US singer and actress Selena Gomez joined her co-stars at the red carpet on the London Film Festival on Friday, for the United Kingdom ideal of her Oscar-tipped movie Emilia Pérez.

The Spanish-language Selena Gomez musical turned into one of the breakout hits of the Cannes Film Festival in advance this 12 months, where Selena Gomez and 3 of her co-stars have been at the same time named high-quality actress.

Emilia Pérez follows a Mexican Cartel leader (performed by way of Gascón), who asks a excessive-powered legal professional named Rita (Saldaña) to help him fake his personal demise.

But the purpose he desires to retire and disappear from the arena of crime is not what you would possibly assume – the cartel chief wants to change gender and stay a new lifestyles as a female.

The relaxation of the movie specializes in 4 ladies, inclusive of the newly-transitioned Emilia Pérez, as they every pursue their own model of happiness in modern-day-day Mexico.

Pérez is portrayed via Argentinian trans actress Gascón, who has been tipped as a probable quality actress contender inside the imminent awards race.

Selena Gomez performs the drug lord’s wife, who’s saved in the darkish approximately her former lover’s new identity, whilst Paz portrays Emilia’s new romantic interest after transitioning.

All four of the movie’s stars walked the crimson carpet ahead of the movie’s UK most excellent at the Royal Festival Hall as part of the London Film Festival on Friday.

French director Jacques Audiard came up with the concept for the film after studying a bankruptcy in Boris Razon’s 2018 novel Écoute about a drug lord who modifications identity.

Audiard went one step further for the movie, and made it a story of changing gender.

“I have turned into significantly less intrigued by an other of character to avoid contender drug noblemen, and more keen on the trading of personality for the singular she was and is,” the director informed BBC News. “I become extra inquisitive about the past and what caused that transition.”

The position required a person very precise – a trans actress, who was a Spanish speaker, who can also sing and dance.

Recalling the casting method, Gascón tells BBC News: “I turned into contacted when I become in Mexico by way of a manufacturing team, and turned into informed ‘We need an actress as loopy as you – you are the most effective person who can try this role, however you need to study five songs for the following day!’

“And I became like ‘OK, let’s file the entire album and we’ll move on tour as soon as you want!’” she joked. “”Yet, I said, ‘so one can be tough, I’m currently now not a vocalist’.’. But the crew inside the film, they labored with me pretty, they truely helped me with all of the songs and made it in order that we should do the fine work possible.”

Asked approximately Gascón’s casting, Audiard delivered truly: “Without her there could be no film.”

Interestingly, the actress campaigned to play both the male and girl roles – in other words, the character each before and after transition.

Audiard had originally supposed for a different actor to play the male drug lord Manitas, due to the fact, the director defined, he become “uncomfortable asking [Gascón] to revisit something she was moving faraway from”.

But, Gascón recalled: “I stated to Jacques, I need to play this position within the complete arc, because for me it is important to do the whole element. It would not be the identical movie if each different actor completed [Manitas].”

That meant using effects and make-up together with a fake beard, Selena Gomez explained, so she ought to play the drug baron in the first section of the musical.

“This movie is this movie due to the fact the identical actress performed the complete overall performance,” Gascón persisted. “It’s that sort of function you’ve got once on your lifestyles and I didn’t want to lose the opportunity to play this.”

As an actress, selena Gomez is exceptional recognized for starring in Only Murders in the Building, however additionally has a a success singing career with hits consisting of Back To You, Wolves and Love You Like a Love Song.

Her co-star Saldaña, in the meantime, has starred in a massive number of blockbusters within the last two a long time, with roles within the Avatar and Guardians of the Galaxy franchises.

It remains to be seen whether or not Emilia Pérez will be a massive awards participant, however Academy voters may also see an possibility to comprehend Saldaña’s field workplace achievement through this greater significantly acclaimed work.

Their co-celebrity Adriana Paz is a Mexican actress whose credits encompass Not Forgotten, Hilda and La Caridad.

But the film’s breakout superstar is arguably Gascón, who already had a a hit acting profession earlier than transitioning in 2018.

Praising her overall performance in his assessment, Rooney said: “The warm temperature, the joyous self-realisation, the complexity and authenticity… That remove darkness from [Gascón’s] character isation no doubt owe plenty to the parallels inside the Spanish megastar’s existence – in her very own words, she become an actor before becoming an actress, a father before becoming a mom.”

Emilia Pérez has already been decided on as France’s entry for the best global characteristic category at the Oscars, which take region in March.