Penélope Cruz - 'La Bola Negra,' 'Bunker' & 'The Invite' [LIVE]

29:30Penélope Cruz:I think so. Right? Yeah. I mean, Volver was so important to me. I remember that the script, we read it with him at his house, like all of us, all the cast together. No, that was all about my mother. In his living room, he gave a copy to each one of us, and we read it, and we were like, oh, what a masterpiece. And then with Volver, he sent it to me one night. I read it, obviously, the same night. I called him the same night crying, said, Pedro, what are you giving me? What is this treasure? What an incredible script, incredible character. And we both say the same thing. The time that we had making that movie was the most peaceful.

30:21Penélope Cruz:And it was an intense movie with so many complicated, difficult emotionally charged scenes like very hardcore but there was something maybe because we were in the place where he grew up and we would take a walk every day together alone and talk about his childhood and his mother and sometimes not talk just walk around looking at the landscape of La Mancha and it's some of the most unforgettable beautiful memories of my life and then that leads to what was kind of a breakthrough in the States in its own way. Not that you hadn't been working in the States, but like to have the part in Vigia Cristina Barcelona, Maria Elena, this kind of explosive suicidal artist who's upset that her ex-husband, Javier Bardem, is involved with others.

31:16This part, I guess he says he wrote it for you. What he said he wrote it for you I think after seeing Volver and you noted when you won that historic Oscar for that that Pedro's obviously written some more great parts for for actresses and then almost anybody but what he's up there too also and yeah that's what I

31:38Penélope Cruz:said when I won that's true and mentioned that about the two of them that's because it is the truth and and also it's true that he said it was because of Volver. Yeah. Yeah. And it's kind of interesting that you had to do an American movie that shot in Spain, but in English, for your Oscar. I know. And also that we had to, I mean, the privilege and responsibility that was huge of translating everything ourselves because he decided to trust us. And he said to Javier and I, just say exactly this, but do the translation yourself, we're not going to do it without translation and we knew at some point he was going to know everything that we were saying, also like improvising a lot of insults and things that maybe were not written, but the trust, the level of trust that he put that he gave us was amazing, and I enjoyed playing that character a lot, but I didn't know what I was doing because it was a short time, like three weeks, and you only do a couple of takes.

32:51Penélope Cruz:I had, I mean, I had everything very prepared, and I knew what I wanted to do, but everything went so fast that I had no idea what the result was going to be. No idea. It's a happy accident sometimes, the way these things work out, and I'll just note, like, kind of another crazy stat, when you stop and think about it you win your Oscar for Viggy Cristina Barcelona in 2009 the year before and and first of all and you you're now the first Spanish actress to win the year before for No Country for Old Men Javier wins and becomes the first Spanish actor so those two historic Oscars are sitting next to each other I I would imagine in yeah and also we don't understand how like how crazy is that coincidence The thing is when you have to explain to your kids and you have to say no but it's such a crazy coincidence that one day you will understand why it's just because you cannot grow up thinking that that is normal.

33:55Penélope Cruz:But how do you explain that? I think like just with time you will realize that it is an incredible coincidence. Yeah. Yeah. Well, back with Pedro in 2009, Broken Embraces, this actress in a relationship with a blind man who had earlier cast her in a film that anyway, it's it's it's hard to summarize like a lot of these, which is a compliment because it shouldn't be that simple. That was the I think the only one of the seven that you did with Pedro where you weren't either playing a mother or pregnant. True. Maybe the only one. And you have played essentially his mother in Pain and Glory, which came a little bit later.

34:33But I mean, you were in All About My Mother. What's it with him and mothers?

34:38Penélope Cruz:He always told me. He always told me about my maternal instinct that is very real and has always been very real. And he always told me, yeah, as a mother. It's true. That is the only film where I'm not pregnant or I am a mother. And one of the biggest issues has to do with maternity. Yeah. nine which was in 2009 and another Oscar nomination for you the significance there was I think that was the first time You got to really sing and dance in a movie and I don't know that you've gotten to do it again until La Bola Negra which is many years later. So for you was that exciting daunting? I mean the in just for people to remember you're playing Carla this mistress of Daniel Day-Lewis' character, Guido, and you have this big musical number, a call from the Vatican, that had to be like months of work, right?

