In Conversation: Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldaña Talk Risk-Taking, Motherhood, and Their Ambitious New Film, ‘Emilia Pérez’

Vogue

Director: Roxy Rezvany Director Of Photography: Rui Jiang Ong Editor: Michael Suyeda Producer: Rashida Josiah Creative Production Coordinator: Motunrayo Soyannwo Associate Producer: Lea Donenberg Camera Operator: Rebecca Richards Gaffer: Laurent Arnaud Audio: Liam Pellegrini Props Stylist: Darcy Norgan Runner: Azeem Rajulawalla Production Coordinator: Ava Kashar Production Manager: Natasha Soto-Albors Line Producer: Romeeka Powell Senior Director, Production Management: Jessica Schier Assistant Editor: Andy Morell Post Production Coordinators: Holly Frew, Scout Alter Supervising Editor: Erica DeLeo Post Production Supervisor: Alexa Deutsch Associate Director, Post Production: Nicholas Ascanio Associate Talent Manager: Phoebe Dishner Associate Director, Video Talent: Meredith Judkins Director, Content Production: Rahel Gebreyes Senior Director, Digital Video: Romy van den Broeke Senior Director, Programming: Linda Gittleson VP, Video Programming: Thespena Guatieri Filmed on Location: The Corinthia Hotel London Special Thanks: Blooming Haus

Transcript

00:00It was like a little sponge. I was like, I love all of this.

00:03Cut to, you were like a little sponge and as soon as he said,

00:05Action, Selena!

00:09Oh gosh.

00:14Hi Vogue, I'm Selena Gomez.

00:16I'm Zoe Saldana.

00:18And we are...

00:19In Conversation.

00:20Okay, I will go first.

00:22If you could swap wardrobes with an iconic movie character, who would it be?

00:28It would be Catherine Deneuve's character in Belle de Joule.

00:30Oh wow.

00:31Because it was all my style.

00:33I love that.

00:34It was really nice. I don't know why I just like Belle de Joule.

00:36Yeah.

00:36Oh, I, you know, mine's very random.

00:39Okay.

00:39Emma Stone in Poor Things.

00:41Oh my god.

00:43No idea where I'd wear any of those clothes, but they were so weird and fantastically...

00:49Colorful.

00:50Yes.

00:50Beautiful. Okay, yeah, I second that.

00:53That one was fun.

00:54Okay.

00:54Your turn.

00:55Oh, it's just one.

00:56Name one of your favorite movies that you think people would be surprised by.

00:59I would say One True Thing.

01:01It's with Renee Zellweger and Meryl Streep.

01:03I don't think a lot of people have seen it, so that's why I think they'd be surprised,

01:07but it's beautiful.

01:08I'm gonna rewatch it.

01:08For me, it's this, it's this, one of, one of Tony Scott's first films, and it's called The Hunger.

01:15And it's with David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve.

01:18It's a vampire movie.

01:19Oh, I love that though.

01:20I, I do love those kind of movies.

01:23Okay, next.

01:25What is your favorite part of the movie making process?

01:28It's just working with the crew.

01:30Yeah.

01:30I love just being in production and meeting every department and seeing

01:37just how the grips, you know, do their job.

01:39I just really love that experience.

01:41I feel like that's, that's what I take for me.

01:43And then when the film is done and delivered, that's what, you know, you give to your audience.

01:47Yeah, I mean, I actually agree with that because without,

01:51without having a connection to the wardrobe, to the crew, it almost feels a little alienated.

01:57And I love feeling like I'm part of a unit.

02:00And I meet the loveliest people that way.

02:03And you're all in this together.

02:05Absolutely.

02:06It feels great.

02:07And you learn a lot, right?

02:09What is the most you've ever laughed on set?

02:12Oh, goodness gracious.

02:14Well, I am very fortunate enough to work with Steve Martin and Martin Short.

02:19Oh, my God, enough said.

02:20And I think that's all I need to say, because this last season,

02:25there was a scene where Molly Shannon plays drunk, and she tells all the actors off.

02:31And I, there was never a shot of me going like this for a second,

02:36because I could not contain my laughter.

02:38So I'd say that.

02:40For me, I think it was on the set of Avatar,

02:43Jin working sort of like the cameras and they call it like a gimbal, like a, you know,

02:47this camera that he built for it every time like it wasn't working.

02:51And the system would crash because we were working with so much technology.

02:54Sometimes he would lose it a little bit.

02:56And then we all learned to lose it ourselves.

02:58And it was just like a funny thing.

02:59I would always try to laugh, always thinking,

03:01OK, how long is this crash going to be with the system?

03:04And if that's the case, like, what are we going to do?

03:06Sometimes we would play cards, like just waiting for the system to rebuild itself.

03:10I remember just laughing a lot.

03:12I thought this was my first time dealing with technology and understanding that process.

03:17And just finding it extremely hilarious.

03:20It's geeky.

