Quiet on the set! Eva Longoria has taken the director's chair in "Out of the Blue."
Under mentorship from Oscar-winning director Ron Howard, the short film is Longoria's directorial debut in collaboration with Canon's Project Imaginat10n.
"It was so much fun to partner with Ron and Canon," she told the Daily News. "Project Imaginat10n is such an amazing undertaking. When they approached me with the concept of using still images to create a narrative for a short film, I was like 'Oh my God, what a challenge!’"
But the 38-year-old star was up to the test. Not only did she call the shots behind the scenes, but she also starred as a determined woman fighting her way through a series of unique physical challenges to stop a madman.
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"Ron told me, 'Wow you have a very ambitious film. You have stunts, things blowing up, wires, and a stunt team,'" she recalled. "It was a lot, but I was not at all intimidated by the amount of work. It wasn't until after we finished that I was like 'Wow, that was a lot.'"
Longoria was one of five innovative celebrity directors, including award-winning actor Jamie Foxx, fashion designer Georgina Chapman, founder of LCD Soundsystem James Murphy and co-founder of Twitter Biz Stone, to take part.
The project is the brainchild of Howard, who felt "We're all creative" and launched a photo contest inviting consumers from all over the country to interpret 10 storytelling themes through photography. The contest attracted thousands of submissions that were whittled down to 91 winners. The directors then chose nine photos each to inspire their films, with a tenth photo selected by Howard himself in order to create a common thread across all the films.
The films premiered at the Project Imaginat10n Film Festival at Lincoln Center in New York City on Oct. 24.
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"I love projects that involve consumers, so to be at the premiere with the people who took the photos that I used to inspire my short film that was showing that night, it was surreal," Longoria said.
While this is the first time the former "Desperate Housewives" star wore the director's cap, it isn't her first go-around with behind-the-scenes work.
Longoria is an executive producer for Lifetime's "Devious Maids," which premiered in June. But even before the first episode debuted, the show starring an all-Latina cast received backlash from some who called it stereotypical. However, Longoria said that feedback was actually a good thing.
"It ended up being the best press we could ever have," she said. "You can't judge a book by its cover. We have four amazing Latina actresses and characters that are not defined by what they do but by who they are."
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Still, some Latinos reportedly rallied against the series, arguing it set the Hispanic population back in prime-time television standing.
"I was in an op-ed battle with some people, and it ended up turning out to be amazing," Longoria said. "I got apology after apology because people watched the show and they would say, 'Oh my God, you're right. These women are the moral compass of the show.'"
By the first season's completion, Longoria said, "We were almost double in the ratings."
Now, with the return of the show in 2014, Longoria will bring her newly trained director’s eyes to the set and urges other women to take their seat behind the camera.
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"I'm going to be directing the season premiere in January, and I'm so proud of this groundbreaking show that is the first all-Latina cast in the history of television," she added. "If (women) don't get behind the camera as producers and directors, our stories will never truly be told."
Another story that hasn't truly been told is what goes on in Longoria's personal life when she isn't working. While she wears several different hats in her career, every day she finds time to just be Eva.
"I exercise every day, and for me that's Eva time," she said. "I run, do yoga, meditate, and that's how I always start my day. It's the way I center and energize myself to be ready to face the world in everything that I have to do."
But the self-described "workaholic" is still a beautiful, strong woman who, like anyone else, deserves to find love. While Longoria openly talks about the projects she's passionate about, the multitalented brunette beauty, who is reportedly dating "a wealthy, successful businessman from Mexico," remained tight-lipped about where her heart is romantically.
When asked about her current relationship status, she simply replied, "I'm happy. I'm very happy."
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