35:33Penélope Cruz:Like four months. I enjoyed that so much. We had to do a lot of auditions, and I was so happy when I heard the news that they were giving that to me, because I danced for many, many years in my life, a classical ballet, and I was always waiting for the opportunity to do a musical. And it's so hard to find. You know, it's really hard. And I love the character so much. And I had seen it in theater, in Broadway, when Antonio was doing it, and that everyone was so amazing. Love Rob Marshall. I had worked with him in Pirates of the Caribbean. And it was an incredible adventure. The most scary thing, because having to sing and dance and i remember the day that we recorded the songs at abbey road the most terrifying feeling the most but we had time time with them with rob and john to prepare like i remember like having my hands like full of um like bleeding every time we like every day from the ropes but when you are dancing at that level of many, many hours every day, you almost don't feel the pain until you finish the rehearsal.

36:49Penélope Cruz:But it's all worth it. And I was very impressed by, can we talk about Daniel a little bit? When I walked into my first rehearsal, he was already there, dressed with Guido's suit, and with his accent. He never spoke to me without the accent until like six months later when we finished. I had forgotten how he spoke. And I love him so much. He was incredible with me. And he was in every one of my rehearsals, not in all of my rehearsals, in every one of my shooting days for the musical numbers when he was widow. He was there. And I remember looking at him and feeling like, oh, maybe he's going to be here for 10 minutes or half an hour.

37:39Penélope Cruz:Eight hours later he's still sitting there. I've never seen anything like that. So then you get used to it, and if Daniel is not there, it's like, where is he? I need him to concentrate. I need to know that he's there. Well, I mean, that's got to be, that's hard to think of a greater cast ever than, so you, Daniel Day-Lewis, Judi Dench, Sophia Loren, Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard. No, that cast was incredible. It's insane. The lunchtime, I always run to sit next to Sophia Loren. It was like, is it very obvious that I just want to sit next to her every day? And then we became friends, and I love her so much.

38:21And every day she was like, you have to eat more. You have to eat more.

38:28Penélope Cruz:And telling me that she knew that I was going to be a great mom because she could see it, and that that was the best thing in her life and that she never, she didn't want me to miss that in my life. So all our conversations were about that. She was telling me, my kids call me every day. Those are the things that I remember from her. That is the main thing. My kids call me every day and what an amazing lady. I love her so much. And then I've gotten to see her here and there. I mean, I wish I could see her much more, but she's an incredible human being. Back with Pedro for a cameo, kind of the first time you and his male muse, if you're his female muse, Antonio Vanderas is the male one, you had never really actually crossed over until I'm so excited in this little kind of baggage carrier cameo there at the beginning or with that, I'm so excited in 2013, then actually playing his, playing page and then in painting glory 2019 basically playing Pedro's mother who you'd met but while Pedro's sort of played by Antonio so not in the same timeline but you guys overlap there and then you finally did official competition where you're actually together you and Antonio and I've heard a rumor that you guys may want to do a remake of marriage Italian style together We always talk about it.

40:01Penélope Cruz:Yeah. But then, I mean, it hasn't happened yet. Just conversations. We always try to convince Pedro because we would love to do it with him. Yeah. But it would be so great. In between those ones that I just mentioned was something kind of different for you, a limited series, which was the assassination of Gianni Versace, American Crime Story for Ryan Murphy. You're playing Donatello Versace. And it's interesting because Pedro, who's probably studied you more than anybody and knows your work better than anybody. He thinks that's your best English language performance. What do you think of that?

40:37Penélope Cruz:Wow, that makes me very happy because it's true that he called me when he saw it. Basically, like everything I do when I'm working, I'm thinking about what is he going to think when he sees it. Is he going to approve or not? It's always like this. And he liked it a lot. And he also knows Donatella and likes her very much. And I took that very seriously. I really liked Donatella, and I called her first. And I said, if you don't want me to do it, I'm not going to do this. I told Ryan I was going to call her. He said, great. And she said, you know what, if somebody is going to do it, I want you to do it because I know that you will respect me and protect me.

