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It had to happen someday. When Guy Ritchie married Madonna, it was only a matter of time before they wound up working together. After shooting a video for her last year, as well as including her in a stylish ad he did for BMW, Ritchie takes a dramatic departure from the tone and subject matter of his previous films (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch) to direct the Material Girl in a remake of Lina Wertmüller's 1974 film, Swept Away.

That film was an Italian production and had strong political undertones, as it told the story of a group of wealthy, spoiled socialites who have chartered a yacht for a holiday in the Mediterranean. Primary amongst them is a bratty but beautiful woman who picks on the crew, giving special attention to a Sicilian who also happens to have Communist tendencies that are in direct opposition to her right-wing views. While out on a trip to search for sea caves, the conflicting duo's dinghy breaks down, and they have to fend for themselves on a deserted island. Since the mariner obviously has far superior survival skills, it is he who is in charge now, and he becomes abusive and forces her to become his love slave, which sets off an odd romance between the two.

In the Ritchie-penned update, Madonna will play the spoiled socialite Amber, while Adrianno Giannini, the son of the man who played the sailor in the original film (Giancarlo Giannini), takes on the role his father played nearly 30 years ago. The supporting cast includes the wonderful Bruce Greenwood (Thirteen Days) as Amber's evil industrialist husband, Jeanne Tripplehorn (The Firm, Timecode) as a snooty friend, and Jennifer Aniston in a cameo appearance. Filming took place in Malta and should make for some stunning cinematography.

Currently, it is unclear whether Columbia Pictures plans to initially debut Swept Away in a limited number of theaters before a full wide release. Madonna herself has been less than consistent in her ability to carry a film and draw audiences, so her name on the marquee is no guarantee of strong business. Though Ritchie definitely has a nice little fan base established on the strength of his stylized crime capers, the switch to romantic black comedy may be a tougher sell. (Kim Hollis/BOP)

Vital statistics for Swept Away Main Cast Madonna, Adriano Giannini Supporting Cast Jennifer Aniston, Bruce Greenwood, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Elizabeth Banks, David Thornton Director Guy Ritchie Screenwriter Guy Ritchie Distributor Columbia/TriStar Talent in red has entry in The Big Picture

Comparison films for Swept Away
Title	Date	Opening	Adjusted Opening	Screens	PSA	Adj PSA	Total BO	Adjusted Total	Mult
Cruel Intentions	3/5/99	13.02	15.51	2312	5631.00	6429.1	38.20	45.52	2.93
Snatch	1/19/01	8.01	8.54	1444	5544.00	5691.2	30.09	32.11	3.75
Body of Evidence *	1/15/93	7.37	10.73	2050	3595.00	5036.5	13.80	20.09	1.87
Next Best Thing, The	3/3/00	5.87	6.56	2007	2925.00	3147.5	14.98	16.75	2.55
Mulholland Drive	10/19/01	0.96	1.02	247	3889.00	3992.2	7.22	7.70	6.13