03:21No, that's so I would I would not know what to do.

03:24I commend you for that.

03:26OK. Oh, wait, was it your turn?

03:28It's your turn.

03:29OK, thank you.

03:30What is the biggest risk you've ever taken?

03:32No, it's my turn.

03:33Oh, just kidding.

03:34No, it's your turn.

03:37So what are we doing?

03:39What is the biggest risk you've ever taken in a performance?

03:43I would say lately it was it was playing Rita and Emilia Perez.

03:48Yes.

03:48The opportunity to reconnect with ballet, which was something that I,

03:51you know, it's something I haven't danced in 20 years.

03:54So there was there's a lot of self-doubt.

03:57Once you do something so well and then all of a sudden you stop doing it,

04:02it's you only recognize your mortality when you reconnect with that

04:07and your body isn't really kind of responding.

04:11So it always felt like I was taking a risk in terms of like either.

04:14Am I getting hurt?

04:16Is this working?

04:17Is this all worth it?

04:18OK, I would definitely say the same.

04:20I'd never really played a mother before, which is, you know, one of my biggest desires.

04:26Every little nuance to Jesse and Emilia was was very new for me.

04:31High five.

04:32Come on, you brought it.

04:33Come on.

04:34What is your tip for managing nerves?

04:37A good tip is reminding yourself to breathe,

04:42because when we forget to breathe, oxygen stops going to the brain and that causes panic.

04:46The other tip for work is prepare.

04:51When you are prepared, nothing can get in your way.

04:55Then you can play with it.

04:56Yeah, I definitely agree with that.

04:59And I would also you actually have helped me because I'm a little socially awkward sometimes.

05:05So in moments I'll be shaking and you'll just you'll just say, like, breathe.

05:10Then I will remember.

05:11And it's true.

05:12I think, you know, there's nerves in everything that we do or we're excited.

05:16We're eager.

05:17We're anxious.

05:19It's all of these emotions.

05:21And I think I just try my hardest to keep my eye on the prize and just be kind,

05:26be professional and do the best I can.

05:28Hell yeah.

05:30That's it.

05:30Ask me anything.

05:31What is something you've always wanted to ask me?

05:33What is the best thing about being a mom?

05:36The best thing about being a mom is being raised by your children while raising them.

05:46Oh, I love that.

05:47Yeah, they teach you so much.

05:49I'm sure my sister's 11 and she does that for me.

05:53But I can't imagine, you know, one day being in that role.

05:57Imagine it.

05:58It's beautiful.

05:58Yeah.

05:59What do you love most about what you do?

06:04I love the creativity and the freedom to play.

06:07But I have also deeply appreciated the responsibility I've been given to my audience.

06:14And I cherish that position, even though it can feel intimidating.

06:18But I love making people feel good or feel anything, whether it's a movie, a song or

06:24something.

06:24I cherish that very much.

06:27You can tell.

06:28What did the film teach you about being a woman in today's world?

06:33It's a film that adds to the conversation of what it is to be a woman.

06:38And what it is to be a woman means it's complex.

06:43I feel that we're getting to share that.

06:47I reconnected with that, especially with working with women like you and working with women

06:53like Adriana and working with women like Carla Sofia Gascon.

06:57Oh, man, it's hard to top that one.

07:00What I learned genuinely is that the boundaries of creating something as audacious as a film

07:09like this, it felt like we were doing the right kind of pushing.

07:14And I learned a lot through this whole process from the language to how every one of the

07:22female leads has their own history.

07:25And it shows women in all forms.

07:29And it just makes me really honored to know that hopefully this will start conversations

07:36and move people and inspire filmmakers and other people to create roles, you know, more

07:43roles and opportunities for women.

07:45Love that.

07:46And I just, again, got to work with all of you guys.

07:49And that was like a little sponge.

07:51I was like, I love all of this.

07:53Cut two.

07:53You were like a little sponge.

07:54And as soon as they said, action, Selena.

07:59Oh, gosh.

08:00After the experience of working in Amelia Perez, is there a role or are there some roles

08:05that you feel like you want to explore?

08:07I like to find roles that conventionally are probably for me, but I like to challenge the

08:15director or the casting director and just, you know, get in rooms that are a bit tougher

08:21because I appreciate the grind.

08:24You know, there's a lot of movies that are safe to do.

08:26I am more willing to take risks.

08:29Yeah, I echo that.

08:32That's pretty much it.

08:33It's more like there's not a specific role.

08:36I surprised myself.

08:38Yeah.

08:38Oh, I love that.

08:39I needed to surprise myself, but I didn't think that I was going to be able to pull

08:44this off.

08:44And then when they recognized us as an ensemble, it was a validation that I think I needed

08:52to keep going, to stay curious.

08:55So maybe it's what wouldn't I do next?

08:58Yeah, I love that.

09:00Thank you guys so much for watching.

09:02We've been In Conversation for Vogue.

09:04Selena and myself.

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