When the studio screened Swept Away (2002) for Lina Wertmüller, the director of the original film, it is alleged that she left the theatre at the end crying out: "What did they do to my movie? Why [did] they do this?"
This is, to date, Madonna's last starring role in a feature film. The failure of the film is believed to have killed her acting career.
Adriano Giannini plays the role that his father, Giancarlo Giannini, played in the original movie (Swept Away (1974).
The film swept the Golden Raspberry Awards of 2003, winning 5 of its 7 nominations, including Worst Picture, Worst Director (Guy Ritchie) and Worst Actress (Madonna). The film itself would later earn two more nominations: Worst Drama of the Razzie Foundation's first 25 years in 2005, and Worst Picture of the Decade in 2010. It lost both awards to Battlefield Earth (2000).
The US opening of the movie was so poor, and the movie was so badly received that it went straight to video in the UK, director Guy Ritchie's home country.