Exclusive 'Savages' Featurette: "On The Set: Cartel Take-Down"

In July, Oliver Stone is going back to his lurid daylight noir style (think U-Turn) with his adaptation of Don Winslow's novel Savages. The film features Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Johnson as a couple of pot growers whose business ends up in the crosshairs of a more powerful Mexican drug lord (Salma Hayek). Her henchman (Benicio Del Toro) kidnaps the guys' shared girlfriend (Blake Lively), which leads to a pretty intense confrontation.

After the break, we've got an exclusive behind the scenes video showing the setup and filming of one of the movie's action setpieces. We've also dropped in some of the other videos from the film that have hit in the past couple days.

These interrogation clips introduce the major characters in an unusual way:

Finally, here's a red-band clip showing Salma Hayek, as the drug lord of the film, dressing down her right-hand man, played by Benicio Del Toro. [Yahoo]

Savages opens on July 6.

Laguna Beach entrepreneurs Ben (Johnson), a peaceful and charitable Buddhist, and his closest friend Chon (Kitsch), a former Navy SEAL and ex-mercenary, run a lucrative, homegrown industry—raising some of the best marijuana ever developed.  They also share a one-of-a-kind love with the extraordinary beauty Ophelia (Lively).  Life is idyllic in their Southern California town...until the Mexican Baja Cartel decides to move in and demands that the trio partners with them.

When the merciless head of the BC, Elena (Hayek), and her brutal enforcer, Lado (Del Toro), underestimate the unbreakable bond among these three friends, Ben and Chon—with the reluctant, slippery assistance of a dirty DEA agent (Travolta)—wage a seemingly unwinnable war against the cartel.  And so begins a series of increasingly vicious ploys and maneuvers in a high stakes, savage battle of wills.