I may have to borrow CB’s kid for a day trip just so I can go see Puss In Boots. What’s the rule with adults wanting to see animated kids’ films? I usually just roll my eyes whenever some adult tells me that so-and-so kids’ movie was awesome, but now I can feel you rolling your eyes at me when I talk about how much I want to see Puss In Boots. It looks SO GOOD. I’m a cat person, if that explains anything. Animated kitties… animated kitties with little swords and hats? I’m there.

Anyway, these are photos of Salma Hayek and Antonio Banderas at the LA premiere for Puss in Boots. Salma wore Bottega Veneta, and I’m seriously disappointed. If you’re Salma Hayek, and you look like THAT and you’ve got that body, why are wearing what amounts to a shapeless brown sack (with a belt)? It’s not cute. Add to that the fact that Salma has her choice of so many designers (that her husband owns), and it’s weird that she chose this completely boring, unflattering dress. Oh, and what are the thoughts on her Farrah hair? Also weird, right?

Meanwhile, Antonio wore this bad ensemble, and I’m really tired of the Caesar haircut. GROW IT OUT, Antonio. What’s up with Antonio and Salma’s body language? Antonio’s wife Melanie Griffith was there, but Salma’s husband was nowhere to be seen… hmmm….

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Antonio Banderas is the sexy cover boy for this months AARP magazine. I can imagine retired ladies sitting in their condos in Boca, fanning themselves at both Antonio’s inviting stance on the cover, and the sweet honest things he says about his wife in the interview. Antonio, 51, has been married to actress Melanie Griffith, 54, for 15 years and they have a daughter, Stella, who is almost 15. Last year Antonio and Melanie talked openly to Hello! Magazine about their issues as a family when Melanie needed to go to rehab for a painkiller addiction. Antonio made it clear that they had problems, but that they were ultimately solid and remained tight as a family and as a couple. He said “There are days that I’ve fallen in love with her many times over, because of things that she’s done.”

In this latest interview, it’s more of the same from Antonio. He’s so honest about what they’ve gone through that it’s refreshing. He also talks about how they fell in love with each other when they were both with other partners, and how he’s tempted to cheat too. I was so impressed with this interview.

Q: You met when you costarred in the 1995 comedy Two Much. How did you go from a professional to a personal, romantic relationship?

A: I think we were both unhappy with our different relationships at the time. I wouldn’t put anything on the shoulders of the other persons. Things just don’t work sometimes, and that’s the way it goes. But we recognized that we were unhappy. And I saw this sweet, vulnerable soul, funny, also very smart and generous. I saw her with her kids, and she was so beautiful as a mom. It happens sometimes that you connect with your costar. It’s normal. But at the end of the movie, it’s just “delete” — you go home and it’s good-bye. But it didn’t happen. We kept calling each other on the phone all day long. And then one day we had to actually confront it. And we did. It was not easy.

Q: That’s a long time for a Hollywood marriage. What’s your secret?

A: The secret is that we had failures before. And love at the beginning is a rush. It’s big, full of energy, beautiful. But it doesn’t last like that. Melanie and I talked about that a lot. Are we going to make the mistake of looking back for that thing all the time? Or are we going to look ahead and create universes that are different? We made the second choice. That thing at the beginning disappeared, but it became something better. We discovered the value and warmth of family, and what is home — that we can be stronger together. That thing that you thought was gone comes back again, and you fall in love again. Even in crisis, we have been patient enough to detect that at the end of the tunnel was a light. We have had as many problems as anybody. We’ve never hidden it. We’ve been open about addictions, in the case of Melanie. She has overcome her problems beautifully. I didn’t know she was so strong. It makes me love her even more, because she has been an unbelievable lion fighting, and she got it. The last [relapse] was three years ago, and it just welded us.

Q: When she went back into treatment? How did that weld you?

A: The whole family participated. We did all the therapies together — the kids, everybody. It was a very unique experience, not only for Melanie. It was very rewarding at the end.

Q: Many people want to keep these kinds of problems from their kids.

