TheAntonioBanderas.com Latest Blog Posts

Antonio Banderas set to play Pablo Picasso

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:08:35 GMT

Antonio Banderas has been confirmed to star as Pablo Picasso in the new biopic '33 Days'. Antonio, 51, will portray the co-founder of the cubist movement and his emotional struggle while working on his masterpiece mural Guernica.

It seems the 'Puss in Boots' star is finally feels ready to tackle a part that he revealed has always fascinated him. "He is a character that followed me for a long time, but had always rejected it," the Daily Mail quoted him as telling Spanish newspaper El Pais.

"He deserves a lot of respect because I am Malagan. "I was born four blocks from where he was born. It has always fascinated me," he said. The movie will also examine the relationship between the artist and his French lover Dora Marr, who was with him at the time he made 'Guernica'.

It will also show his reaction to the destruction of the town that gave the artwork its name during the Spanish Civil War. Picasso, who died in 1973 at the age of 91, has long been of interest to art lover Banderas, as they come from the same city on Spain's southern coast.

The movie is slated to have a budget of 7.9 million dollars, and will be directed by Carlos Saura. It means a big pay cut for the actor, who usually commands multi-million dollar fees. The film is slated to be shot in Paris and Guernica next summer.

Antonio Banderas to play Picasso

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:01:33 GMT

Actor Antonio Banderas has signed on to play famous artist Pablo Picasso in an upcoming film. The film, titled 33 Dias, will focus on 33 days in 1937, when Picasso was working on his mural Guernica, which was the artist’s response to the destruction of the Spanish town of the same name during the height of the Spanish Civil War. It became one of his most famous works with its depiction of the suffering of innocent civilians during wartime.

Like Picasso, Banderas, 51, is a native of Spain and is roughly the same age as Picasso was when he created the work. The film will also tie the work with Picasso’s romantic relationship with French artist Dora Maar. There is presently no word on who will play Maar.

"[Picasso] is a character that has pursued me for a long time and I always rejected,” Banderas said. “He deserves a lot of respect because I am from Málaga, and I was born four blocks from where he was born."

Other actors who have played Picasso include Anthony Hopkins and Miguel Ferrer. Days will be written and directed by Carlos Saura and is set to begin shooting in the summer of 2013 in Paris and Guernica.

Antonio Banderas And Salma Hayek Attend The Goya Cinema Awards

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:12:10 GMT

Puss in Boots co-stars/celebrity pals Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek stepped out for the 2012 Goya Cinema Awards in Spain on Sunday night. Joined by their spouses, both A-listers posed for multiple pics as they stunned on the red carpet.

While Antonio sizzled in his suit as wife Melanie Griffith looked radiant in red, Salma donned a gorgeous floor-length gown, as her hubby, Francois-Henri Pinault, stood proudly by her side. With so many glamorous fashions to pick from, I don’t know which star deserves the title of the night’s Best Dressed!

Banderas to play Picasso in `33 Dias`

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 10:32:08 GMT

Madrid: Spanish actor Antonio Banderas will play Pablo Picasso in Carlos Saura`s upcoming "33 Dias" (33 Days). The $7.9 million film will focus on the painter`s emotional turmoil while he worked on his masterpiece ‘Guernica’.

‘33 dias’ refers to the time Picasso spent on the mural, which captured his reaction to the destruction of Basque town of Guernica in 1937 by the Nazi Luftwaffe during the Spanish Civil War, reports a website.

Picasso "is a character that has pursued me for a long time and I always rejected. He deserves a lot of respect because I am from Malaga, and I was born four blocks from where he was born", Banderas said in an interview published Sunday by a Spanish newspaper.

To be made in French and Spanish, the film will go on floors next summer in Paris and Guernica. Carlos Saura has teamed up with Spanish producer Elias Querejeta for the film. Saura and Querejeta penned the script alongside French writer Louis-Charles Sirjacq.

Budgeted over six million euro ($7.9 million), the picture will be produced by Bilbao-based Idem 4 and co-produced by Cinevedas, which has offices in France, Canada and India. Triple Academy Award-winning cinematographer Vittorio Storaro is in advanced talks to join the project.

In the film, Saura shows how painting "Guernica" proved near salvation for Picasso at a moment of personal crisis. It also focuses on Picasso`s relationship with his lover, French artist Dora Maar.

Antonio Banderas is Puss in Boots

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:03:38 GMT

Nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the 84th Academy Awards, "Puss in Boots" is a computer-animated, action comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and directed by Chris Miller who also directed "Shrek the Third" in 2007.

The executive producer is Guillermo del Toro, "Puss in Boots" stars Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris. The film is a spinoff prequel to the Shrek franchise and it follows the character Puss in Boots in his adventures before his first appearance in "Shrek 2" in 2004.

