the cast 

Joining Judd in other roles in the film were Edward Norton, who plays Nelson Rockefeller, and Antonio Banderas, who plays famed painter David Siqueiros. Both are long- time friends of Hayek and fans of Frida and Diego.

Diego Luna portrays Frida's first boyfriend, Alejandro Gomez Arias. Luna, who stole the hearts of millions in this spring's independent smash Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN jumped at the chance to work with Hayek.

Golino was struck by Rush's ability to "do a little shift to his personality with his accent and voice, the way he moves, the way he looks. He's so completely different but at the same time himself - like all great actors - manage to do. He's not imitating anybody, but he gets it 'real."'

"His presence was a huge, huge boost for us almost half-way through shooting," Molina recalls of Rush's arrival. "He takes his work seriously and takes himself not seriously at all. That's a very disarming, beguiling quality in anybody. He's great, great fun."

"The thing I love best about Tina Modotti is that she was banned from several countries for insurrection activities and a lot of people were glad to have her in Mexico because she was so outspoken," Judd says of her character. "She ended up being kind of a citizen of the world without a country, committed to human rights, workers rights and became a photographer to document what she saw.

Judd saw her participation in FRIDA not only as an opportunity to play a great character, but also as a way to help Hayek realise her dream.

"You know she thinks I'm doing her this huge favour by juggling my schedule," Judd says. "But the truth of the matter is it's a privilege to have a friend that you care about and admire who'd do this sort of thing. I don't think I'm going to make movies unless I am equally as mobilised as she is about this. She's bringing such a personal vitality and love to it. We should all make movies with that kind of passion and vigour."

Joining Judd in other roles in the film were Edward Norton, who plays Nelson Rockefeller, and Antonio Banderas, who plays famed painter David Siqueiros. Both are long- time friends of Hayek and fans of Frida and Diego.

Diego Luna portrays Frida's first boyfriend, Alejandro Gomez Arias. Luna, who stole the hearts of millions in this spring's independent smash Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN jumped at the chance to work with Hayek.

"Frida and Salma are both huge in Mexico," says Luna, who is enormously popular in his native country as well. "To work on a movie about Frida with Salma is a great honour. I think it is an important story and it is time to be told."

Roger Rees, who portrays Frida's beloved father, Guillermo, sees his character's immigrant roots as the reason for his lifelong sense of isolation. "Guillermo was a German Jew who came to Mexico when he was 19, knowing no one and became a photographer working for the government documenting Mexico's architecture," says Rees. "Despite such success, he was known as a quiet, solitary man with a very stern wife. He adored Frida and they were very close, but it was often her making the effort, not him."

For Patricia Reyes Spindola, who plays Frida's mother Matilde Kahlo, FRIDA marks her second performance as Hayek's mother. She first co-starred with Hayek on a Mexican soap opera.

"Matilde was a very hard woman," Spindola says of her character. "Frida called her mother 'cruel' and 'cold,' which she may have been. She did not show a lot of affection, but 1 think she cared for Frida. She showed it in other ways, like caring for her during her illnesses and selling practically everything they had to pay for the endless operations and medical bills."

Finally, for Hayek, seeing the story of Frida realised is a "tremendous accomplishment in my life because I tried so hard for so long. It was difficult to get off the ground and finally get it going," she says. "There's a wonderful sense of accomplishment besides the honour and joy of getting to play this fantastic character. She's an actor's dream."

"She's intelligent, she's passionate, she's wanted to do this movie for more than eight years," Taymor says of Hayek. "When this woman was twelve years old she knew about Frida. She was destined to play Frida. She plays sixteen years old to a very ill forty seven. She does the whole thing as Frida, and I think that's pretty extraordinary."

"I had a superbly fun time with the cast, all of whom were there for the sheer delight of doing it," Taymor says. "They all wanted to be part of the film, part of Salma's dream. And Salma, who was in all but two scenes, was incredibly committed and hard working. She reached down and tapped into this range of emotion and pain and was quite fearless and tireless." She also notes that "bringing Frida's story to the screen is a testament to (Salma's) vision, tenacity and faith that she could make it happen. I am proud to have joined her for the ride."

shooting frida

FRIDA was shot entirely on location in Mexico from April to June, 2001. Taymor utilized many of the original historic locations known to the film's subjects. Mexico's rich, diverse architecture also enabled Taymor to find suitable locales to double for Paris and New York in the '30s and '40s.

For Taymor, shooting on location was central to FRIDA's authenticity. "You can feel it in the details," Taymor notes. "You can see it in the faces, the buildings, landscape, in things you cannot duplicate. To film at the real locations was extraordinary. The [Mexican] government was very supportive in helping us with that. The Mexican crew, led by Rodrigo, Felipe, Bernardo and Julie [Weiss], had such enthusiasm and passion that they went beyond the norm, never taking short-cuts or saying something could not be done. They were overwhelmingly vested in their work and you can see that on the screen."

An avid traveler who lived five years in Indonesia forming her own company and studied mime in France, Taymor gratefully welcomed her newest cultural immersion. "Scouting various locations, casting and working on the script in Mexico made everything come together," Taymor says. "To have access to the real locations, to be surrounded by the sounds and music, food and feeling of the culture makes everything come to life."

