Remember yesterday’s fascinating exchange between Jack Black and Angelina Jolie? It was an example of movie stars in Promo Mode, talking to reporters about the most agreeably inane stuff you can imagine, just so there’s something to write about. Here’s today’s example:
Cats were a big part of Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek's lives long before they got in touch with their inner felines for "Puss in Boots," an animated spinoff to the "Shrek" franchise. Hayek has lived with cats all her life, among them a tailless kitty rescued by one of her dogs years ago.
Surely there’s more to it than that, Selma. More! More!
Though she loves cats, Hayek said she's more of a dog person. She has 10 dogs now and one cat, the feline coming to her thanks to a canine she used to have.
"I had a dog that is no longer with me that rescued that cat without a tail," Hayek said. "This dog, she's dead now, but she was on a ranch that I have, and she showed up with this cat that didn't have a tail. I don't know what did it. We took care of the cat, but it was this dog that was the friend of the cat."
I don’t think they spontaneously offered cat-related tales; they were probably asked if they drew on any experiences to voice the computer-animated creatures. This would have been a fine time to stare at the reporter with either amusement or incredulity - your choice! - and ask “do you mean, was I ever 18 inches tall, walked on my hind paws, wore period costumes and conversed with enormous green ogres? No. It’s called acting. Sometimes we just have to make it all up.”
Here’s the trailer.