Shanghai Surprise, based on a novel by Tony Kenrick and a script by John Kohn, was directed by Jim Goddard, who was primarily a television director and best known for his British television series Reilly, Ace of Spies. George Harrison, through his company Handmade Films, was the executive producer, composed the musical score, and appeared in the film in a cameo role as a cabaret singer. Christopher Ciccone, Madonna’s brother, was part of the crew. In addition to functioning as his sister’s assistant, he helped design some of the sets as well as looking after Madonna’s costumes and hair. According to several of the other crew members, “Chris was around a lot, very accessible, and very nice. Their relationship was always very affectionate and very, very caring.” With no experience making movies, Jim Goddard took on the project with the intention of generating as much advance press and publicity as possible, since he was convinced that it made no difference whether the movie was good but rather that it would be an assured success because Madonna and Sean Penn were the stars.
