She received an Oscar and BAFTA nomination for her starring role as Mexican artist Frida Kahlo in the aptly titled Frida back in 2002, an Emmy nomination for her appearance in TV's Ugly Betty (where she was also an executive producer) and has been in films from Puss in Boots (ok, her voice), Desperado to Dogma and her latest pic, Savages, directed by Oliver Stone. Yet Mexican-born actress Salma Hayek told a German magazine that she was in fact ready to end her acting career.
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For the first three hours and 20 minutes, I was totally with Savages. During the middle two hours and 25 minutes, I was reasonably intrigued to see how it would all turn out. But through the final six hours and 48 minutes, I kept sneaking glances at my watch, just wishing that Oliver Stone would hurry up and cap off this wiggly-waggly tale of two marijuana-entrepreneur buddies, their shared girlfriend, and a host of Mexican drug baddies led by Salma Hayek wearing a black bobbed wig that’s half Cleopatra, half Bettie Page.
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Local filmmaker Lynn Shelton's latest, Your Sister's Sister starring Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt and Mark Duplass will open the Seattle International Film Festival, ushering in the 38th edition of the late spring event which will feature 273 features and 187 shorts from 75 countries. The lineup includes 24 world premieres along with 25 North American and 16 U.S. debuts. 180 of the total do not currently have U.S. distribution.
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Why would a Berkeley grad weed dealer and his ex-Navy SEAL partner take on a Mexican cartel who wants in on their business? To get their kidnapped shared girlfriend back, of course! Since said shared girlfriend is Blake Lively, I can understand why Aaron Johnson and Taylor Kitsch would risk life and limb to fight off Salma Hayek's gun-wielding goons. I'm not quite as sold on why Oliver Stone would make a movie like this, but after watching the trailer for Savages, hell -- I'm in.
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Over the last week or so, film-culture observers witnessed an odd phenomenon sweep the country: A palpable, recognizable feel of anticipation -- for an awards show. Even rarer was the reason behind it. When the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced that Ricky Gervais would return for a third stint emceeing the Golden Globe Awards, we expected a return to last year’s delirious exercise in blunt-force celebrity accountability.
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After the Shrek series used up its charm on rote third and fourth installments that nevertheless raked in giant piles of box office bullion, the prospect of a spin-off prequel focusing on Antonio Banderas' swashbuckling, footwear-sporting feline seemed as inevitable as it was unpromising. But Puss in Boots, directed by Chris Miller (who also helmed Shrek the Third) is a legitimately entertaining prequel that encapsulates what the franchise does best: Breezy action, clever twists on classic figures from fables and grown-up gags tucked in amidst the kid-friendly developments. ("You got any idea what they do to eggs in prison? I'll tell you this -- it ain't over easy!" the Zach Galifianakis-voiced Humpty Dumpty quavers at one point, in the first prison rape joke I can think of to not only be slipped into a kiddie flick but also highlighted in the trailer.)
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Aardman Animation can do no wrong, ladies and gentlemen: From Chicken Run to Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit, these folks stick to loopy, yet dry material and make it fun for kids and adults every time. In their new feature The Pirates! Band of Misfits, Aardman takes buccaneering out of Jack Sparrow's realm and back into the world of kiddy imagination. The new international trailer features all the bug eyes and red beards you can muster, plus the vocal talents of Hugh Grant, Jeremy Piven, and Salma Hayek.
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DreamWorks Animation's Shrek spinoff Puss in Boots is racing into theaters on Friday, a week earlier than originally scheduled. Director Chris Miller and voice cast including Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek and Zach Galifianakis joked their way through a press conference over the weekend, and Movieline was there to bring you some of the slightly more serious communiqués from the PIB team:
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Whilst watching the Shrek franchise, you may have wondered: How does Puss, the swashbuckling cat voiced by Antonio Banderas, justify donning footwear but not clothes? A new video for his upcoming spin-off movie, Puss in Boots, has your answer. This movie star endorses a freer, more versatile lifestyle choice: No-pants pants!
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