A: The pretending is the worst, because kids are so smart. They can see through all of those things, and if you don’t talk openly about problems, it creates a very dark place. They carry that through the rest of their lives, to their marriages, to their kids.

Q: Who decided to be open with them? You or Melanie?

A: Melanie. She was the one.

Q: Can we talk about fidelity and recent instances in the news of men behaving badly? Anthony Weiner, Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Edwards, Tiger Woods — what is going on?

A: It has always happened, and it’s not just in Hollywood or in Washington. Is it in our genes? Are we monogamous or not? Have we been trying to put men on a path that is not natural? I think men are drawn to the hunting — the psychological reaffirming of themselves in their manhood.

Q: So how do you deal with temptation when you’re in a marriage?

A: It’s a very, very personal issue how you deal with that. [You have to ask yourself ] if you are willing to damage what you have — your kids, your family, your friends. How do you deal in your sexual life with your wife? How rich can you make it in order to not have to look for something outside your marriage? What other things can you do, in your home? What are the things that you may tell her, or are you going to be always lying? There may be people who don’t even allow themselves to watch a movie and say to their wife, “Ah, that actress is sexy,” because their wife may get very upset. I think that you should be able to be honest with your wife: “I should be able to tell you that, yeah, sometimes I walk into a party and I feel there are women there that are very beautiful. And you shouldn’t be upset. In the same way, you may see a guy who’s very attractive.” The question is, how much will you stretch that? It’s all about balance in life. We all need water, obviously, but I’m not going to drink the pool. [Laughs.] I think it’s very important that you know exactly where the limits are.

[From AARP.org]

That was so insightful and eloquent. I really enjoyed reading that and imagining Antonio saying it in his sexy voice! It’s even more impressive when you realize that he only started to learn English in 1992. He’s had plenty of practice, and he’s learned to express himself so beautifully. I get the impression that he hasn’t always been faithful to Melanie, and we’ve heard rumors to that effect, but that whatever happened he’s faithful now and he’s really learned his lesson.

On another issue, Melanie’s addiction to painkillers, that seems to be so common lately. I’ve had at least two friends who have been addicted to them after getting prescriptions for legitimate pain issues. My friends didn’t realize that they were dependent on the medication and that it was causing so many other issues with their bodies until well after they were addicted.

Photo of Antonio alone is from a photocall yesterday in Rome. Other photos are from July and August of this year. Credit: WENN.com

Here’s Melanie Griffith, 53, out in Beverly Hills yesterday in a pair of skin tight light wash jeans and a layered white tank top. She paired it with some black sandals and a white leather purse, which I love. Melanie has gotten some well-deserved flack for her plastic surgery, which was particularly obvious in 2007, but she looks good here notwithstanding the 90s outfit. Maybe it’s because these photos highlight how fit she is without making her look scary skinny.

Melanie went to rehab in August, 2009 for a prescription pill addiction. Her husband of fifteen years, Antonio Banderas, was very sweet when he was asked about it at the time. He denied rumors of a split and spoke very highly of her “She’s doing fantastic and very little of what is being published is true. I am not going away. I am staying with my family and my wife who I love very much.”

In an interview and family photospread with Hello! Magazine published in April, 2010, Antonio expanded on that and said so many nice things about Melanie and their daughter Stella, 14. “Each day we become even more united. I still love my wife, and the concept of family is very important to us. It gives us strength.”

So it’s nice to see that Melanie and Antonio are still going strong, and that she’s looking sober and healthy. The two posed on the red carpet at a charity event late last month. Antonio told the press that his wife is doing fine post rehab. “We had problems and she had problems which she had to put together. She did and she’s working again, and I am so happy.” IMDB has Melanie in three movies coming out, two this year and one in 2012. She’s filming Yellow, with Hank Azaria and Sienna Miller, now.