41:18Penélope Cruz:And that's what we all did with the show. And, like, all my respect for her and what she went through. and for her brother, Johnny, even if we never met. But I felt like it was a huge responsibility. And I did it with all my love. Yeah, the most recent of the Pedro collaborations, and it's now been six years, so hopefully not too much longer until number eight. But this was Parallel Mothers 2021 in a playing one of two mothers who have a child switched at birth I heard this was one that he told you about like decades before it ever happened and in fact so early that not not that I mean it was just that you were initially being considered for the other of the two mothers just what was what was that one like for you?

42:20And in fact, again, quoting Pedro, he says of that character, quote, she is the most difficult character that Penelope has played to date with me or without me, close quote. The most difficult character. Do you concur with that?

42:34Penélope Cruz:It was very challenging, but I always loved that. So, especially the scenes when the other character wants to take the baby away, I literally got sick. I was on the floor crying, hugging Pedro and he was like very patient there waiting for me to finish for half an hour. I had to cry with him. He was not like alone or with somebody else. With him, like literally in the floor, hugging the feet like this. Because that scene took us into a place that was like the most horrific feeling, but always with his protection there. And I said, okay, now you are happy with the scene, you're going to stay here until I finish crying.

43:12Penélope Cruz:because he didn't want me to get that release during the scene, only to be in that state for days where you are about to break down, but you cannot break down all the way. And he was really specific about that with that character. And we did it, but after that, I didn't let him go until I could come back to myself. Now, he does something that is not obviously for most movies that common, right? He's usually almost always shooting in sequence, right? So how important is that and how different is that for you than when you have to work the other way, where you're shooting the last page on the first day and all over the place?

43:55Do you think that brings out a better performance?

43:58Penélope Cruz:I think it really helps, but I'm used to the other way. Most of the time we have to accept that it's going to be out of order. Now I'm shooting with Nancy Mayers, and she's trying to really go in order, and it's so helpful for us. And with Pedro in Parallel Mothers, we did a lot that way because a lot of the time we were in that apartment, the house that was built in a studio. So when it's possible, it's a blessing, but it's sometimes so, so hard. The last, you know, five or six years, five years since we did this podcast with Parallel Mothers, you've been doing all kinds of things that we mentioned, official competition, you and Antonio.

44:43You did Ferrari with Michael Mann playing the kind of...

44:49Penélope Cruz:Michael Mann, the man who's never tired. Well, and your character, you didn't get to relax too much either. The wife of Enzo, who's mourning their child, but just kind of goes into these rages. That was also in that period. But I think as we get to 2026, I just want to also note, you've been somehow also raising two children in this period, right? Mainly. Mainly. Mainly. Yes. Because since I became a mother, and I always wanted to do it this way, that was always my number one priority. And that's why what is happening this year is like a total miracle for me. Because I've been making like one movie a year.

45:38Penélope Cruz:And if they were not too long, maybe I could do two or three. Like what happened this year, the invite, we took the holiday of Easter and added one week. and put the whole thing together and we were all in LA and that's why I was able to do it. And Bunker, I was shooting in Madrid 20 minutes away from home. La Bola Negra, I was preparing for months and shooting for a couple of weeks but in Madrid. And then the three movies come out at the same time and they are received with a lot of love. And the feeling is like if I had been working, I mean, I'm working a lot while I'm in Madrid, because I have a production company, and I've been doing a documentary for the last four years that I can tell you a little bit about later.

46:28Penélope Cruz:But I'm really shocked about what is happening this year, and it has happened in a way where I've taken a lot of risks to say no to things because I never want to be away from them. But I don't feel it's a risk because it's something I will never regret because I don't like being apart. and I also feel like this is not a medal I put on myself this is the the the biggest benefit the biggest luxury from having worked a lot since I was a teenager what is the biggest reward that I can choose the the projects that I am that I am that I do and where and where and when like if it's going to separate me from them I'm not gonna do it so that's why I'm so grateful that for the last few years it's been like that now when your parents are Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz is it possible to not want to follow in the footsteps into this profession how are they thinking and how do you feel about if they if they want to do that so I'm I'm gonna let them talk about that when they're ready to you know because I always try to protect them like not talk too much about what they want, what they don't want, like to expose them that way.

