Interview with Selena Gomez, star of Monte Carlo
Selena Gomez. Photo Credit: Wallace Michael Chrouch.
Selena Gomez has been acting since she was just seven years old when she made her debut on Barney & Friends. After starring in enough TV shows and films for Disney she earned the “Disney Kid” moniker. Then, a recurring role on Hannah Montana led to a starring role on the hit series Wizards of Waverly Place. Ms. Gomez has also dabbled in the field of music, recently releasing her third album. Last year, she made the leap to the silver screen with the underappreciated Ramona and Beezus and looks to further that career with the new comedy Monte Carlo.
In Monte Carlo, Selena plays two different characters alongside actresses Katie Cassidy and Leighton Meester as they vacation in Paris and Selena’s character Grace is mistaken for British heiress Cordelia Winthrop Scott. The film, directed by Thomas Bezucha, gave Selena a chance to explore her acting range especially in scenes requiring her to perform opposite herself.
Recently, Ms. Gomez was in the Detroit area for a press tour to promote Monte Carlo and took the time to sit down with Miranda Clarke from CinemaNerdz.com and a few other members of the press from various outlets, including: The Cinema Girl, Examiner.com, WWJ Newsradio 950, and Oakland County Moms. Take it away Miranda….
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I got the chance to interview Selena Gomez about her new movie Monte Carlo. I felt scared because this was my first interview. But I was also excited since I was actually going to meet and interview Selena Gomez, and nervous because I didn’t know how it was going to go.
In this movie Ms. Gomez plays Grace who pretends to be Cordelia, who is also played by Ms. Gomez. She did a very good job acting both parts. Some of the things that Ms. Gomez did in the movie made me want to see more of the movie. For example when Grace was saying that she wasn’t Cordelia it made me feel like she was doing the right thing by saying that she made a mistake (check out Miranda’s review of Monte Carlo here).
Meeting Selena Gomez rocked! She is a very nice and cool person. Some of her answers were surprising to hear. Check them out below….
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PRESS: You gracefully entered the world of pre-teen roles, teen roles, and now adult roles. Not a lot of young actresses can accomplish that. So, how would you say you were so successful at it?
SELENA GOMEZ: I don’t think I’ve really necessarily found success just yet, or at least that’s how I personally feel. Just because, I feel that Monte Carlo is definitely still a teen comedy, which I’m okay with. It is a little bit older than some of the things that I’ve done before, but I still feel like my younger generation [of fans] can watch it as well as an older generation. So I don’t feel like I’ve accomplished that just yet. I feel like that’s in the transition place that I’m in.
PRESS: Talk a little bit about the transition from TV to film…how different is it when you’re getting prepared for a TV role versus a film role.
GOMEZ: I have done about three films, so obviously I’m not that familiar with it. But I’ve done my show now for five years, and I was very used to that. It’s very different for me. I mean there are four cameras on my show and [we] worked 10 hours on two days. On a movie I’d work about 18 hour days with one camera, we’d shoot two scenes in one day and it takes about three months to shoot together. So, it is a lot different but it’s a lot of fun.
PRESS: Given your kind of core audience, do you feel a responsibility in these movies to give positive messages for [young, maturing] girls?
GOMEZ: I think that I’m in a place in my career where I do have a lot of people…watching what I do and the roles that I choose. It’s really tricky because I think Monte Carlo does have a great message, and I do try to make films that have, I guess, a message in it, and it may not necessarily be positive all the time. I don’t know what will come for me in the future. Obviously I like to make sure that my life is separate, so as me as a person, I know that my fans know me. But as an actor I like to do different things and I’m gonna want to try new things that may not necessarily have a positive meaning.
CinemaNerdz: Was it hard to play two different characters [in Monte Carlo]?
GOMEZ: Yes! But, it was fun. I think whenever I was Cordelia it was nice and whenever I was Grace it was nice. It was when I put two of the characters together and I was fighting with myself that was what was really weird. And it threw me off big time because I never knew how I was going to react to myself! (Laughs) So that was probably the biggest challenge but it ended up looking great.
PRESS: You mention that you hope to have a message in some of your films…I’m wondering what message are you hoping that your fans will take away from it?
GOMEZ: I think there’s multiple messages in this film. I think that the first one would be the “step-sister” kind of feel. There’s a lot of, unfortunately, a lot of divorced families. I come from a divorced family…and you have parents meet someone and they have kids and you’re with that whole having to meet new people and be your family. That’s always a hard thing to do. I think that message is real nice, being able to learn from that. Obviously there’s the romance aspect, which I feel that girls my age can really relate to. Falling in love with someone and being able to make sure you show that person who you are and not be someone different for them. And then ultimately it’s more the coming-of-age story about really being proud of who you are and knowing that if you did try to be someone else it will not ultimately be something you’re proud of. Because I’ve tried it, I’ve tried to be someone I’m not and it’s not…you’re not proud of it at the end of the day.