Photo credit: WENN and Fame

These are some new photos of Antonio Banderas and Salma “Carmen Miranda Ain’t Got Nothing On Me” Hayek doing a photo call thing at the Cannes Film Festival today. Both Antonio and Salma are doing voice work for the new Shrek spinoff animated film, Puss in Boots. Can I just say? I’m THRILLED that Puss got a spinoff. He’s hilarious and wonderful, and Antonio’s voice work for the character is lovely. Anyway, Salma and Antonio sat down from some wonderful interviews to promote the film – which is out in November. Here’s a good one:

Getting older in Hollywood and being Hispanic, they are no longer the limitations they once were, say Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek. After all, they wonder, when have Hispanic actors ever landed such big feline roles as the leads in the animated adventure “Puss in Boots”?

“When I started out, Hispanic roles were very limited,” Hayek said Wednesday at the Cannes Film Festival, where she and Banderas joined DreamWorks Animation overseers to show off footage of “Puss in Boots,” a “Shrek” spinoff coming this November. “Roles were very limited. There were one or two kinds of characters you used to do. Now we get to play the cats! It’s OK to be a Hispanic, even if you are a cat.”

“Cats were British, normally,” Banderas added at a question-and-answer session alongside Hayek after the footage screened.

“I feel very proud, actually,” Banderas said of his role in expanding the types of parts open to Hispanic performers. “I never pretended when I first went to Hollywood to be a guy from Oklahoma. I am what I am. And fortunately, the Spanish community in the United States has grown in the last 22 years that I have been there. There has been an explosion in Hollywood, which is a reflection of the society in which we live.”

After the footage showed, Banderas and Hayek headed to a pier along the Mediterranean beach, where they posed for photos on a giant pair of boots bearing the movie’s title. Banderas reprises his voice role from the last three “Shrek” films, providing the voice of Puss in Boots, the tiny cat with the big heart, big ideas and bigger ego.

A prequel chronicling Puss’ adventures before meeting ogre Shrek, the movie has the cat as an outlaw, looking to pull off a big score. But his scheme is interrupted by another calculating cat, Kitty Softpaws (voiced by Hayek), who is in league with Puss’ pal-turned-foe Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis), as they try to swipe the magic beans of the “Jack and the Beanstalk” fairy tale from beastly bandits Jack and Jill (Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris).

Age is another Hollywood barrier Banderas and Hayek feel they have skirted.

Banderas proudly called out his age, 50, while Hayek, 44, said this is the best time in her career, with four movies in the works this year and the work more enjoyable than ever.

“What makes you feel old is when you are not excited about life. You are not excited anymore about what you do, and you cannot do it as well,” Hayek said. “I do feel my body beginning to — like, I need glasses now when I read my scripts. I wear them, but I’m happy to wear them and happy that I still get to read my scripts. So it’s not been so bad. They scared me. They told me, ‘Forget it. At 30, it’s over for you.’ And it has not been the case. It feels great to age in Hollywood.”

[From The Washington Post]

So cute. Wait, have cats traditionally been British? Is that a thing I was unaware of? When I’m voicing my mother’s cats’ personalities (you know how you do, don’t judge me), they always talk like snobbish little kids. Especially Charlie, or “Gaga Kitty” as I now call him. “I was born this way, Mother,” I tell my mom as I hold up Gaga Kitty, who is a chunkster.

But seriously, a Puss in Boots origin story? I’m so there.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Yesterday some quotes came out from Melanie Griffith on how she’s dealing with her longterm addiction. Melanie was in rehab earlier this year to cope with what her husband, Antonio Banderas, explains as a dependence on painkillers following knee surgery. Melanie is a little more forthcoming about what she went through, and likens her addiction as a monster that she has to work to starve. These quotes are from Hello! Magazine (and Hola!, the Spanish-language sister publication) and are part of an epic interview with both Melanie and Antonio that we covered earlier. Since we have access to the print version, I’ll include some more quotes from Melanie that are interesting, particularly her take on her career and addiction. As I mentioned in our story about this on Monday, Melanie and Antonio sound very committed to their relations and their family without glossing over the difficulties they’ve faced. I was kind of impressed by the candid and loving things they said about each other, but many of you found it cloying and speculated that a divorce wasn’t too far behind. You never know.

