Valdez was contacted early on by thethen unknown in the U.S.Salma Hayek, who sent "her reel to the director and phoned his office", but was ultimately told she was then too young for the role. By 1993, Valdez had retitled the film "The Two Fridas" with San Giacomo and Ofelia Medina both playing the portraitist. Raúl Juliá was cast as Diego Rivera, but his death further delayed the movie. At the same time, Hardin approached HBO, and with "rising young development executive and producer" Lizz Speed (a former assistant to Sherry Lansing) intended to make a television movie, hopeful that Brian Gibson (director of ""What's Love Got to Do With It", the story of Tina Turner" and "The Josephine Baker Story") would direct. Casting difficulties proved insurmountable, but Speed joined Hardin in advocating the project, and after four years in development, the two took the project from HBO to Trimark and producer Jay Polstein (with assistant Darlene Caamaño). At Trimark, Salma Hayek became interested in the role, having "been fascinated by Kahlo's work from the time she was 13 or 14"although not immediately a fan: