke for itself.

Winger’s comparison of Madonna and Elvis Presley is particularly apt, as the two music icons never fully managed to transfer their talents to the big screen. Four years after “A League of Their Own,” Madonna delivered a Golden Globe-winning performance as Eva Perón in “Evita,” a musical that relied heavily on her talents as a singer and dancer.

Interestingly, Davis also admitted to having doubts about Madonna’s casting.

“We were wondering if we were going to be able to talk to her,” she told USA Today in 2017. “Was she going to have an entourage? Were they going to put up walls around her where she stands? Ultimately, however, she found the pop singer to be “a soldier” who was “so ready” to train hard.