Melanie, does Hollywood treat older actresses as ruthlessly as it seems to?
“It depends how you see yourself. This industry is terrible for women of a certain age, but if you’re positive and you think you’re good, you can get roles for older women, and you’ll work. At least that’s what I think.”

And in a world where everyone’s looking for young actresses, do you manage not to worry about your age?
“I try. They don’t ask me to take my clothes off in movies anymore! It’s so sad! [laughs]”

As the daughter of Tippi [Hendren] and actor Peter Griffith, you had every possibility of being a spoilt Hollywood kid. Were you?
“It was a different time. These days the paparazzi crucify the girls, and they don’t have any kind of protection. They make a lot of mistakes and they do it in public. When I was that age, things were different. I did a lot of crazy things, but I wasn’t in the papers every day. These days there’s no privacy.”

Quite a few years ago, a photo of you going into a rehab centre set tongues waggin, and a few months ago you went back. How are you now?
“I’m great. When I was 30, I went to a treatment centre for six weeks and that kept me going for a long time. In 2000, I went in for eight days to help me quit pills.”

It had something to do with a neck injury…
“Yes, I’d had a car accident and it was really painful. That was a good excuse for me, because I’m an alcoholic and an addict. All my life I’ve fought against it, and I’ve done a good job.

“This last time, when I went into treatment for painkillers I was taking for my knee, I got the help I needed and I had all Antonio’s and my daughter’s support, the support of Alexander and Jesse. Now I feel free. I don’t drink, I don’t take pills. Nothing. And it’s fantasic. It’s like getting out of prison.”

With all these obstacles you’ve got past, are you a more positive person?
“Yes, and I’m stronger, because addiction’s a tough enemy to defeat.”

Almost like fighting against yourself.
“No, not against yourself. In a way I think of it as a monster. If I feed it, it will always want more and more, so now I’m letting it starve to death in a corner. But it’s always there. That’s why it’s important to keep going to meetings with friends of mine who have the same problems, the same sickness.

“Alcoholism and addiction are an illness and that’s a fact. But I think that the hardest part is the way that people look at you because you have this disease. So if there’s something that I can do, it’s help other people who have it, too.”

[From Hello Magazine, print edition, April 26, 2010]

I admire how open Melanie is about her addiction, and how she says she hopes to take the stigma away from it. As for her take on the paparazzi, I don’t think they’re the monsters she’s making them out to be. When you look at what happened to Britney Spears the photographers are partially culpable, but we’ll never know if she would have had the same problems out of the spotlight. Plus people know where to go to avoid the paparazzi and if they’re hitting the Hollywood hotspots they have only themselves to blame when they’re photographed outside drunk off their asses. I would have worse things to say about how the paparazzi pursue families and children, not 20-something young women who should be responsible for their own (drunken) behavior.

Melanie and Antonio were at the premiere of Shrek Ever After last night and they looked just as united and happy as ever – and Antonio cut off his goat beard! The hot but tired-looking Antonio has returned. I’m not seeing a split in their immediate future, but you never know. These things have a way of happening all too frequently.

Photo credit: WENN.com. Melanie is also shown at Coachella on 4/17 and 4/18.

This week’s Hello! Magazine has an exclusive and exhaustive interview with Spanish heartthrob Antonio Banderas. 49. The guy says so many positive, glowing things about his wife of 14 years, Melanie Griffith, 52, that I would think it was a put on if I didn’t known anything about him. Antonio loves Melanie to bits and he’ll tell you all about it. He also clears up rumors about Melanie’s stint in rehab last year, and presents it as if it wasn’t a crisis and she just made the independent decision to go after she necessarily used painkillers following knee surgery. I doubt it was as simple as all that, but Banderas is convincing me that he’ll stick with his wife and their family no matter what. He also says some very insightful things about the way that love changes over the years. At first I was kind of swooning about how he talks about his love for Melanie, but then I saw that he sort-of admitted that they were both with other people when they first got together. Melanie was with Don Johnson, who she married twice and has one of her three children with, and Antonio was with his first wife, Ana Leza, to whom he was married for eight years at the time.

