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'I Acted Insane': Selena Gomez Opens Up About Auditioning For Cannes 2024 Jury Prize Winner Emilia Perez
Jacques Audiard’s crime musical Emilia Pérez's featured Selena Gomez alongside Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón and Adriana Paz. Gomez has opened up about auditioning for the role.
Jacques Audiard presented Emilia Perez at the Cannes Film Festival, a film described as a "bracingly original crime musical." The film stars Zoe Saldaña as a frustrated lawyer, Selena Gomez as a drug lord's wife, Édgar Ramírez as a dangerous love interest, and Karla Sofía Gascón as a cartel kingpin. The cast was in tears during the rousing standing ovation.
The Hollywood Reporter interviewed Saldaña, Gomez, and Gascón to discuss the film's reception, where Gomez talked about her audition. Emilia Perez will reach a global audience after being acquired by Netflix.
Selena Gomez opened up about auditioning for Emilia Perez
Selena Gomez was in Cannes for the film‘s premiere, press, and photo calls earlier in the week, but was not in attendance at Saturday’s gala. She portrays the wife of Gascón’s character in the film.
Gomez got the news of the win through a phone call from co-star Saldaña. “When @zoesaldana told me we all won best actress!!” the singer captioned an Instagram Story reaction video, in which she’s seen sitting outdoors, and in which her excitement is palpable.
During her interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Gomez was asked about her meeting with Jacques Audiard on Zoom and how a year went by before she heard anything, and if she thought that Audiard had forgotten about her.
Gomez replied, "Yes, we had an audition and [then I didn’t hear anything]. I acted insane in the audition. He wanted me to perform one of the numbers and I just surrendered and completely gave myself."
She continued, "I was, like, well, at least I could walk away and say that I did my best. When he asked me to be a part of it, I was so nervous but also so excited."
Since Audiard was only familiar with her work in Spring Breakers, she was asked further in the interview about her choices and what type of material she was drawn to.
"I have spent a lot of my life trying to break the mold and the perception of who I am. However, I don’t mind it because I don’t pay attention to it," Gomez said.
The singer added, "Jacques, who really didn’t know anything about me, took a chance and believed in me simply based on what I was able to do, and that was really special for me. I think this is a really big deal, and I choose projects according to the filmmaker, to the content, to the meaning, all of it."
A brief about Emilia Perez
Emilia Pérez is a 2024 musical crime comedy film written and directed by Jacques Audiard. The film stars Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez and Édgar Ramírez.
The original songs for the film were contributed by Camille, while its original score was provided by Clément Ducol. The choreographic sections of the film are signed by Damien Jalet.
The film follows a woman who is tasked with assisting an escaped Mexican cartel leader undergo sex reassignment surgery to both evade the authorities and affirm her gender.
The film is produced by Pascal Caucheteux through his company Why Not Productions, and also by Audiard and Valérie Schermann through their company Page 114, in coproduction with France 2 Cinéma and Mexico's Pimienta Films.
In February 2024, Anthony Vaccarello's Saint Laurent Productions, a division of the fashion house Yves Saint Laurent, boarded the film as a co-producer. Vaccarello also created the costumes for the film.
Emilia Pérez was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on May 18, 2024. The film received a standing ovation with reports that it lasted either nine minutes or 11 minutes.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 88% based on 25 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 70 out of 100, based on 17 critic reviews indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
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