47:46But I feel this is the most

47:50Penélope Cruz:beautiful profession, but I have never told them, oh, I would like for you to do that, or the opposite. No, it has to be something that you feel in here, and if you don't, why do it? But if you feel it, why not? It's the most beautiful profession. I also think, hopefully let's look for professions that are not going to be substituted by robots because that is the other subject like it's very much the subject of bunker yes that drives me crazy like in terms of where are we going and and and this is not okay this is not acceptable and we cannot like sit down watching the news and seeing how it's happening so fast it's not it's not okay all All right, so of this crazy 2026, first of all, first one that people saw was the invite.

48:42You're playing Pina, the sexologist who lives upstairs with her husband, Hawk, played by Edward Norton. Above, the couple played by Seth Rogen and Olivia Wilde. Olivia is directing also. They have a very active nightlife, which is disturbing their downstairs neighbors. They all get together, and then chaos ensues. talk about first of all had you I'm trying to think had you been directed by a fellow actress before and all you had yeah for example with Maggie Maggie dealing right amazing actress director well so this one though is from a 2016 play that gets made into a spin first that's a Spanish play that gets made into a Spanish movie a few years later and then gets remade all over the world in different, as different films.

49:38But here, Rashida Jones and Will McCormack write it, Olivia directs it, and you come aboard. Olivia said she was sort of inspired by Mike Nichols' film, especially Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, which makes sense when you see this movie. But the way this one came together seems pretty unusual because for more than a week, the actors and the writers sat down and kind of developed it together. Can you explain what that was like and why maybe that was part of the appeal? Yeah, so I read the script and I realized,

50:12Penélope Cruz:oh my god, I've been laughing for the last hour and a half non-stop and when does that happen? It's so rare to find a script like that. And I called Olivia, I told her, I'm in, I would love to do this with you and at that point she was not going to play the characters, then the person that was going to play it couldn't do it because of dates. And then we all told her, like, you should do it. And we kind of convinced her to do it. And I think she's done an amazing job as a director, as an actress. It's an incredible film that I'm so proud of. And it was the 10 days that we spent together in a room, they were very intense.

50:55Penélope Cruz:really good memories but very intense Will and Rashida were the most generous writers every time I see them is what I have to say to them I mean obviously they are so good and also they were really open to listen what everyone wanted to bring to their characters and I think that is very generous and brave. And the same with Olivia, like really generous, always doing what's best for the movie. And she did that in the editing room also. And she protected all of us. And the movie really works. And to see that with an audience and see the audience laughing like that. Became the biggest sale of the year at Sundance.

51:47became a breakout at the box office. And every time I think about the stuff with you and Seth in particular, you can't help but die laughing where he's just thanking you for everything. So that's number one of three. Number two of three came at Cannes, where we got to see La Bola Negra, in which you play Nene, this cabaret performer who, during the Spanish Civil War, is entertaining the fascist nationalist army, though she does not share their politics, as we learn. This is the Los Javis directing it, but people talk about them as the next heir to Pedro, who's also an associate producer, I believe, on this.

52:39I think you guys, as you say, shot it in Spain, less than$15 million, but it looks like a giant studio movie, just the production value and all that. Talk about, though, I think in terms of screen time, it's less than we usually see you, but it's not, you've really underscored, that doesn't mean it's a small role. So what was the appeal for you to do that one?

53:04Penélope Cruz:So I really wanted to work with them because I loved La Messias and everything they've done, and I love their personality. and I knew like they are going to do incredible things, one after the other. And we had this meeting where they told me, we had a lunch and we became friends after 10 minutes. They told me we have this script of this movie we want to do, but we don't know if we should send to you because it's not a lead, it's not very long in time, in how many minutes on screen, whatever. I never think about that. I told them never, never stop yourself from sending me something because of that reason, because I don't judge my characters that way, or any character.

53:46Penélope Cruz:What is this story, and what is her mission in this story? And I read it, and I fell in love with Nene Romero, and what they wanted to talk about, and from what place they talk about it. And I found this incredible script, and I'm so happy that I did it. Again, it was very scary, all the dancing and the singing, and two very different musical numbers and the whole thing, but we had the time to prepare it. And amazing, amazing teachers, choreographers, and the hobbies present all the way through. And we really shared our love and admiration for Pedro. He has kind of shaped us in so many ways. I think the backstory of the musical numbers is kind of crazy because on a few different levels, you, first of all, again, all the work that goes into doing this, This is like a whole massive choreographed thing, you know, even though politically this doesn't, this is not the parallel, but it's sort of the, you know, like Marlena Dietrich entertaining the troops in World War II, obviously for a totally different audience.

