Interview with Salma Hayek
Salma Hayek is interviewed in the Los Angeles Times today,mainly about her production company Ventanazul . However, there are some other juicy little tidbits, including the fact that she will not be moving to Paris to stay with her husband once her child is born, but instead will stay behind to focus on running Ventanazul.
(As a personal aside, my experience tells me these things rarely work out)
But anyway, here are some highlights from the interview:
For nearly a decade, actress Salma Hayek and her production partner, José Tamez, have been trying to launch a mini-studio that caters to the Latino audience. They’re finally getting some traction, thanks in part to the success of “Ugly Betty,” the popular television show they produce for ABC that is based on a Colombian soap opera, “Yo Soy Betty, la Fea,” and “Frida,” the 2002 biography of artist Frida Kahlo in which Hayek also starred.
In April, the pair got another break when Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. agreed to finance, market and distribute several Latin-themed movies under the label Ventanazul, a 50-50 venture with the studio. Hayek and Tamez said in a recent interview with The Times that they intended to make mainstream English-language films with talent from Latin America as well as the U.S.
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Ventanazul’s first release next year is expected to be an English-language adaptation of the Israeli coming-of-age film “Bonjour Monsieur Schlome.” Colombian-born Rodrigo Garcia will direct the movie, tentatively titled “Diego Ascending.”
Hayek, who is due to give birth any moment to her first child, said she would not be moving to Paris to join her fiance, François-Henri Pinault, head of fashion conglomerate PPR, which owns Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent.
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Why aren’t more studios taking chances with projects aimed at the Latino niche?
Hayek: Because, honestly, there have been a lot of failures. You want to be conservative because there is not a clear vision of what the market is exactly.[More after the jump]
But you want everyone to go see your films, not just Latinos, right?Hayek: Yes. They will feel proud they are represented as Latinos and at the same time [other] Americans won’t feel alienated. The idea is to make movies that are a lot like “Betty” or “Frida.”
Did you approach other studios such as Disney, which has benefited from “Ugly Betty” as the owner of ABC?
Hayek: We love working with Disney and we have movies with them. But MGM was very determined to do this deal. They were very aggressive about trying something new.
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How has “Ugly Betty’s” success helped you as producers?
Hayek: It has helped us a lot. A combination of that and “Frida.” We haven’t done a lot of things, but the things we have done have either been commercial or critical successes. Even the little tiny things we have done for Showtime. . . . We have been trying to get a Latin-themed show on television for six or seven years.
Hayek has got a great thing going with Ugly Betty, and hopefully she can parlay that into film success.
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POSTED IN: Interviews, Salma Hayek
1 opinion for Interview with Salma Hayek
J.Mo
Mar 12, 2008 at 7:47 pm
I’m so proud of Salma Hayek-as a aspiring Latina actress I feel she is paying the way for us.helping everyone see how us latinos work hard. Thanks Salma & ur baby is beautiful, & ur so lucky ur fiance is a catch!!!I’m jelouse LOL-in a good way of course :)
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