Although Madonna and George Harrison are both influential music figures, they first crossed paths in the film industry. However, the final product was a disaster, and Harrison said working with Madonna was a “pain**”.
George Harrison and Madonna worked together in the 1986 film
Madonna dominated pop music in the 1980s and began to make her way into film. In 1986, she and her new husband, Sean Penn, starred together Shanghai surprise, directed by Jim Goddard. The film was produced by HandMade films, a production company founded by Harrison in 1978. Harrison also played a role in the film. Shanghai surprisealong with the soundtrack.
Unfortunately, the movie was a disaster. The production was in turmoil with reports of the newlyweds feuding and causing tension with the cast and crew. Critics panned the film upon release, and it currently holds a 20% on Rotten Tomatoes. Madonna’s popularity couldn’t even save it, as it flopped badly, grossing $2.3 million on a $15 million budget.
Harrison didn’t hold back when talking about working with Madonna
There was a lot of bad press going around Shanghai surprise, and Madonna and George Harrison attended the film’s press conference, where they tried to clear things up. The pair appeared to be on friendly terms, but in an interview after the film’s release, the former Beatle shared his true thoughts, saying it was difficult to work with Madonna because she had “no sense of humour”. He also didn’t hesitate to take a jab or two at Penn’s behavior.
“You want the truth. It was a pain in the ass,” Harrison says of Far Out. “Because we were playing comedy, he has no sense of humor. And her husband, Sean, who’s a really nice and smart guy, and I used to laugh with him sometimes, but, you know, he kind of gets upset and, you know, causes all the trouble. It was like The producers [1967 movie]Do you know where he says? “I chose the wrong cast, wrong actors, wrong director, where did I go wrong?”
Madonna later revealed her true feelings as well
It seemed the feelings were mutual between the two, as Madonna didn’t have the nicest things to say about Harrison either. In a 1986 interview with the BBC, shared by iloveclassicrock.com, Madonna said her and Harrison’s press conference was a total failure, mainly because he wouldn’t let her speak and kept saying “everything wrong things.”
“When we got to England it was like 3th world war… because Sean and I make good press.” Madonna said: “I really felt George Harrison didn’t give me a chance to speak. I felt that he continued to put his foot in his mouth. He was very provocative in his statements. I feel like he was saying all the wrong things to put people at ease, but I really couldn’t say that much.”
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