54:55But that's the type of scale that we're talking about. But I read that, first of all, you physically were not 100 % when you went in to do this. And so I'll ask you to talk about that. but also the huge audience of all these extras who are playing the troops, did they even know that you were going to be there?

55:14Penélope Cruz:No, they didn't tell them. And the way the Javis work with every single actor, every single extra, even if you were there for, you don't have any dialogue and you're there one day, they spend hours with each person. And then when you see those numbers, you can tell that that work was there. It's the same thing they did with La Messias and the children. the amount of work that they put into that, when then everything becomes real. So I also didn't see them. I didn't know that I was going to be dancing with so many men in that room. And when I was in hair and makeup preparing for the second number, I got a phone call from a doctor, who is an amazing doctor.

56:00Penélope Cruz:and he's so good that he wanted me to know immediately in case I wanted to go the next morning and he said I want you to know that the test that we did like those like controls that you're supposed to do every few years like MRI I think you have a small aneurysm in the brain I've like no no this is like I was like putting on the blonde wig, started to cry. Pablo, who's hair and makeup, and my friend for like 30 years, what's happening? What's happening? That was so crazy. And I told him, okay, if you tell me I have to go right now to repeat the test, I know they will want to cancel everything and we just go.

56:50Penélope Cruz:And I also want to protect myself because I'm also a mother and I want to be here. He said, no no no you you can wait a few days because I'm just not sure we just have to repeat the test because it's a confusing image so the feeling of having to get on that tank thinking that maybe there was a small aneurysm I told him can I sing can I dance it's a lot of cardio am I safe to do that like I needed to know and the feeling of that it was really like being in that war it It was like, OK, so I have to trust him. He says it's safe to do this. But I had to put all of that fear and shock into the scene, into the way I hit that poor guy that turns around.

57:39Penélope Cruz:And the Javis were like, you have to hit him harder. They're like, no, no, no, and no, don't ask me that today. They were all amazing, all of the actors, incredible. and I didn't tell the Javis that day but the day after I said my friends I have to talk to you I need to share this with you because we are here and I'm driving myself crazy and they said if you want we cancel everything and you go tomorrow instead of waiting for Friday but I said no because the doctor said we can wait for Friday and then when I came back they said that it wasn't thank God it wasn't But I do know why I decided to share this story, because I think it's interesting also to know the things that can happen to actors before a moment like that.

58:32Penélope Cruz:It's not like you can calculate and make everything smooth in your life. Like, my father died on a Friday night of a heart attack. And less than 40 hours later, I was doing comedy with Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller. And I literally could not, like, the whole day I thought I was going to pass out from the shock. And nothing is going to stop, like, even with something so major. So it was not about me. it was like it's also good to share that that that part really reflects that we are there as a team like if one part of the team is not there this cannot happen and yeah but fortunately it was like false alarm thank god yeah um and i'll just to the other part the less the less uh heavy part we'll just say that so they'd been all those probably hundreds of extras had been rehearsing with a stand-in for you, and then when you went out and they found out it was you, what was the room like?

59:41Penélope Cruz:Incredible. That's quite a surprise for an extra. No, because maybe that was good for them, but it was really good for me. Because the energy was crazy, and it was unforgettable, the energy of all those nights with that number and with the other number because many of the actors were the same and many of the extras and we're an incredible like bonding experience because after I like I've been able to share with them also what happened well this brings us to the third of the three which is bunker which just premiered in Venice and is now here at TIFF like with La Bola Negra playing Sophia, an executive of a literary agency.

1:00:28She's been married for 17 years, I think, to her husband, played by Javier Bardem, who is an architect who gets recruited to build a bunker for a Silicon Valley tech gazillionaire, and that causes some strain between them. Florian Zeller, who was coming off of winning an Oscar for writing The Father, which he also directed, says he wrote this for you and Javier and was able to shoot it in Madrid. This whole house apparently was built on a soundstage. It looks pretty convincing, pretty unbelievably convincing to me. But in this case, he's French. He wrote it in French, then had it translated to English and then to Spanish from there, I guess.

