Madonna Praises 'Talented' Ex-Husbands

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Madonna is currently at the Venice Film Festival to premiere her new film W.E., which chronicles the story of Wallis Simpson, the twice-divorced American socialite King Edward VIII famously gave up the throne for.

Madonna's second directorial effort stars Abbie Cornish, Natalie Dormer and Oscar Isaac, and interweaves the star-crossed lovers' story with a lonely New Yorker's (Cornish) own journey of discovery six decades later.

At the film's press conference, Madonna candidly talked about her famous ex-husbands Sean Penn and Guy Ritchie, particularly their influence on her latest artistic endeavor.

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"I am and was attracted to very creative people which is why I married Sean Penn and Guy Ritchie, two very talented directors, and they both encouraged me as a director and a creative person to do what I did," Madonna says. "They were both very supportive."

She also delves further into the similarities between herself and the subject of her film, the much-aligned Simpson.

"I identified with her in that I think that it is very common when people become celebrities or public figures or icons that we are often reduced to a soundbite and that you are given a few attributes and then you are not allowed to have anything more than that," she laments.

"So often people greet unfamiliar circumstances with fear and I think people tried to diminish her as a human being because they didn't understand this choice that he [King Edward VIII] would make."

Check out the video to hear Madonna talk more about her already buzzed-about film.

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