PRESS: How and when did you realize this was the career path that you wanted to take and do you remember that very first moment…were you anxious, excited, nervous?
GOMEZ: I was very dramatic as a kid. I loved to entertain. I was taking my bathing suits and painting them black and putting sparkles on them because I thought I was going to be on stage. I was just very crazy as a kid. And I always wanted to entertain. So, when I was about seven is when I started doing it professionally and my mom helped me and I read through a lot of auditions. I was really excited. The first day I stepped on a set was for Barney, when I was on Barney, and it was really fun. I had never worked with cameras or a producer or a director before so it was different. I was excited.
PRESS: There are a lot of child actors or people who find a lot of success as children. It’s hard…to carry that success throughout your career. What do you think is the key to a successful long career in the spotlight?
GOMEZ: I’m not quite sure I think I know the key. I don’t think anybody really knows the key to having the longevity. I just know that I’m in a very weird place, a very crucial place, in my career because I’ve been a Disney kid for the past five years. So obviously whenever they’re putting together a film with Meryl Streep and Leonardo DiCaprio, they’re not really thinking Selena Gomez would be a good part for this movie. And I’m totally aware of that. So, for me, it’s all about choosing the right roles and fighting for the roles, and really working hard to display that. I don’t think that I’ll always necessarily be, I guess, famous. I think, hopefully I’ll just have longevity at what I love. So, I kind of think it’s about taking the right steps and the right roles, and doing the best you can…and praying. (Laughs)
PRESS: It’s a little difficult for people to juggle…being a musician and being an actor and being thought of equally as both. There are very few that [can] manage that. What do you think of yourself as?
GOMEZ: I think of myself more as an actress. I do my music because I’m very passionate about my music. I love making music. I love inspiring people. I love making great songs that are just really fun. But that’s all it usually is for me. I love touring and singing great songs. I don’t think I’ll ever win a Grammy one day, and I’m totally fine with that. I do work really hard when it comes to acting and I want to do that for a long time. So, that’s where I hope to be recognized professionally most.
CinemaNerdz: What are some of your goals as an actress?
GOMEZ: If we want to get completely crazy, I would love to win an Oscar one day. That would be a very wonderful thing. But in the meantime, I really hope that I make films I’m proud of. A lot of people aren’t going to like the movies I make, I’m sure. But as long as I’m proud of the movie and I’m not selling out, and I’m doing things that make me happy and make me grow as an actress, I’ll be good.
PRESS: Now, with only two cities on the [Monte Carlo press] tour, one of them is Metro Detroit, why did you pick this area?
GOMEZ: I actually have family here, so it was very easy for me to agree to come to Detroit. Because my stepfather is from here and…we have family in Lansing. So…they asked us about Detroit and we said yeah.
PRESS: You went to so many beautiful places during Monte Carlo. What would you say your favorite location was for the shoot?
GOMEZ: I…I don’t know…a favorite? They were all amazing for different reasons! I shot most of the film in Hungary, which was really fun. I guess my favorite would be Monte Carlo because it was so beautiful, but I could only take it for, like, a week. (Laughs) It’s a really fancy place and I like to be in my sweatpants most of the time…but it was gorgeous. The water was so blue and clear and the sand was awesome. They had pebble beaches, which I’d never been on before so some of the beaches didn’t even have sand; it was all pebbles which felt really weird and fun. And the food was great.
PRESS: Talk a little bit about your fellow cast mates [Katie Cassidy and Leighton Meester] in Monte Carlo…how was it working with them, how much fun did you guys have on the set, and that sort of thing?
GOMEZ: To be honest, I was a little nervous, because they’re both older than me. Leighton is on Gossip Girl, which is really successful, and Katie, at the time, was doing Melrose Place. So, I was little nervous because I was 17 when I shot the film and I was like they’re probably not going to want to hang out with a 17-year-old. They were the nicest girls I could have ever picked to work with. They were so sweet, and they were protective, and I could go to them for advice. They were like big sister figures to me. And they were patient with me too because, a lot of times, I’d have to take more takes than them. And they were just really supportive and they made me laugh like no tomorrow. They were so fun.
PRESS: In both this movie and Ramona and Beezus, you’re kind of the underdog. Just the way you’ve been talking now, I think you still see yourself a little bit as an underdog in life. Is that a role that you kind of project yourself in and see yourself playing more often as opposed to say the star or the princess?