Accompanied by his sidekicks, Humpty Dumpty and Kitty Softpaws, Puss is pitted against Jack and Jill, two murderous outlaws who possess magical beans that promise great fortune. The film opened to very positive reviews and grossed over $516 million as of February 2012. It was released in Digital 3D.

Guest:
Antonio Banderas, Spanish film actor, film director, film producer and singer. Antonio Banderas voiced the English, Spanish and Italian versions of Puss in Boots, the fictional cat and a supporting character in the Shrek film series, as well as the primary protagonist of the 2011 spin-off prequel Puss in Boots.

Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek started hating each other on promo tour

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 11:35:39 GMT

Melbourne, Feb 10 (ANI): Antonio Banderas has revealed that he and Salma Hayek began to hate each other while they toured the world promoting their new movie ‘Puss in Boots’. By the time the two of them reached Sydney on their mammoth 11-day, nine-country tour, he said that they wanted to “kill each other”.

The pair conducted whopping 739 interviews during their promotional tour. “We travelled to nine countries, nine premieres, three different continents… It was fun and difficult too,” News.com.au quoted him as saying.

“It’s just weird when you’re doing interviews. Basically, they (reporters and interviewers) ask you the same question again and again… and you answer the same thing … and when you’re doing pair interviews – because Salma and I we were just doing interviews all the time together – it’s just weird.

“By the time that we were in Rome, we started kind of hating each other. By the time we were in Sydney, we wanted to kill each other – because we knew exactly what the other (person) was going to answer. We were just so tired,” he said. He divulged that both of them were tired of the same set of questions that the interviewers asked them and that both of them knew exactly what the other would answer.

“I remember that question they were making to Salma (sic), ‘So your daughter saw the movie?’ And she said always, ‘Oh yeah, I took her to the movie theatre and she suddenly said, ‘Oh mommy, that cat sounds just like you’ again and again and you have to be kind of nice about it… and sometimes (when I answered questions) I was looking at her (Hayek) and she was just lip synching me exactly,” he added. The 51-year-old actor said that now as the promotion of the film is over he has been able to patch things up with Hayek.

Fight child sexual exploitation: Banderas

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:07:49 GMT

Spanish actor and producer Antonio Banderas wants everyone to join the fight against child sexual exploitation, something that, he said, affects not only underdeveloped nations but everyone. “We have to take this very seriously and root it out,” the film star said on Friday.

Banderas made the call during the presentation of the book Libro de Suenos (Book of Dreams), prepared by the humanitarian organisation Unicef and the Iberostar Group to make parents and their children understand the dangers and degradation of child sexual exploitation. He spoke about the importance of raising awareness to combat child sexual exploitation and said that it has become a problem affecting many nations.

Mexico has special place in my heart: Banderas

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:31:46 GMT

Spanish film star Antonio Banderas said here Thursday that Mexico has a "very special" place in his heart. Banderas was invited to Cancun as guest of honour at the inauguration of a new hotel belonging to Spain`s Iberostar chain.

"Mexico has a very essential place in my heart. There are many, many things that join me to this land, to its people," the actor and producer told reporters. He also stressed the need for job creation in Mexico. "I am here to add my little grain of sand, so you know I`m on your side," he said.

Antonio Banderas: Ironic I landed Puss role

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:51:07 GMT

Antonio Banderas says it was one of the "biggest paradoxes" of his life that he was approached to voice his Puss In Boots character. The Spanish actor provided the voice of the fictional cat in the Shrek films and last year landed his own spin-off about the feisty feline, who he says he "loves".

The 51-year-old said: "It was one of the biggest paradoxes and ironies of my life. "Because I came to America without even speaking the language and the fact that they called me for the use of my voice is unbelievable." Banderas, who will next be seen co-starring with Ewan McGregor and Channing Tatum in action thriller Haywire, started his acting career in Spain while he was still in his teens but said he still loves what he does. "Sometimes I think that I am finding things... and I enjoy acting even more," said the star, who has been married to actress Melanie Griffith for nearly 16 years.

Antonio Banderas Interview For Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Haywire’

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:19:13 GMT

This dynamic action-thriller directed by Oscar winner Steven Soderbergh boasts a talented cast that includes Channing Tatum, Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender, Antonio Banderas, Bill Paxton , Michael Douglas, Michael Angarano; and introduces mixed martial arts superstar Gina Carano as Mallory Kane, in a demanding lead role that has her performing her own high-adrenaline stunts.

Mallory Kane is a highly trained operative who works for a government security contractor in the dirtiest, most dangerous corners of the world. After successfully freeing a Chinese journalist held hostage, she is double crossed and left for dead by someone close to her in her own agency. Suddenly the target of skilled assassins who know her every move, Mallory must find the truth in order to stay alive. Using her black-ops military training, she devises an ingenious—and dangerous—trap. But when things go haywire, Mallory realizes she’ll be killed in the blink of an eye unless she finds a way to turn the tables on her ruthless adversary. ‘Haywire’ is out now in the UK. It’s set for release January 20th in the US.

