ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO Q&A with SALMA HAYEK

Did you know you could sing before Robert Rodriguez asked you to sing in the movie? No, I was very insecure about that. Robert is telling everyone that I told him, yes, let’s do it, I’ll sing! I did - but that happened at a party at three in the morning! When he called me and reminded me, I had forgotten all about it. I took my mother to the studio when I had to sing. I begged her to come. She is an opera singer, so that helped. Robert is always doing things like that to me. I thought I couldn’t do the stunts and he made me do them, and I thought that I couldn’t dance with a snake and he made me do that, too. That guy is really pushy. How did you feel hanging over the balcony in the action sequence? It was painful. And I am not in very good condition, so my body went into shock. I just couldn’t move my head or my fingers afterwards. I had to soak myself in hot water at night and get a massage - get energy to restore the muscles. Was it a shock coming straight to this film from FRIDA? It was a shock. Twelve hours before I started work with Robert, I was playing a cripple. Then, with him, I was jumping off balconies. First, when he told me he was shooting DESPERADO 2, I said that I couldn’t do it as I was doing FRIDA. I said he would have to cut me out. To cut a long story short, he waited for me. I just came for the last couple of weeks. That’s why I am a “ghost” in the movie [Hayek only appears in the flashback sequences]. He just told me to improvise when I got there, as I was playing the same role as last time. When I got there, the first thing that happened was he told me to jump out of a window for that stunt. I asked for a stuntwoman, but Robert wound me up by saying, “It would be the girl who can’t do the stunts.” So I did it. It was very painful. In the future, I think am going to show it to my grandchildren to show them how fit I was! How did your Oscar nomination affect your career? I’m not sure it did. Everyone liked the film, so it was more likely that which helped me. How do you remember your time on FRIDA? It was a great, long episode in my life. She will always have a place in my heart. Do you feel empty now that you have succeeded in fulfilling your dream with FRIDA? No, it’s fabulous. It’s great to dream something and then bring it to life, to experience it with your body. You can envision something with your mind and step into that dream. I was lucky. I had a passionate dream and I made it real. When it was over, I felt I had accomplished something. Then I went on to dream a new dream Continued on page 2

© 2005 PHASE9 ENTERTAINMENT

Subscribe to the free PHASE9 Entertainment newsletter

PHASE9 ENTERTAINMENT  -  HOME MOVIES  MUSIC  DVD/VIDEO  GAMES  COMPETITIONS  HOT PHOTOS  TV  SCIFI