GOMEZ: I guess it…just kind of…worked out that way. I’m not sure that’s the goal when I choose roles. Obviously, it’s easy for me to play and it’s really nice to have that whole start as this character and then you get to see her journey and then you see her end as another character which I really like playing. I do see myself as that a little bit. But I think that’s good. I think that’s a good quality to have. I never expect any of this so whenever I take a project I treat it as if it’s my last so that I do my best. I’m surprised and thankful for everything that I get.
CinemaNerdz: What was your favorite scene in [Monte Carlo]?
GOMEZ: Most of the scenes outside were amazing. I mean, the beaches were beautiful. I couldn’t complain. There we were…they say cut [and] we’re tanning and eating French fries on the beach, which is amazing. But one of my favorite scenes is between Katie and myself. There’s a part where she’s upset and she’s crying and she’s talking about how she really misses Owen and her life back in Texas. And then the scene where I talk about how I finally meet someone that really enjoys me but I’m not me. I really loved that scene. I thought it was a sweet moment.
PRESS: Tell me what was the most challenging thing about filming Monte Carlo.
GOMEZ: The hours. (Laughs) No, I’m kidding. The hours were intense. I had never done night shoots before. So, some days we’d start at 5:30 pm and end at six in the morning and those were brutal. But, the biggest challenge was…just making sure that I separated Grace and Cordelia. Not only was there pressure for me to play Grace but Cordelia was even crazier for me to play. So, it was all about separating those two characters. And that was probably the biggest challenge…just making sure that they both were the best that I could make them and then making sure that they were completely different from each other.
PRESS: So, did you enjoy the homeschooling aspect [of your education] or would you have rather…been part of a high school atmosphere/school atmosphere?
GOMEZ: I didn’t mind it. There’s a few people…there are a few moments I guess I should say, where I would liked to have gone to school but it didn’t bother me. I did most of my schooling on Wizards so I was with my other cast on my show. So, I had interactive people around me so it wasn’t just me in a white room with just a tutor. So I did have a little bit of like people helping me and like kids my own age.
PRESS: You’ve done a lot already in your career, what haven’t you done yet that you aspire to do? [Are there] any other fields or any other things that interest you in your career that when you’re sixty-seven years old…you can look back and say you did certain things?
GOMEZ: I hope to have my own charity organization that partners with different charities. I work with UNICEF a lot right now. But…looking at the company and how they work and having people travel, I would love to have an organization of my own that worked with different charities with…homeless shelters and women’s shelters and working with children…to have a big empire like, that would be amazing. Because that would be a huge accomplishment.
PRESS: You talked about being very serious about your acting, have you thought about, at your age, going to school? I mean, even Jodie Foster just stopped at a certain age and went to Yale and even took theater classes there even though she was a very accomplished actress at her age.
GOMEZ: I’m not sure I’ve gotten to that point. I think I might, just because I do feel like I would like to take a break. My dream though would not be as intense as Jodie or like Natalie Portman because they of course went to incredible…elite schools. I would actually like to go to culinary school. I would love to be to be able to…be in a room and learn how to [make] all these recipes and travel. Like, I want to take a course in Italy; things like that would be really amazing. That’s one of my passions.
PRESS: Like, immersion, a small immersion of classes?
GOMEZ: Yes.
CinemaNerdz: Which character do you relate to most [in Monte Carlo]?
GOMEZ: Probably Grace. I feel like if wasn’t in the entertainment world, I’d probably be Grace. I’m from Texas as well so I think I would have totally worked at a diner or Waffle House ‘cause those are my places I love to go to when I’m home. I feel like I probably would have been more like her.
PRESS: Now, you’ve been in the spotlight for quite a bit of time, what’s life like for you growing up in the spotlight?
GOMEZ: It’s weird and it’s confusing. But it’s also something I try not to focus on. I really try not to hide or live my life according to what people say about me. I try my best to live as normal as I can. But at the same time, I don’t understand it. I don’t understand when there’s like grown men following me with cameras. That just confuses me a lot. So, I don’t know, I just try to be as normal as possible.
PRESS: If you could write your next movie and pick your own co-stars, what would it be?
GOMEZ: Oh goodness…it would be a romance with Zac Efron. (Laughs) But, that probably won’t be happening. No, I’m kidding! I’m kidding! I would love to do something…I love Natalie Portman and Rachel McAdams and Shia LaBeouf. I would love to work with those kind[s] of actors. Especially Shia because he came from Disney Channel so I’d love to be able to pick his brain about that, even though I’m sure he’s tired of talking about it. I don’t know, I guess it would just be…maybe not a comedy, maybe a drama.
PRESS: Cordelia in the movie, is a piece of work…where did you draw her character from?
