Blake Lively & Salma Hayek - 'Savages' exclusive Q&A.

In Oliver Stone’s 'Savages' (2012), Salma Hayek’s Mexican drug-cartel queen, Elena, orders the abduction of Blake Lively’s far from innocent Ophelia – a young woman who holds the heartstrings of the mob-boss’s pot growing rivals north of the border.

Blake, this was obviously a very gritty role for you. Can you talk a bit about why you often choose such difficult roles?
BLAKE LIVELY: You know, I thought I just liked to choose complex women and then I realised that these women were drug addicts and had a lot of sexual issues. The last three movies that I have done have been that [genre].
SALMA HAYEK: That was my character. She is sweet and lovely.
BLAKE: I always look for something that really challenges me, something I feel like I cannot do. Then at the end of the day, if I made it through the four months and I did it, that’s the reward for me.

Was it also a draw that you had to be between two guys?
BLAKE: No. I mean this is not real life. I loved the script and working with Oliver Stone, that’s such an honor. I met him and sat down with him – he had to meet me before he’d even let me read his script. I read it and I loved every page of it. I loved the fact that this script was in his hands.

Do you disagree that you can love two men at once...
BLAKE: I’d never experienced it. I think that it would be incredibly complicated.
SALMA: But then again, you’re 21.

Salma, what was the attraction for you?
SALMA: Oliver Stone to begin with. To find good directors is rare, but for the good directors to call me, is even more rare. I was so excited to be able to work with him. I was also shocked that the character was so good and juicy and that I actually got a character that I could do something with. It was a no-brainer.

Are there actually female drug lords out there that you could do research on?
SALMA: There is actually a couple. They are harder to detect. They do not draw as much attention to themselves. They are not as flashy. They do not not kill as easily. In the research, one guy that knew one, she would just focus on business. If something went wrong or somebody humiliated her, sometimes she would think it was better to let it go and just focus on business, rather than create a bigger problem. They [female drug lords] operate differently, under the radar a little bit.

Did you meet them?
SALMA: I met people close to them. I met a woman that was married to someone that was married to someone in the cartel.
BLAKE: The head of a cartel right? For a little while he was.
SALMA: Yeah. Someone in there, you know. I met people that were very powerful and claimed that maybe that was some of their activities.

Blake, can I ask you about being a fashion icon. Are there things you wouldn’t wear?
BLAKE: I do not sit around thinking of what I would not wear. I do not know, it just has to feel right. There are a lot of things that I see on other people that I love, that I would never put on myself, just because it would not look good. I think the most important thing is that you feel good about what you are wearing.

Would you do your own fashion line?
BLAKE: Maybe. There’s so many people that I look up to. I would have to really know what I am doing; I would never do something and just put my name on it. I would really want to be involved in it.

What was your biggest faux pas on the red carpet? Where you look at the picture and say, “What was I thinking?”
BLAKE: I think the biggest faux pas is to actually look at the picture. Things always photograph differently and it’s about how you feel that night, you know. It’s walking out the door and feeling, “I feel great about this.” Why would you want to go home and be like, “Oh, no, that’s what I look like!” Why ruin the illusion?
SALMA: Come on, what would look bad [on her].
BLAKE: No, but things photograph differently. You know, at first you are like “Ok, I need to see what it looks like.” Some things look beautiful in person and you see the picture and they just don’t translate. As long as you had a nice experience in the outfit, that is all that matters.

What makes you feel sexy?
SALMA: My husband makes me feel sexy.
BLAKE: I really like to cook.
Cooking?
BLAKE: Yeah. There is something so sensual about it – the smells, the touches, the flavors, the experience of creating something. When you are doing it with someone you love, creating that together, I think it is really attractive.
What do you cook?
BLAKE: I cook everything. You know, whenever I travel I go to cooking schools. I have taken cooking [classes] in Thailand, India, France.
Italy?
BLAKE: Not Italy yet. I eat too much! Italian food is one of my favorites. I love to cook everything.

So if you are eating too much, how do you look so good? Exercise?
BLAKE: I do not exercise, but I will start one day. I’m 24 now. I have been very, very lucky. I do not know. I should start working out I guess.

Is there a restaurant in your future?
BLAKE: I would love to have a restaurant. I would want to design the menu though.

Do you have a restaurant, Salma?
SALMA: No, I do not have a restaurant. Blake says that she would like to design a menu, the curtains, the kitchen and the plates!
BLAKE: Yeah, I’d want it to be mine.
SALMA: The outfits of the waiters!
BLAKE: Of course! Of course!

'Savages' is availble on DVD and Blu-Ray now!

Watch the trailer below...