Woody Allen is known for his carefully crafted dialogue and most actors like to read his words, even if he allows them to improvise. The man doesn't speak Spanish though. With his latest film centered around relationships between American girls (Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall) and a Spanish couple (Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz), he had to just let his Spanish actors speak their language.
Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
"He was trusting us," said Cruz. "He was trusting all the actors to improvise sometimes in English, sometimes in Spanish. He didn't do it only with the Spanish, sometimes he would say, 'Okay, now with this, just turn it around what's the message that the character's has to send of course, but just use the words that you think she would use in that moment."
The Spaniard also gave Allen props for his portrayal of the country. "I think that Woody knew Barcelona better than me. I think that he knew the city very well and he loved the city. I just think nobody should go and see the movie thinking that they're going to see a documentary on a city. It's not that. It's the background and it had to be a very attractive and sexy city and Barcelona has that as one of her many faces and it's a city that I love, but it could also have happened in many other European cities. I'm glad that it was Barcelona because we wanted him to shoot in our country. Everyone in my country was very happy about that."
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Cruz plays Maria Elena, the ex-wife of Spanish playboy Juan Antonio. She returns after he is dating Cristina, and enters a three-way relationship the further fuels her manic-depression.
"I just try to understand her and go from there and try not to judge her and that's what I try with all the characters. Sometimes during the sandwich break I would sit next to [Allen] and ask him about Maria Elena. I was worried about doing much. He said, 'Maria Elena has to bring chaos wherever she goes.' So be it. He would always tell me, 'Believe me. There are people like that.' He never wanted Maria Elena to have any moment of rest."
A Woody Allen fan, Cruz's personal top five favors some of his later work. "I've seen, I think, all of them and some of them many times. I love Manhattan and Hannah and Her Sisters and Manhattan Murder Mystery and Mighty Aphrodite and my favorite is Deconstructing Harry. That's my favorite movie and I think maybe the movie that has made me laugh the most in my entire life."
Vicky Cristina Barcelona opens to theaters on August 15th.
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