(We get the magazine digitally through Zinio.com and it’s in flash format so we have to re-type segments if we want to quote them. I’m telling you all that because there’s no way I could do this article justice unless I spent an hour typing it all in. There’s a ton more in the print version and this is just a small segment.)

Let’s talk about Melanie. You’ve been together for 15 years, which is a lifetime in Hollywood.
“And in our case there were people who literally didn’t give us more than six months! But we love each other and above all we love our family. We’ve figured out how to get past obstacles – and some of them have been really tough ones – in our relationship; and if you get past those you only get stronger.

“If we’d given up – and I’m not the kind of person who does – we probably wouldn’t be together anymore. We keep moving forward, and each day we become even more united. I still love my wife, and the concept of family is very important to us. It gives us strength…”

Even before you had a chance to personally meet Melanie, you’d already taken note of her. Do you remember the first time you saw her?
“It was at the Oscars, but I didn’t know who she was. I was with the Spanish director Pedro Almodovar – we’d been nominated for Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and Melanie was nominated for Working Girl – and as soon as I got out of the car, I saw her.

“I didn’t recognize her because at that time I hadn’t seen the movie… I asked Pedro, ‘Who is that beautiful woman?’ She was gorgeous. She had on a cream coloured dress with pearls on it. I’ll remember that my entire life.”

Six years later you filmed Two Much Together.
“That’s when I finally met her…”

Admiring a movie star from afar and then ending up marrying her – it sounds like a plot from a Hollywood film.
“I was lucky from the very beginning, from the day we met. At the time we were having problems with our respective partners, and those relationships were pretty much over. We were both in very similar situations.”

On Melanie’s stint in rehab last year
“That has a very simple explanation. She hasn’t touched alcohol for years. As far as prescription pills go, she had a skiing accident in Aspen – I was there, we were skiing together – and she tore all the ligaments in her knee. She had an operation two hours after the accident, and had two operations over the next year. They had to give her painkillers. For someone who has been an addict, it was like falling into the same hole again, and Melanie was the one who decided to get treatment…”

It was reported that you’d given her an ultimatum [to go to rehab]
“I can’t give Melanie ultimatums. First, because I’m not like that. And second, because she wouldn’t let me.

It was also reported that you had divorce papers read. Did you ever discuss that?
“No, no. In 15 years we’ve never discussed that. We’ve had rough times like anyone has, and we’ve had fights. We’re a normal couple with ups and downs. But we’ve never gotten to that point. I’m happy with Melanie.”

So the last 15 years have been mostly positive?
“Despite our problems, we’ve had 15 years of emotional stability, and a big part of that is because of Melanie…”

Like energy, does love transform with the passing of time?
“It absolutely transforms into other things, and some things that you discover along the way are better than the first. Much better.

You once told me that it was wonderful to keep falling in love with your wife. How many times have you fallen in love with Melanie?
“I wouldn’t be able to count, but it’s a lot. There are days that I’ve fallen in love with her many times over, because of things that she’s done. For example, we have a real laugh taking photos. There have been times with our daughter that we couldn’t even take the picture because Melanie was cracking up. I’d look at her, so happy, so beautiful, so healthy, and for me it was a reaffirmation.”

[From Hello! Magazine, print edition, April 26, 2010]

A little later in the interview, like three pages later, Melanie comes in and echoes a lot of her husband’s statements about how great a love they have for each other and how much she admires him. She also talks about her kids (she has son Alexander, 24, with first husband Steven Bauer, daughter Dakota Johnson, 20, with second/third husband Don Johnson, and daughter Stella Banderas, 13, with Antonio), her mom Tippi Hedren, 80, (of classic horror movie The Birds), and rehab. When asked if she still feels the same about Antonio as when she first met him, she says “Yes, all that and much more. But I still feel the same passion I did at the start.” She adds that “Being with him has taught me a lot about passion for life.”

There have been some mild rumors of Banderas stepping out on Griffith, but if that was true they seem to have worked it out and to be going stronger than ever. It’s rare that a Hollywood couple speaks so candidly about their life and love, and I like how they admit they have problems that they’ve had to work out. It sounds like they’re happy and still in love after all this time.

