As actor Demián Bichir’s scenes in Oliver Stone’s new movie ‘Savages’ occurred over several months, he had a good deal of time to observe and contemplate Stone’s style. In step with Taylor Kitsch, Benicio Del Toro and Salma Hayek, he likens his director to a commanding officer readying his soldiers for war. “Like any great CO, he is hard on his troops because what they see in battle will be 10 times more serious,” the performer notes. “They have to be prepared for anything.”

As the renegade Spin, Ben and Chon’s hacker genius extraordinaire, Emile Hirsch found common ground in a shared sense of humor with his director. “We have similar comedic sensibilities and made each other laugh,” Hirsch says. “He was like a gentle bear of a guy to me. So cool, so detail-oriented.”

For his part as the financial brains behind Ben and Chon’s multimillion-dollar operation, Hirsch had to deliver a great deal of specialized dialogue. He says Stone provided him a comfort zone in which he could play the scenes without stressing over the jargon. “Of course, I don’t understand the intricacies of money laundering,” he states. “I just learned the lines and the context of the scene. As an audience member, you buy the illusion because that’s the magic of movies and storytelling.”

The principal and supporting female characters in Savages are independent, powerful, sexy, clever and compelling. The relationships between Elena, O and Elena’s daughter, Magda (played by Sandra Echeverría), vacillate between dominance, affection and betrayal. Throughout the film, there is a strong female voice, sometimes in terms of O’s narration. While Chon and Ben plot to rescue the captive O, she is never a damsel in distress. And O, Elena and Magda share a complicated, symbiotic affiliation that alters the game as much as Chon’s and Lado’s guns do. Says Stone: “I much enjoyed the interplay and influence of these dynamic women.”

In the Sanchez family, death is a given. Elena has lost her husband and two sons to violence in this drug war. She has sent daughter Magda to California to escape, and Stone was curious to explore what this would cost Elena. Raised in the life of the Cartel, Magda is able to look the other way when it comes to the manner in which her mother’s career has financed her luxurious and self-indulgent lifestyle.

“The relationship between Elena and Magda is pretty ruthless,” says the director. “The daughter resembles the mother in many ways, but the mother has a bigger heart. There is the transfer of feelings from Elena to O. When she holds her hostage, Elena kind of adopts O. O and her mother are very estranged, so on some level, initially, she is drawn to Elena. But ultimately there will be a shifting power struggle between these strong women, who develop a wary affection.”

Hayek was surprised by the offscreen bond that developed between her and Blake Lively, as well as between her and Echeverría. “I love these girls!” Hayek proclaims. “Blake was smart and fun and professional and imaginative and bizarre, in all the right ways. She was brave, not afraid to speak her mind and eloquent. From the first day in rehearsals, when she started talking about the character and the structure of the script, I thought, ‘We’re going to have a good time here.’ We started working on scenes on our own time, and when it came to doing the scene, she had taken notes on everything we did. I had so much trust and confidence in her. And as for Sandra, who I did not have the pleasure of knowing before, well, I feel so lucky to have two new friends.”

In turn, commends Echeverría: “I always respected Salma. She is a very strong, sexy, smart woman who has realized her dreams, and it was great to watch her channel all that into Elena. Now that I know her personally, I admire her even more. She had so many ideas and suggestions, so much energy and generosity, it was inspiring.”

Image Courtesy of  Savages

Share This

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

About the author

Claudia Sondergaard
Specialised in American foreign policy media discourse, I have a real passion for media and writing and feel comfortable in subjects such as human rights, politics, environment, social issues, movies, TV and books. Reporting from Denmark. Follow me @swirlgirlversus

Related Posts

‘Savages’: Costumes Relay ‘Southern California/Laguna mentality’

Cindy Evans, the costume designer on Oliver Stone's 'Savages', worked closely with Stone and the actors to give each character a signature style that would complement the look of the film. Stone notes: “Cindy’s costumes...

Set Design, Exploring Malibu, Tijuana with ‘Savages’

The production of Oliver Stone’s new ‘Savages’ began filming in Malibu, which doubled for Laguna. Producer Moritz Borman explains the logic: “Oliver likes to stay as chronological as possible so that the actors can grow....

California Scene: ‘Savages’ Explores Laguna Beach

New movie ‘Savages’ begins in an idyllic California dream, and as it progresses, that reverie becomes a nightmare. “There wasn’t one wild idea that Oliver [Stone] didn’t get excited about,” says production designer...