The production offices and stages for FRIDA were located at Estudios Churubusco Azteca in Mexico City, the world's largest metropolis (25 million). The studios, built in 1945, have been home to many film productions, including numerous English-language Westerns. Mexico City also provided numerous historic shooting locations, including the National Preparatory School, the Majestic Hotel and the Ministry of Education, home of nearly 60 murals by Diego.
To re-create Coyoacan in the 1920s, cast and crew traveled to Puebla, about 80 miles east of Mexico City for the first week of filming. Nestled in the Sierra Madre foothills, this 400- year-old city boasts stunning Colonial, Renaissance and Neo-Classical architecture in its historic center. Since the real Frida Kahlo house (Casa Azul) is now a busy museum, filmmakers re- created a replica of the house and its courtyard on Stage 4 at Churubusco.

Other locations in Puebla included the Protocol and Presno buildings for the New York and Paris interiors, Puebla's municipal cemetery for the film's Dia de los Muertos scene; and La Guadalupana Restaurant for the pulqueria sequence.

Hayek received special permission to film at Teotihuacan, the ruins of an ancient abandoned city, discovered by the Aztecs, which is located 31 miles Northeast of the capital. Teotihuacan, which means "Place Where Gods Are Made," boasts numerous pyramids along a stretch known as Avenue of the Dead. When government officials initially refused, Hayek went to Mexico's President, Vicente Fox, and explained the production's respect for Frida and their need to shoot the Teotihuacan scene on location. Fox listened to the impassioned Hayek and granted her access to the pyramids.

Taymor and Hayek were also granted special permission to film outside and inside Diego Rivera's studios at San Angel, a suburb of Mexico City near Coyoacan. Built in 1933, this home-studio is considered an architectural treasure.

"I've been going to the Diego Rivera Museum for seventeen years and there are areas you cannot go beyond, that are closed," says Hayek. "With FRIDA, I find myself in this house that for so many years I would only wonder and imagine what was behind this or that. I got chills when I walked in there and I was dressed like Frida and there was Diego and the dog that they had, a hairless breed called Xolotzcuincle. The dog that we have in the film is a descendant of one of Frida's dogs. It was amazing to get to re-create what happened in the actual place it happened."

To further the authenticity of the project, Mexican director and journalist Diego Lopez Rivera, the grandson of Lupe Marin and Diego Rivera, served as a historical consultant on the film. He shared some family history, as well as photos, with the filmmakers. Lopez Rivera also brought his mother, brother and children to the set (as well as nieces and nephews) to meet the actors. The Riveras were struck by how much the actors resembled the people they portrayed.

"To see this film being made with Salma and a cast of this calibre is very exciting," Lopez Rivera says. I know, especially for Salma, what a personal and important film this is. It's a time in Mexico most people know nothing about."

Similarly, Esteban Volkov, the grandson of Leon Trotsky, also visited the set and thought Rush and Sanz resembled their real-life counterparts well. Volkov remembers Frida, describing her as having "a strong personality,"

"She was a very interesting and complex person with a difficult life," Volkov recalls. "She was lots of fun. You had a real nice time staying with her."

Archival photos show the second honeymoon of Frida and Diego at Xochimilco, Mexico City's floating gardens, which date from Aztec times. Taymor re-created the colourful trajineras (Mexican-style gondolas) for a particularly romantic scene with Hayek and Molina gliding through the exotic garden. They had just ended that day's shoot and Taymor yelled "cut" when golf ball-size hail suddenly rained down on them - along with lighting and thunder and winds to 30 miles-per-hour. While all arrived on shore unhurt, the unexpected downpour even trapped the landed crew members in trucks, trailers and under tents.

"That was the closest call we had with the weather," said Taymor, "With all the exterior locations and locked-in dates, that was it. The nature Gods were with us on this film."

the music score

One final, crucial element in the production of FRIDA was constructing the film's score. Taymor worked closely with composer Elliot Goldenthal to construct a mix of powerful acoustic guitar solos, romantically reflective arrangements, and up-tempo folkloric-influenced tracks. The soundtrack also features Goldenthal's haunting vocal duet sung by Brazilian music giant Caetano Velosa and Lila Downs, known for blending Latin, Native American and African sounds. "In FRIDA, the approach I took scoring the music is that of melodic intimacy, scoring with melodies or tunes as opposed to motific fragments." Goldenthal says.

"To achieve additional intimacy I choose a small ensemble of acoustic instruments: the small Mexican guitar (Vihuela), standard classical guitar, Mexican bass guitar (guitarron), accordion, Mexican harp, marimba, and glass armonica, a Benjamin Franklin invention. I found that the guitars provided the full range of lyricism and percussion I needed."

"Many indigenous songs in the soundtrack correspond with things that Frida loved and probably would have listened to." He continues. "La Bruja,' for example, was one of Diego's favourites and it was exuberantly sung in the bar room by Salma Hayek."

"Chavela Vargas, the Costa Rican born legend, was sought out by Frida and Diego because of the intense honesty, eroticism and authenticity she brought to the music of Mexico and of that region." Goldenthal says. "We were indeed blessed that she sang La Llorona live on screen."

"For the end-credits I tried to integrate thematic material woven throughout the film, as well as drawing on the motific material in the scene prior to the end-titles," Goldenthal says. `Burn it Blue,' with lyrics by Julie Taymor, continues the thread of the movie and reflects upon the immolation as well as the romance that was ever-present between Frida and Diego.We were honored that the great Caetano Veloso of Brazil, and indeed of the rest of the world, sang this duet with Lila. This song is also a handshake of thanks to our neighbours in Southern Americas and it's sung in both English and Spanish."
the director and the writers