Desperately Seeking Susan

Top 10 Fun Facts

1. "Desperately Seeking Susan"​ has 2 taglines: 1) "Roberta is desperate to be Susan. Susan is wanted by the mob. The mob finds Roberta instead."​ 2) "A life so outrageous it takes 2 women to live it."​ The tagline that ultimately hooked audiences was "Madonna's in this movie, come see it."
2. When Madonna arrived for the audition, Director Susan Seidelman recalled, "She got out of the cab, but didn't have enough money to pay for it. So here she is meeting with a bunch of movie people for a job, and the first thing she does is hit us up for cab fare. It's exactly what Susan would have done!"​ So why didn't the Material Girl materialize in her own car? Madonna didn't actually learn how to drive until one year after this film came out, when she was 27. Her husband at the time, Sean Penn, bought her first car which she ended up wrecking.
3. For "Desperately Seeking Susan," Diane Keaton was briefly considered for the part of Roberta, while Goldie Hawn was considered for the part of Susan. But in order to not push the $5 million budget over the borderline, Orion Pictures and director Susan Seidelman decided to cast newcomers Rosanna Arquette and Madonna.
4. Unlucky star? Rosanna Arquette won a BAFTA Award for her portrayal of Roberta. The award was for her "supporting role" despite the fact that Arquette had top billing, more lines of dialogue, and many more scenes than Madonna. Does this make Rosanna a Madonna wannabe?
5. During the filming, Madonna was desperate to keep her figure. So when the script called for her to be eating, she'd spit out the food at the end of each take! Nowadays, I'm sure fully enjoys every bite of her macrobiotic diet.
6. Madonna was given considerable control over her role as Susan: She did her own hair and make-up and supplied her own wardrobe (including those famous rubber bracelets). Allowing Madonna to express the role in her own way turned out to be a very wise move. "Desperately Seeking Susan"​ was rushed released for the Easter season in 1985 an earned an unexpected $16 million.
7. When Madonna gets her clothes stolen she ends up in an orange sweatshirt with the initials MC on it. Funny I wonder whose initials those are Ms. Ciccone?
8. What'chu talkin' about (Bruce) Willis? The Die Hard star auditioned for the part of Madonna's boyfriend in the film but it was actor Robert Joy who was screaming "Yippie Kai Yay"​ after getting the role. Robert is still full of joy, playing Dr. Sid Hammerback on CBS's "CSI:NY."
9. Back when smoking was cool (as if ever) Camel was a sponsor of the movie. Oh that was until Dez blew smoke in their faces telling Roberta she "should stop smoking."
10. Versions of this movie that aired on networks like AMC and WE after the September 11th attacks, edited out shots of the World Trade Center, alongside the usual edits for sex, drugs, and language (basically every scene Madonna appears in).

Cast

Crew