Q&A with Penelope Cruz
http://www.timeout.com/film/news/327.html

How did you become involved with 'Don't Move' in the first place?

They sent the book and the script to me. And I called Sergio [Castellito, the writer/director] and he was a little bit surprised. He said, "Are you sure you want to do this character and be so ugly in the movie?" And I said, "Don't even ask me, don't insult me; this is the kind of material I look for." It was a big challenge too because to play an Italian character, I had to lose the Spanish accent completely, so my lessons were four or five hours long. And I would get so frustrated and so angry, because it's all about repetition and training of muscles. But my teacher was great and it was a great feeling of accomplishment to do it after working so hard.

How did you feel about the controversial nature of the project, with your character Italia falling in love with her rapist?

What I feel about the controversy is that no one has judged the movie in those terms after they have seen it. We've opened in several different countries and never had a problem because I think that after you've seen the movie you understand what it's about and the way it treats the subject. It's about two people who are desperate and very confused and damaged by the things that have happened to them. It doesn't justify any of their actions.

How difficult was filming the rape scene?

That day it was a little bit harder to shoot because I woke up that morning and felt a little bit like the character feels during the first half of the movie, which is kind of numb or anaesthetised. I think I developed that to protect myself. And that's exactly what the character does to protect herself. She walks around half dead – she doesn't want to feel the good or the bad.

Were there any aspects of the character that you could identify with or was she totally alien to you?

She was not alien at all. Even though my life has been very different, I feel I can understand exactly where she is, or why she became so self-destructive. She's not making the best decisions for herself. She's generous to a point where it's self-destructive – doing things for everybody else and never thinking about herself because she doesn't think she deserves that.

How did you come up with the look for Italia? Were you involved with creating her appearance?

Yes, the make-up artist, Sergio, the author of the book Margaret and myself. We tried out a few different things but in the end it wasn't much – it was just a half-hour session in make-up.

What about her clothes?

I bought all my clothes with Margaret. We went to a store where everything was $1, and the paparazzi took pictures of us carrying huge bags, saying "They are so tight with their money - they could buy Dior but they buy these clothes!" But they can write what they want. They weren't very comfortable clothes though.

So you weren't afraid to look ugly in the film?

No – when people are surprised that I wasn't afraid to look ugly, they surprise me. Why judge someone like that? That's the reason I became an actress – so I could play all these different characters, become them and give them everything they need. If they need to be ugly – if I don't need to shave my legs, if I have to shave my head – I will. I won't play with my health, but physically I'll do whatever the character needs. And for me that's fun. I love transforming myself and doing anything that will help me understand the character better.

What research did you do for the role?

I spoke to people who have worked with women like Italia, and I also talked to them directly. I also went around the streets of Rome dressed like that to see how people would look at me because no one knew who I was. And people were very uncomfortable to look at me. In the book she is described as a pathetic clown, and that’s the image that she has of herself, and it was great to experience that through the character. Because people, especially men, were embarrassed to look at me - embarrassed for me.

You've done a lot of work in Europe and America – is it very important to you that 'Don't Move' succeeds in both?

Yes – I have fought for it to be released everywhere. I even went to the distributor in the UK and talked to them about how much I loved the movie and why I wanted to bring it to England. Because England and America were the last places to buy the movie. I believe in it so much that I just want this movie to go everywhere.

You seem to get offered better roles in Europe than you do in America – why do you think that is?

Well I think it would be unfair if I thought like that because I've been working in America for five years and in Europe I've been working for 15, so it's normal that I get more risky material here. But I'm getting more and more opportunities in America. Like 'Sahara', which is an action/adventure movie for the family. I want to be able to do all kinds of things. It just takes time.

What are you up to next?

Well Pedro Almodovar has written two films and I read both of them – one's a drama and one is a comedy. And I said yes to the two of them while I was jumping around my house. The fact that he's writing for me is the biggest honour professionally. He's going to tell me which one we're going to do so that I can start preparing. It will start in June and I'm not going to do anything before then because I don't want to be tired for him. I want to arrive with lots of energy and then put myself in his hands, be strong and fly away with him.

And what about 'Bandidas', the film you have just finished with Salma Hayek?

I laughed so hard with her every day. She's one of my best friends, and this is a comedy western that we have made together. I had breakfast with Luc Besson in Paris and I told him that I had an idea. I asked him to produce a western for Salma and myself and he said yes. Two months later he called me and he had the first draft of the script. I think it's going to be very funny – we play bank robbers who give our money to the poor.

And what about producing – is that something you'd like to do in the future?

Yes, I'm about to produce my first movie, but I don't want to say what it is yet. But I already have a financier, another producer, a director and I just found another writer last week. It's a lot of work and a lot of phone calls and a lot of insisting – calling the same person a hundred times – but I’m good that way. I'm learning a lot and I'm very excited about it.