GOMEZ: Whenever I read that Cordelia was an heiress, I immediately kind of pictured…Paris Hilton in a way. In that, I figured that was more of an heiress. I kind of figured that’s what it was going to be until we had her British and Tom Bezucha, who is the director of the film, wanted her to be posh. So then I researched like Princess Diana interviews, how she would talk and carry herself. So we created that kind of accent. And then with the help of our amazing wardrobe lady, who created the most gorgeous outfits for our film, we kind of wanted her to be more about high fashion as opposed to really outrageous clothes like hot pink and stuff…. So, once we created that look, it was very easy for me to create that character because I wanted her to be smart but I didn’t want her to be nice. So, she was the kind of character that was really more about how she presented herself and how she looked at people….
PRESS: You did a great job playing both of those characters.
GOMEZ: Thank you.
PRESS: Monte Carlo was great because I think it is a movie that you can take kids to and I feel that parents are going to feel comfortable [doing so]. But, you are a big role model for these young kids…are you comfortable with that, being a role model?
GOMEZ: I don’t necessarily…I never, guess pursued that. I never said I wanted to be a role model. But I have that title. I’m fully aware of it as well. I think it’s helped me as a person. The fact that I do have a younger generation looking up to me and having a little girl come up to you saying that she wants to be you where [she’s] older is a lot…because that makes you feel a lot of things. It made me feel a lot of things. So, whenever like, publicly if I’m scrutinized, which I have been ever since I was fourteen, I’ve been compared, I’ve been put in different situations, and I’ve always just thought to myself if I ever lashed back or if I ever did this I don’t think that that would make them proud to say I’m a role model.
PRESS: And you do stay very grounded.
GOMEZ: Thank you.
PRESS: We appreciate that.
GOMEZ: Thank you. I think if anything, they’ve made me better, because I’m very aware. But, at the same time, I let them know that I’m not perfect, because I’m not. I make mistakes all the time. I’m figuring out who I am. I’m growing up. But, I do try to be the best I can be because ultimately you are what you put out. And I just do it right. You have to treat people how you want to be treated.
PRESS: Who is your role model?
GOMEZ: Rachel McAdams. I think she’s very…she chooses really fun roles. Because you never see her do the same character. And you probably never even know half the movies she’s in. She went from Mean Girls to The Notebook to Wedding Crashes to Family Stone to Red Eye to Time Traveller’s Wife. Like she’s done so many films and they’re all different. And she plays a totally different character and I admire that, plus she’s not in the public eye that much, which I like.
PRESS: When you were filming the movie, what was your favorite scene in the film?
GOMEZ: It was a scene with me and Katie. We actually were in this pretty beautiful bed watching Grace Kelly and it was a nice moment about us being honest with each other.
PRESS: How was making this movie different from making previous movies?
GOMEZ: This movie was different because I travelled. I got to go to incredible places. Most of the films I’ve shot have been in Puerto Rico or Vancouver. I shot two movies in Puerto Rico and I’ve shot two movies in Vancouver. So I’m familiar with both of those places. But, I got to go to Europe which was incredible and shoot on the Eiffel Tower, in the Louvre, and on the beach in Monte Carlo. It was a really fun experience for me.
PRESS: I thought this movie has a really nice message. [The character] Grace did some tutoring work to help the kids in Romania. Do you do different charities or are you involved with different charities or organizations?
GOMEZ: Yes, I’ve worked with Island Dog which is an organization that was actually based out of Puerto Rico because I did a film in Puerto Rico and we found out about [the organization] when we were there. We’ve actually had over a thousand dogs…donated [because of] the PSAs that we’ve done with them…. Basically, in Puerto Rico they abuse dogs for fun…. So we’ve actually had a lot of them being adopted from the States and we flew them out. I actually have one from Puerto Rico. I have to speak Spanish to him sometimes. (Laughs) Then, I’ve been an ambassador for UNICEF for the past three years. So, I’ve worked with them very closely and I think this year, after my summer tour, I’ll be taking my second mission trip with them which I’m looking forward to.
PRESS: How do you do that whistle [from the movie]?
GOMEZ: I didn’t do it. I didn’t do it. They taught me everything. They tried to teach me for like thirty minutes, and I could not get it. So they added it in the film. So whenever I shot it I just sat there and did nothing. Can you do the whistle?
PRESS: No.
GOMEZ: Neither can I.
PUBLICIST: This will be the last one…if you have one….
GOMEZ: (To Miranda) I think she’s picking on you.
CinemaNerdz: Grace wanted to go to Paris, do you have a place that you always wanted to go?
GOMEZ: I really want to go to Ireland. It’s really green I hear and very pretty. So I’d really like to go there and spend a nice amount of time because I always travel but for like a second. I never get to enjoy the places. Thank you.
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See Selena Gomez in Monte Carlo beginning July 1st, 2011!
Miranda Clarke
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- Interview with Selena Gomez, star of Monte Carlo - July 4, 2011