First off, how did you get involved with ‘Haywire’?
Antonio Banderas: Steven Soderbergh is one of those guys you say “yes” to, sometimes without reading the script. I had the opportunity….he called me twice in my career, but I couldn’t actually work with him. One was for ‘Che’ and the other one was ‘Traffic.’ I was signed at that particular time with other movies, but I knew. I had talked to him very early when I came to Los Angeles. He just presented ‘Sex, Lies, and Videotapes‘ and I loved that movie. We were talking about Almodóvar, because he’s a fan of Pedro. So at that time, he said to me, “I would like to have the opportunity to work together some day.” But many years, almost twenty years happened in the middle (laughs). He sent me the script. It was very confusing to me, to tell you the truth, but it was an immediate positive answer to work with him. I don’t regret it for a second. It was great.

How did you find working with Gina in Barcelona, in the square?
Antonio Banderas: It was a beautiful setting. It was actually my first shot, we had beautiful lighting, there was a beautiful sunset in Barcelona. The square is fantastic. Shooting in my home town, sorry, not my home town but my home country, it was fantastic for me. I was also very surprised by Gina, she’s amazing, very sweet, she has a spark about her. I think many people will relate to her in this film. I really feel like we’re witnessing the birth of a new star.

I didn’t have to fight with her in the movie. I have done a lot of movies where I had to fight a number of guys – fast guys, big guys, little guys, anything. I would have been very confident with her really, because she’s very precise, and fortunately, you don’t only see that in her fighting in the movie. What really shocked me when I saw it was how good she is, how wonderful she is as an actress. She’s beautiful. Her performance is easy-going. There is a sense of alert focus all the time, that front of a spy on her is demanded – she does that beautifully. I think you follow the story through her unbelievably well. What surprised us all was not that she could fight, we knew that, but her ability as an actress. After seeing the movie my wife is very curious to know her better, because she said to me when the movie finished, “She’s totally real,” and I totally agree with that.

Having worked with a number of great directors in your career, how did you find working with Steven Soderbergh, someone who’s got such a unique way of making movies?

Antonio Banderas: Not only just how quick he goes, which is fantastic for the actors and I suppose the rest of the team, but also the fact that he doesn’t use lights – and that happened in Barcelona, the first scene that I shot in the movie was how fast he shoots, and the non-use of lighting. We were shooting in the square plaza, it was unbelievable how fast we were moving, and at the same time, he didn’t do any type of coverage sometimes. We’d just shoot the scene, move on. Being a director myself – still a rookie, but a director (laughs) – I shoot everything. I shoot ash trays, anything. As much material as I can so I can look later in the editing room. This guy doesn’t shoot anything. It was just moving like, “We got it, moving on. Let’s go to the airport.” The same afternoon, we shot at the airport – boom, boom, boom, moving on. Only a director with tremendous confidence and self-assurance can do that.

The beard is great, where did the beard come from?
Antonio Banderas: It was an accident (laughs). I did a workshop in New York for ‘Zorba,’ a project I had in mind and may happen. I didn’t have anything to do and I wanted to do the workshop with a beard because I just pictured the character of Zorba with a big beard. I was going to shave the next day, but I had an interview with Steven for the movie. He wanted to see me here in Los Angeles, and he said, “I like the beard.” I said, “No, please. I haven’t shaved in two months.” “No, no the beard is fine. It’s a different you.” So I was trapped with my beard for another three to four months (laughs). My wife was not very happy about it.

The interesting thing is I finished the movie, I wrapped in New Mexico, and I went to Spain and was doing the movie with Pedro Almodóvar, and I think it was the last week I was working with him. Steven called me and he said, “I just put together the movie. Your character is very enigmatic and very shadowy. I like him, but we have to close him. It’s my fault. I’m just going to write a couple of scenes for him that is going to explain the whole entire thing. Actually, you became the mastermind of the whole entire operation, and you’re going to have a scene with Gina.” And I said, “Steven, I am still working with Pedro and I will be free in a week and I don’t have the beard.” And he said, “We’ll build it for you.” So I came a year after we finished the movie, and we did those new scenes, which is actually the end of the movie. With the beard, we did a couple of scenes underground with the French actor, and then shaved for the last moment with her.

Did you feel different without the beard?
Antonio Banderas: Yes, those scenes are….like a mask. When you have a beard you act differently. It’s almost like working with different languages. I’ve done movies in Italy, for example, and you start doing things with the hands. All these kinds of things are different. You act differently with a beard – I don’t know how to explain it (laughs). Also, I felt older. I can actually hide behind my beard, in a way. It’s interesting for my character because he’s the guy that nobody knows what he’s really doing – not until the end. I think it was a smart decision on Steven Soderbergh’s part. This is the guy that nobody is paying attention to. He never got beat up by the girl, but he is the one who is cooking everything in the background.