1:01:17So whole ordeal. But what for you was the you and Javier to reunite? it's got to be on screen it's got to be probably something that really means a

1:01:27Penélope Cruz:lot to the two of you why was this that yeah we is not a decision that that is easy for us to make and in this case there was no reason to say no we really wanted to work with Florian I think he's such an incredible writer and director I really admire all his work in the theater and in film and just there was like no reason to say no and the subject of the movie for me was like it is so important it has to do with what we were talking about before and I felt like a need to give a voice to that character to many of the things that Sophia says about the danger of the lack of connection and where the world is right now and where are we going and and I feel like okay those are I never look like for the characters to say yes because they think the way I do or because they agree with me or the other way around no not at all but in this case so many of the things that she says to her husband when he's tempted to build a bunker and that makes her furious that he would accept to contribute to something like that I felt like yes I'm so happy I'm the one that gets to say those words.

1:02:48But even, I mean, one of the most impressive scenes in the movie, you don't even say anything. I think the beginning where he's sort of explaining how they met in a restaurant. They're in a restaurant. He's explaining this. And you find out it's all sort of based on a lie. And the camera's on you just listening. And it's unbelievably gripping because of you. Thank you. You know, there's that. But also, I guess the question here is, so you and Javier have done now, I believe, Hamon, Hamon. You're both in live flesh. Don't tempt me. Vicky Cristina Barcelona, the counselor. Loving Pablo. Everybody knows.

1:03:30And now this. A lot of people, for whatever reason throughout history, when they work with their significant other, it hasn't been, it doesn't translate. It's not enjoyable, whatever. I saw you guys the other night. You seem like you're still speaking. and on good terms.

1:03:45Penélope Cruz:But you see what I said in a few years, maybe we can consider another one because it is scary. It's great, but I don't think it would be healthy to do it every two or three years. And we feel the same way about that. No, no, no. No. No, no, no. But maybe in a few years, something like this comes along and then why not? But it's not something that we would want to force because it's easy in terms of logistic. You can, no. Well, it's just, I mean, as we've heard over the last hour, just an amazing career and so much more to look forward to. I know you've shot Mark Webb movie, Day Drinker. I think it's done.

1:04:27We're reuniting you with Johnny Depp all these years after Blow and Pirates. My fourth movie with him. Shooting this Nancy Meyers movie, which a lot of people are excited about.

1:04:37Penélope Cruz:This is like a dream come true. I mean, working with Nancy Meyers, and I play two characters because I play an actress who plays another character. And I am enjoying it so much and learning so much. I think she's doing a really, really beautiful thing. That's great. Well, I guess just as a final question, is there anything that you haven't yet done in terms of a kind of part or a genre or an achievement, anything that you're particularly itching to do or accomplish or whatever? Or just what's the outlook for the future? right now yeah so at the end of the year I'm going to start shooting the first movie from my production company moon lion in Spanish in Spain we shoot in Madrid and we're going to send that note in the next few days but in terms of all the details of who's directing and then the whole thing but is it for something that we've been working on for the last couple of years and I'm very, very excited about.

1:05:47Penélope Cruz:And then my documentary, I'm not ready to share what it is about because it's like the most, I feel so protective about it, but it's what I have put most of my time. First, my children, then has been the documentary. And I am going to be ready in spring I have 50 hours of material I've shot in so many places around the world and now I've been editing for 8 months before I started Nancy's film because that is something that I can do in Madrid and I still have many months to edit and it's like maybe the most important thing for me to do in I don't want to say in my career because it's not something I'm doing as an actress, but I would love to direct more.

1:06:40Penélope Cruz:And this is my first adventure, and I've put four years into it, and it's going to be more time now until I finish. And I cannot wait to tell you what it's about, but at the same time, I'm not ready to share it, because I feel like I'm crazy protective of this project, but I'm putting my everything into it. Can't wait. Well, thank you so much for doing this at such a busy time and always great to see you. And on behalf of everybody, thank you so much. It's always so kind. I really, really appreciate it. Thank you so much.