Multi-hyphenate Salma Hayek has evolved throughout her nearly four-decade career, never wanting to be boxed into certain roles as an actress whether on screen or off. In a sprawling cover story for Marie Claire, the star/producer discussed adding another facet to her repertoire: writing her first feature.
“It’s meaningful. It has a great rhythm. It’s full of surprises to the very end,” she previewed, keeping mum about the details of the project, which she’ll direct and her company, Ventanarosa, aims to produce. “I think I’ve earned the right after 25 years of doing it for others.”
Having been in the entertainment industry for numerous years, the Oscar-nominated Frida star said she’s happy to see a mindset shift around aging women in Hollywood, explaining, “There was a time when I was the sexy girl, but thank God age came and gave me the ability to expand to other territories. Although I’m still sexy and I embrace it. Another calling that I have is to remind everyone that women are not disposable after a certain age in any department. We should battle that with all we’ve got.”
Speaking to changes that still need to be made, however, she added, “[When a film is successful] the credit goes to the man. The girl is just the girl. I do have an audience and they go see me. But I’ve never gotten credit for the audience I bring into the cinema.”
Another evolution she’s had to contend with, though has no interest in, is the rise in artificial intelligence and discussions surrounding the technology, its ethics and its usage in film.
“It takes away your intelligence because the brain grows lazy,” the Eternals actress, who doesn’t own a computer, stated. “I write everything by hand. I have papers everywhere. I barely touch the phone. They cannot profile me. I don’t buy online. I don’t order food online. The artificial intelligence doesn’t know me.”
