Penelope Cruz concerned about crisis in Spain

MADRID (AP) — Oscar-winning actress Penelope Cruz says she is deeply concerned about the financial crisis engulfing Spain and how it might affect the future of the film industry in her native country.

The Hollywood star said she would like to encourage film-makers to choose Spain as a location and perhaps use her status to promote co-productions there.

In a statement released Sunday through her agent Katrina Bayonas, Cruz said she also wanted "to rectify" what she called a misinterpretation of her words.

Cruz said an unnamed publication had quoted her as saying, "I will produce a couple of films a year in Spain to provide work for hundreds of people."

Cruz said the published words had "an arrogant tone" that had "nothing to do" with what she had wanted to say.

Cruz is a Spanish actress. Signed by an agent at age 15, she made her acting debut at 16 on television and her feature film debut the following year in Jamón, jamón (1992), to critical acclaim. Her subsequent roles in the 1990s and 2000s included Open Your Eyes (1997), The Hi-Lo Country (1999), The Girl of Your Dreams (2000) and Woman on Top (2000). Cruz achieved recognition for her lead roles in the 2001 films Vanilla Sky and Blow.

She has since built a successful career, appearing in films from a wide range of genres, including the comedy Waking Up in Reno (2002), the thriller Gothika (2003), the Christmas movie Noel (2004), and the action adventure Sahara (2005). She has received critical acclaim for her roles in Volver (2006) and Nine (2009) receiving Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for each. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2008 for Vicky Cristina Barcelona. She was the first Spanish actress in history to receive an Academy Award and the first Spanish actress to receive a star at the Hollywood Walk of Fame.