Hello! has a whole photospread with Melanie, Antonio and their 13 year-old daughter, Stella. Antonio is looking hot and beardless – which begs the question: did he do the photoshoot before growing out that beard or did he finally shave it off? He did make a reference to the beard in the interview, and said “it isn’t that big a deal for me to grow an awful white beard for the role [in Zorba.]” So it sounds like the beard was grown post-interview and that it’s still there. Oh well.

This has been the winter of The Beard Club. It seems like every dude out there has been rocking a beard at some point over the past few months. Everyone from Jon Hamm, to Brad Pitt, George Clooney, James McAvoy, Robert Pattinson and Eli Roth has been doing it, and now it’s time for some of the older foxes to get in the bear game. Thus, I give you Anthony Hopkins, Sir Ian McKellen and Antonio Banderas. We’ve already seen Sir Anthony’s beard when he was belittling Paris Hilton, but I just decided to enjoy it once again. In Banderas’ case, I think his beard is for a movie. And it looks great.

I have no idea why Sir Ian is rocking his mangy beard, though, but his is kind of fabulous in its sheer deranged look. This is how I’ve always imagined Socrates would look like:

And Sir Anthony, just because:

Ian McKellen on March 2, 2010 in London. Anthony Hopkins in New York on February 9, 2010. Antonio Banderas on February 24, 2010. Credit: WENN.

Antonio Banderas is still trying to correct the record about his wife Melanie Griffith’s recent admission to rehab. When the story was initially reported two weeks ago, sources claimed that Antonio had given Melanie an ultimatum – something like “If you don’t get clean, I’m divorcing you.” Within a few days, Antonio denied that particular report, telling Extra “She’s doing fantastic and very little of what is being published is true…I am not going away. I am staying with my family and my wife who I love very much.” Now Antonio has gone on Ellen to talk more about Melanie’s years-long struggles with addiction, and how proud he is of her for facing her demons head-on. In Antonio’s words, “The whole entire family is supporting her, and I am supporting her, and at this particular time more than ever. I’m very proud of her.” Can Antonio get any better?

Melanie Griffith’s recent admission to a rehab clinic isn’t something husband Antonio Banderas is going to sweep under the rug.

“It’s not a rumor, but let me explain to you,” Banderas, 49, tells Ellen DeGeneres in an interview to air on Wednesday’s The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

“It was said actually in some magazine that I said that I gave an ultimatum to my wife. That I present the matter of divorce because she has been involved in addictions and blah, blah, blah,” says the actor. “Melanie has been addicted for many years and we always came out. We said it out loud. It was okay, we were never embarrassed of the situation but what happened she was clean and sober for six years.”

But six years of clean living was endangered after Griffith, 52, had a skiing accident in Aspen, Co., a year and a half ago. Three operations in her knee required her to use narcotics – and come face-to-face with her demons again.

“In March, she came to me and said, ‘I’m feeling a little bit weak in my determination for this … so I just thought to go to rehabilitation by myself,’ ” Banderas said. “So the whole entire family is supporting her, and I am supporting her, and at this particular time more than ever. I’m very proud of her.”

More than that, the entire family is actively participating in Griffith’s rehab program.

“We have been following some type of therapy with other families,” he said. “There are a number of invisible heroes working in AA all around the world. I just say to families, ‘Don’t get embarrassed, just confront this problem head-on. And don’t hide from that because there is a beautiful gift at the end of this tunnel, and it is the person that you love back, and that is what I am searching for.’ ”

He added, “I am very proud of my wife.”

[From People]

This is maybe one of the best examples I’ve ever seen of a family treating an addict with love and respect, and like a responsible, cognizant adult. I applaud Melanie for recognizing that she was in danger of sliding in her recovery, and I think the world of Antonio for being so supportive, in such a smart, effective way. This interview should be used for family-sessions of Narcotics Anonymous. Sigh. I love Antonio. I think I’m going to watch Desperado tonight.

