Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, Karla Sofía Gascón discuss ‘Emilia Pérez’
On Sunday, for the first time since the Telluride Film Festival’s North American premiere of Jacques Audiard’s one-of-a-kind musical Emilia Pérez on Friday, the three principal stars of the top-tier Oscar contender — Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, and Selena Gomez — sat down for an extensive group interview about their lives, their careers, and the film for which they and costar Adriana Paz were jointly awarded the Cannes Film Festival’s best actress prize in May.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the ladies reflected on the special bond that they formed while co-creating Audiard’s film, which revolves around a frustrated lawyer and a cartel leader who recruits her to help carry out a covert operation without the cartel leader’s spouse finding out.
They also discussed candidly and, at times, emotionally, the different hurdles they each faced en route to Emilia Pérez; the most daunting aspects of playing their characters in the film; and the ways in which the project is already reshaping their careers, and has the potential to bring about even greater changes.
The comments of Gascón, 52, Saldaña, 46, and Gomez, 32, can be read in the transcript below, which has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity, and reflects a translator’s rendition of Spanish-speaker Gascón’s words.
I’ve observed many selfies, hugs, and kisses between the three of you this weekend! Can you talk about the bond that you share? I imagine it formed during the making of the movie, and perhaps was rekindled at Cannes, but even three months after that, you seem to really enjoy being with each other.
SELENA GOMEZ I’m so grateful to have women around me that lift me up in every way. And yes, I have a special connection with these women. I feel so grateful that I get to go on this journey with them. We’re also happy for each other and we cheer each other on, and I love that. That can be rare.
ZOE SALDAÑA I think that the award that we all received in Cannes was only possible because of the collaboration and camaraderie that we had. Everybody had their own respective journeys, of course. But we were rooting for each other from the beginning, and that was palpable. And for that to be seen and recognized? It’s really nice.
KARLA SOFÍA GASCÓN We are a nice family. I’m so happy to be associated with these amazing people and actresses. And we’ve gotten to see each other every five minutes here in Telluride, which is such an incredible place! We’re in the middle of these high mountains, with incredible greenery all around us, and cinemas full of people. I never suspected that I could find cinemas so crowded in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere at the far end of Colorado.