The drama Savages, from three-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone, follows entrepreneurs Ben (Aaron Johnson) and Chon (Taylor Kitsch), and their shared girlfriend O (Blake Lively), who run a lucrative business raising some of the best marijuana ever developed.
But, the legendary weed of these Laguna Beach heroes soon catches the interest of the Mexican Baja Cartel, headed by the merciless Elena La Reina (Salma Hayek).
At the film’s press day, co-stars Blake Lively and Salma Hayek talked about what they brought to their characters and preparing for such gritty roles.
Blake said: ‘I feel like all I’ve done lately is play really sexually-charged drug addicts. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’ve gotta go to Disneyland more and get more excitement. I love that it’s so different from everything that I’ve ever known or seen. I love that challenge. I love exploring worlds that are so unknown to me. And having somebody like Oliver made it such a great experience because he gave us so many opportunities.’
When asked if being a Mum helped her with the role, Salma said: ‘That’s what you would think, but being a mother can make you find the toughest part and the inhumanity of the character. As a mother, for your children, you are willing and capable of doing anything. You can justify it. I don’t know about some other mothers, but Mexican mothers will do anything for their children. That is where this character turns. Everything I justified, I was okay with doing it. It didn’t matter because I did it for my children. If I didn’t take over, they would have given it to my other child, and he was weak. They would have killed him. I had already lost the twins and my husband. So, yes, it helps you find the vulnerability, but it also helps you find the fearlessness.’