Antonio Banderas, Melanie Griffith and their daughter, Stella, are shown watching an Easter parade in Malanga, Spain on 4/5/09. Credit: ENF/Fame Pictures. watches the Easter processions in Malaga, Spain, with wife Melanie Griffith and their daughter Stella del Carmen. CR: ENF/Fame Pictures

Antonio Banderas, 49, is currently doing press for his new film with Laura Linney and Liam Neeson, The Other Man. Banderas is rumored to be having trouble in his marriage of 13 years to Melanie Griffith, 52. Griffith is currently in rehab and there are stories that Banderas threatened to leave her if she didn’t get sober. A reporter for ExtraTV asked Banderas about Griffith, and his response was so heartfelt and honest that I really got the impression that he loves Melanie and would do anything for her. Bandera’s co-star, Laura Linney, was sitting right next to him when he was asked about Melanie and she looked a little scared for a moment, as if she thought the question was inappropriate. The kind of gentle response from Banderas quickly put her at ease, though:

Antonio Banderas is not leaving his sometimes drug-addicted wife Melanie Griffith, who checked into rehab last week for a ‘routine’ visit.

“She’s doing fantastic and very little of what is being published is true,” he told Extra TV. “I am not going away. I am staying with my family and my wife who I love very much.”

Fox News reported that Griffith’s trip to rehab was not planned but rather the result of Banderas’ refusal to continue putting up with her insane demands, such as insisting all her food be yellow.

[From The Huffington Post]

I saw Antonio and Melanie on Oprah in 2004 when he was promoting the second Shrek movie. I found her a little crass as she made a reference to how well endowed Antonio was. You could tell that she was really into him, and that he meant the world to her, and he didn’t seem overly embarrassed by her remark from what I remember. Banderas seems like a great father and husband and good for him for speaking out for Melanie. There’s something kind of dreamy about Banderas and although we’ve heard some rumors of a possible affair he does strike me as a devoted husband. Antonio and Melanie have a daughter together, Stella, who turns 13 later this month. Melanie also has a son, Alexander, 24, from her second husband, Steven Bauer, and another daughter, Dakota, 19, with Don Johnson.

Antonio and Melanie are shown out with their daughter, Stella, on 4/3/09. They’re also shown at events in June, July and September, 2008. Credit: WENN.com

Melanie Griffith has a long, storied history of drug and alcohol abuse dating back to her days as Mrs. Don Johnson. Lately, the wife of Antonio Banderas seems to have a new drug of choice – plastic surgery. But Star magazine says the actress has been using again, and her husband has made it clear: rehab or divorce.

Melanie Griffith has checked into a rehab facility, her rep confirms to Star.

“She is there to reinforce her commitment to stay healthy. This is part of a routine plan that was designed between her and her doctors years ago,” Melanie’s publicist, Robin Baum, tells Star of the actress’ stay at Cirque Lodge in Utah.

But an insider tells Star that this stint in rehab is a bid to save her marriage. “She’s working with the counselors on getting control of her demons.”

The 52-year-old movie star has battled addictions to drugs and booze since she was a teenager and she’s had several previous stints in rehab. But her latest fall off the wagon is the last straw for her husband of 13 years, Antonio Banderas.

“The reason Melanie checked in was her husband was demanding that she get clean and sober,” another source tells Star. “He told her that if she didn’t get the help she needed it would be the end of their marriage.”

According to a third source, “Melanie’s struggling right now, but Antonio has been checking in on her as much as he is allowed, making sure she gets back on her feet. Without Antonio in her life, I honestly believe Melanie would be dead.”

[From Star]

I guess this shows that addiction can be a lifelong struggle, no matter who you are. It’s sad, because Melanie’s addiction problems have ruined her last two marriages, and probably taken a toll on her career. It’s sad for their family, too – they have one daughter, Stella, and Melanie has two other children. Unfortunately, this is probably an all-too-familiar situation for them. It seems that Antonio is going the “tough love” route with his wife. Hopefully, that will be motivation enough for Melanie to start taking better care of herself.

Melanie Griffith is shown out with her daughters on 6/9 and 6/11 and at an event on 6/11. Credit: WENN.com/FayesVision