Video: Frida Kahlo in the movie: How Salma Hayek bypassed Madonna and returned her heroine to Mexico
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
66 years ago, on July 13, 1954, the legendary Mexican artist Frida Kahlo passed away. Surprisingly, before Julie Taymor shot the film "Frida" in 2002, many did not know the name of this artist, especially in her homeland. It is for this reason that Hollywood studios have refused to launch this project for 15 years, fearing failure. And only Mexican Salma Hayek managed to finally realize it as a producer and performer of the main role. At the same time, she had to compete with Madonna herself!
Back in the 1980s. producer Nancy Hardin had the idea to make a film about Frida Kahlo after Hayden Herrera's biography about her was published in 1983. But at all studios in Hollywood she was denied, because even compatriots have long forgotten the name of this artist, and no one believed that a film about her would interest a mass audience. Throughout the 1990s. they returned to this project, but again it was stopped. Negotiations were conducted with directors Pedro Almodovar and Francis Ford Coppola, and Madonna claimed the main role, who collected a large collection of her paintings and had long dreamed of playing her in a movie. However, she never got this role.
The project was carried out only after director Julie Taymor took on it. According to the producers, only she could recreate the desired atmosphere and convey the spirit of the national Mexican culture, for which members of the film crew from Mexico were also involved in the work. But at the same time, the candidacy of a native of this country Salma Hayek for the main role aroused doubts among the producers. At that time, she had been filming in Hollywood for 10 years, but she had not yet had big main roles, besides, the beauty of the actress seemed to the filmmakers too bright and attractive, because Frida could be called more charismatic than attractive. Make-up artists had to work hard to bring the image of the actress closer to her heroine, but at the same time not to disfigure it.
Salma Hayek was simply obsessed with this role and was able to convince the producers that she should play Frida. Later, the actress said: "". It was Salma Hayek who managed to convince Julie Taymor to take on this project, and she herself became one of the producers of the project and persuaded to star in episodic roles of Edward Norton and Antonio Banderas.
She considered this role her mission - before that she was not satisfied with the offers that she received. Salma Hayek admitted that for a long time she had to deal with Hollywood stereotypes that actresses of Hispanic origin are associated exclusively with servants or receive secondary roles that exploit their bright appearance. Frida became for her not only an opportunity to play a serious and difficult main role, but also to do something for her country. The actress has repeatedly said that she always felt a connection with Mexico and considers herself a patriot.
The film "Frida" turned out to be very bright and colorful. Julie Taymor managed to recreate the unique Mexican flavor and convey the tragedy of the artist's life and work. Field shooting was carried out in Mexico, an exact copy of the "blue house" in which Frida lived was built at the film studio (her original house became a museum, and filming there is prohibited). The use of bright, saturated and contrasting colors was dictated by the Mexican nature itself, and the color of Frida's paintings. The film recreated "living pictures": since the artist's painting was autobiographical, Taymor wanted to reflect the process of creating pictures and "revive" some of them ("Two Frida", "Broken Column", "Self-portrait with cropped hair"), accurately recreating with the help of interiors, costumes and makeup.
Several years ago, Salma Hayek published an article titled "Harvey Weinstein and My Monster Too," in which she confessed to being harassed by him while filming Frida. This project was handled by the Miramax studio, led by the Weinstein brothers. Having received a refusal, the producer announced that he would give this role to another actress. Then Salma Hayek turned to lawyers and defended her right to star in this film. But at the same time, Weinstein set her almost impossible conditions: rewrite the script, find additional funding, convince famous actors to star in episodic roles. With the help of Edward Norton, the actress coped with these conditions. But when filming and editing were completed, Weinstein announced that he would not release the film. Salma Hayek said: "".
Although there was a surge of interest in Frida's work back in the 1980s, it was after the film's release in 2002 that it was said that her heroine returned to Mexico, because even more was known about the artist abroad than in her homeland. Salma Hayek said: "".
Frida was nominated for an Oscar in several categories and received two statuettes for Best Makeup and Best Original Music for a Film. And although Salma Hayek, nominated for the award as the best actress, did not receive an Oscar, she considered this work her victory, because Frida at the beginning of the twentieth century. provoked a surge of interest not only in the artist, but also in her country, and the actress herself was recognized as a full-fledged Hollywood star.
Salma Hayek said: "". The phenomenal popularity of Frida's works in our time even got its name - kaloism.
Relationships became the central storyline of the film. Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera: "I am unhappy with you, but there will be no happiness without you".
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