Selena Gomez is taking her film career to a new level with her first movie in Spanish, the language of her paternal family. The Mexican-American superstar revealed details of the project on this week's episode of the podcast "SmartLess."
The film, titled "Emilia Pérez," is a crime musical comedy slated to be released in 2025. This project gives another dimension to Gomez's multifaceted career under the direction of the acclaimed director Jacques Audiard.
The "Emilia Pérez" dynamic trio
In an intriguing casting, Gomez will share the screen with Zoe Saldaña, another Hollywood A-lister, and Latina transgender actress Karla Sofía Gascón. Their male counterpart will be Venezuelan Édgar Ramírez.
Gascón's role as a formidable Mexican cartel leader on the lam incorporates shades of her personal journey, aligning with the film's innovative storytelling approach. The official film synopsis explains the plot: "Overqualified and overexploited, Rita uses her talents as a lawyer to serve a large firm more inclined to save criminal scum than to serve justice. However, an unexpected way out opens up for her: helping a cartel leader, nicknamed Manitas, to retire from business and disappear forever. Manitas has a plan that he has been secretly refining for years : to finally become the woman he always dreamed of being."
The main character is inspired by a chapter of French author Boris Razon's novel "Écoute" ("Listen") and concerns a drug kingpin who disappears after changing his identity by undergoing a male-to-female surgical transition.
"It was exhausting but it was incredible," said Gómez to Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes, the hosts of "Smartless". The movie was filmed during the Summer in Paris. And judging by the photos posted on Instagram by Gómez and the rest of the cast and crew, they had a blast.
This is not the first time Selena Gomez explores her Latino heritage. In 2021 she recorded and released "Revelation", her first Spanish language album, which features songs with Myke Towers, Rauw Alejandro, and Dj Snake, all under the production of Tainy. The production earned Gomez her a Grammy nomination.
That same year, she also released "999" a duet with Colombian singer-songwriter Camilo.
Selena Gomez on Music, "Murders," and acting
During the interview, available now to Wondery subscribers and with a publication date for the general public for next Monday, Gomez also confirmed that her hit series "Only Murders in the Building" could "go on forever." While she didn't mention her HBO show "Selena and the Chef," she implied that there are no cancelations for shows she's involved in her future.
Gomez also revealed that her next album will probably be her last. "I feel I only have one more in me," she admitted. Her plans are to focus on her acting career, her cosmetic company "Rare Beauty", and her philanthropy in the near future.
Thanks to her work in "Only Murders in the Building," Selena Gomez was one of the four Latino actors nominated for the 2024 Golden Globes, which will take place next Sunday January 7th. The ceremony will be broadcast on ABC. She has walked the Red Carpet every year with her co-stars Martin Short and Steve Martin. During the podcast, she said she is home in L.A. so there is a big chance she will do the same this year.
Gomez is currently recording music and producing the docuseries "Won't Be Silent." The episodes follow the songs of female artists who have impacted the world, using their voices to change the course of history through their art and activism.
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