"Frida" — the Julie Taymor-directed film about the life of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo — is being released in the U.S. by Miramax and is due in movie theatres in October. The film, Taymor's second, casts Salma Hayek as Kahlo with Alfred Molina as Diego Rivera. Others in the cast include Geoffrey Rush (Leon Trotsky), Ashley Judd (Tina Modotti), Antonio Banderas (David Alfaro Siqueiros), Edward Norton (Nelson Rockefeller), Valeria Golino (Lupe Marin), Mia Maestro (Cristina Kahlo), Roger Rees (Guillermo Kahlo), Patricia Reyes Spindola (Matilde Kahlo), Saffron Burrows (Gracie), Margarita Sanz (Natalia Trotsky) and Diego Luna as Alejandro Gomez Arias.

Julie Taymor received the 1998 Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical for her work on The Lion King; Taymor was the first woman in Tony Award history to receive the prize. She also nabbed the Tony for Best Costume Designer for her Lion King designs. Her other Broadway credits include Juan Darien and The Green Bird. Taymor made her film directorial debut with "Titus" in 1999.

—By Andrew Gans