SBIFF 2025 Virtuosos Award Selena Gomez Discussion

Hi. That's for you. Thank you. Thank you for being so patient and waiting for everybody else. She's here! No, it's okay. It's great to see you. Good to see you. We all do. Listen, it has been a time. You have been through it. I just feel like you, this movie, have been under this microscope for good, for not so good, for all these different reasons. I just want to know, how are you? How are you doing right now? Thank you very much. I'm good. I'm really good. Some of the magic has disappeared, but I choose to continue to be proud of what I've done, and I'm just grateful. I live with no regrets, and I would do this movie over and over again if I could. I'm so glad to hear that. Well, to that point, I'd love to know, when you now think back on this whole experience, what did this project allow you to do, professionally speaking, that maybe you had never gotten the chance to do before? How would you distill that? Just having someone see something in me besides the obvious was such a special experience. The director just really trusted me, and I was so grateful because I've gotten to show people that I am capable of doing more, and I hope that this is just the beginning for me in this field. So thank you. It's such a thrilling but also emotionally taxing experience, in a good way, to go through the experience of watching Emilia Perez. I can only imagine what then it was like for you all, you specifically, to go through it, especially numerous takes of some of the most intense scenes. I'd be curious to know how you chose to decompress after a particularly tough day and also after the end of the entire shoot. The whole experience was actually very cathartic. Being able to express this character that was trapped in a situation that is unimaginable was really fun. However, to unwind, you know, a good glass of wine, I guess, doesn't hurt. But no, I think it was too much fun. The adrenaline was constantly there when I was shooting because it was something new every day. And the first day we ever shot, he decided to shoot the last scene of the movie. So that was a big challenge for me, but we got us there. So it was really fun. Now, why would he do that? He really trusted someone. What do you feel like you're now ready to tackle in your professional life now that you've done this? I think I'm ready to just focus on this for a while. I think film and art making and being around such incredible, talented people that have done nothing but uplift me along the way. I don't know. It's going to be very hard for me to ever go back to music after this. OK, but it's like a never say never situation, right? Yes, thank you. You do you. That's great advice. OK, how many times have you watched Emilia Perez? And what has the experience been like for you watching it numerous times if you have? One. You've watched it one time? I watched it in Cannes, and then I started to watch it with my family, and I got nervous and, you know, because my grandparents were seeing me say some stuff that I was like, OK. But it was it was beautiful. I get very weird watching stuff sometimes, but I couldn't have been more proud. Do you think there'll be a time where you're ready to watch it again? Oh, yeah. No, it's been on like my my grandparents casually throw it on in the background. I'm like, so why is it on? So my God, listen, there's one thing I want to ask you about, because it's one of my favorite stories of anything that I've ever witnessed, even peripherally. So when I met you at the Telluride Film Festival in September, the coolest thing happened, which is that the local girls volleyball team put up a flyer on like a wooden post that said like, Selena Gomez, we know you're here in Telluride. Would you come into our volleyball game and just say hi to us? Well, guess what? She did it. And it's on your social media. At least it was where you like the video of you walking into the gymnasium and like these girls heads exploding. And clearly it was such a special moment for these adorable girls who had the idea to do it. But I want to know, what do you get out? I would love to know what that experience gives you. It just makes all of it worth it. I had nothing to do and I thought it was so cute that day. And I was like, I think this would be nice. I don't know. That stuff brings me joy at the smallest ways. And it's awesome. Thank you. There's just some people who in this industry, I would say Paul Rudd is also a similar person. He's one of these people who just understands that he can bring such joy to people by a simple act of kindness. Where did you realize that from? My mom, you know, my mom always said treat people the way you want to be treated. I'm no greater and no lesser than anyone. I'm just a girl from Texas who works really hard. Well, there's many people that see you very differently in the best possible way now. So I congratulate you on your fantastic work. Selena Gomez, everybody. Terrific. Okay. So now comes the time where I guess there's like a little video that's going to show for a couple minutes. While that video shows, Selena is going to go off stage. They're going to set up all the chairs, all eight of the virtuosos. And they're all going to come back for a little group interview with me. So don't move. Here's a little special video message.