Salma Hayek has been floundering a bit in Hollywood lately. Last summer she had a thankless role in the dreadful “Grown Ups” and prior to that she starred in a number of films that ended up being non-starters such as “Cirque Du Freak,” “Lonely Hearts” and “Ask The Dust.” So, we can’t say we’re too surprised that she’s going abroad for her next film role.
Hayek will co-star with Spanish comedian Jose Mota in “La Chispa de la vida” (“As Luck Would Have It“). Originally written in English by Randy Feldman (“Tango & Cash,” “Nowhere To Run“), and being called a “pre-make” [eyeroll], the film will find Mota playing “a once whiz-kid publicist now out of work for three years. His luck finally appears to take a turn for the better when he accidentally takes a fall and impales his head on a small metal bar in a Roman Amphitheater. Conscious but unable to be moved, surrounded by TV crews, a publicity-craving mayor and an impromptu agent, he sees a chance to monetize his fate through an exclusive primetime death’s door interview, saving his family, led by his loving wife (Hayek), from financial ruin.”
Frankly, it doesn’t too far away from David O. Russell‘s “Nailed” swapping in a metal bar instead of a nail and switching politics for media. Anyway, we’re not expecting much but we’ll wait to see how it turns out. Alex de la Iglesia (the more-or-less straight to DVD Elijah Wood flick “The Oxford Murders“) is directing.
Filming begins later this month in Madrid and Cartagena.