Trivia / Shanghai Surprise

• Box Office Bomb: Budget, $17 million. Gross, $2,315,683.
• Creator Couple: This was the only film Sean Penn and Madonna made together.
• Creator Killer: Jim Goddard didn't direct another film until 1997.
• Not Screened for Critics: The film opened on August 29, 1986 (Labor Day weekend) in the U.S. – but only in the Midwest and Northeast. Los Angeles and New York City had to wait three weeks! This is thought to have been so critics in those cities could not review it and dissuade moviegoers, but as it turned out people weren't interested in it even before the near-universally bad reviews arrived.
• The Other Marty: Bernard Hill was originally cast as Walter Faraday, but dropped out and was replaced by Paul Freeman.
• Star-Derailing Role: Sean Penn and Madonna saw their film careers fall when this film became a Box Office Bomb hated by critics and audiences alike. Madonna still had her music, while Penn would slowly regain his esteem over several years before truly clinching a Career Resurrection with Dead Man Walking in 1995.
• What Could Have Been: Kevin Costner and Tom Hanks were considered for Glendon Wasley.

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