Selena (film)

Selena

The film poster shows a woman grinning over a live concert. The background is dark with faint faces of those in attendance to the concert, with the names of the two lead actors. The middle has the film's name and tagline, and the bottom contains a list of the director's previous works, as well as the film's credits, rating, and release date.

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Gregory Nava
Produced by
Written by Gregory Nava
Starring
Music by Dave Grusin
Cinematography Edward Lachman
Edited by Nancy Richardson
Production
company
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release dates
  • March 21, 1997 (1997-03-21)
Running time
 127 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $20 million[1]
Box office $35.5 million[1]

Selena is a 1997 American biographical musical drama film written and directed by Gregory Nava about the life and career of the late Tejano music star Selena, a recording artist well known in the Mexican American and Hispanic communities in the United States and Mexico before she was murdered by Yolanda Saldívar, the president of her fan club, at the age of 23.

The film stars Jennifer Lopez in her breakout role as Selena. Her father, Abraham Quintanilla, Jr., is played by Edward James Olmos and Constance Marie plays Marcella Quintanilla. Selena was released on March 21, 1997 in the United States to positive reviews from critics and audiences.

Plot

The film begins on February 26, 1995, with American Tejano music singer Selena (Jennifer Lopez) performing to a sold out concert at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. In 1961 Corpus Christi, Texas, a young Abraham Quintanilla, Jr. (Edward James Olmos) and his band Los Dinos, are rejected for an audition by a white restaurant owner due to their Mexican American background, and are later booed and chased out of a club for performing ballads and not knowing any Mexican dance music. Crushed, Abraham gives up music.

The film moves ahead to 1981; Abraham is married to Marcella (Constance Marie) and has three children, A.B. Quintanilla (Jacob Vargas), Suzette Quintanilla (Jackie Guerra), and Selena. After finding her father alone playing music, Selena decides to sing along. Captivated by her voice, Abraham decides to start a band with Selena as lead vocals, A.B. on bass, and Suzette on drums; calling them Selena y Los Dinos. The family opens a Mexican restaurant with performances by Selena y Los Dinos, who begin to receive a positive reception from patrons. Eventually, the restaurant goes bankrupt, and the family moves to Corpus Christi.

During a concert in 1989, Selena rips off her jacket and performs in a bra. Abraham is shocked and demands Selena to wear appropriate clothing; though later had a change of heart after Selena discussed about it being a fashion trend. Later, Abraham decides to hold an audition for a guitarist. A.B. meets a guitarist, Chris Pérez (Jon Seda), and auditions him to his father. Abraham, however, is hesitant to hire Chris because of his tough-guy, heavy metal image, but A.B. says "it's just musician stuff". After cutting his hair, Chris joins the band and began having romantic feelings for Selena. When Abraham finds them hugging on their tour bus, he angrily fires Chris from the band. Selena tearfully objects, but Abraham threatens to disband the group if she continues to see him again.

Chris and Selena continue to see each other behind Abraham's back, and on April 2, 1992, the two elope. Upon hearing the news, Abraham, willing to accept the relationship, decides to rehire Chris and welcomes him into his family. Selena's popularity increased as her record sales continued to astound record executives who believed the singer was ready to crossover into the mainstream market; a move the family was aiming for. The family learns that "Como la Flor" reached number one on the music charts and celebrates. Selena opens Selena Etc., a clothing boutique and hires Yolanda Saldívar (Lupe Ontiveros) as the president of her fan club. She is thrilled when she wins a Grammy Award for Best Mexican American Album.

Later, Selena finds out from her father that Yolanda has been stealing money from the fan club. On March 9, 1995, Abraham and Selena, along with Suzette, confront Yolanda about the missing funds at a meeting. Yolanda denies that she had done anything wrong, and if given time, she will return the financial records. Selena angrily asks Yolanda how she could do this to her, and more importantly, to her fans. Selena confesses to her mother over her anxiety about the crossover album and her plans to start a family. The future is bright with promise.

On March 31, after arguing over the missing financial documents, Selena is murdered by Yolanda at a Corpus Christi motel. Yolanda is arrested after a nine-and-a-half-hour standoff with the police. During a candlelight vigil held by her fans as a tribute, a montage of Selena is played; and the films ends with a freeze-frame of a smiling Selena with the caption "SELENA QUINTANILLA-PEREZ: 1971-1995."

Cast

Pre-production

On March 31, 1995, Selena was shot to death by Yolanda Saldívar, a friend who was the former manager of the singer's Selena Etc. boutiques.[2] Her death response in the Hispanic community was compared to the reactions following the deaths of Elvis Presley, John Lennon, and John F. Kennedy. News stands were swarmed by people looking for items concerning Selena. Eight biographies were released, six documentaries and two major companies were in the process of releasing a film all without the consent of the Quintanilla family.[3] This prompted Abraham to produce a film based on Selena within weeks of her death, a process Abraham said was difficult.[3] He believed releasing a film would "put an end to all the false rumors" that were circulating the media "silencing [the media] from telling the wrong story." and later expressing his enjoyment of wanting "the whole world to know the [true] story about [Selena]."[3] A.B. spoke out how the family did not want a "misinterpretation of [Selena], [their] family, and a culture" and found that it was imperative that they release a film about Selena.[3] News of Abraham's desire to release a film reached Hollywood. American film producer, Moctesuma Esparza, immediately approached Abraham with the idea of being partners in producing the film.[3] Esparza decided to educate Abraham on the process of filmmaking and provided a support system for him as well as giving him authoritative control over casting and approving the script and director.[3]

On August 30, 1995, Esparza went back to Corpus Christi from California and brought Gregory Nava, a week after Esparza and Abraham agreed to be partners.[3] Immediately, Abraham disliked the decision brought on by Esparza expressing his concerns over Nava's egonistic behavior.[3] He told Esparza how he did not want Nava to be the director because of his ego, Esparza told him how "everybody in Hollywood has an ego problem" and convinced Abraham that he was the perfect candidate.[3] Producer Robert Katz later said how Nava was chosen because of the films he directed "has a very uplifting and positive quality" finding them to deal with "very strong and tragic elements."[3] The Dallas Morning News found Nava's works as giving "moviegoers a passionate, powerful look at Hispanic life".[4] Katz said how the team had overcome "what most people thought was a fatal contract" by entrusting Abraham's decisions and having a working relationship with him throughout the film's production: "working things out in advance so the studios knew exactly what we were proposing."[3]

Production

With his recorder, Nava began asking the Quintanilla family to share stories about Selena; according to Suzette, Nava took "hours and hours of little stories of our lives and what he would do and how he felt."[3] Nava wrote the first draft on March 4, 1996, Abraham contacted Nava about the elopement scene expressing his disagreement on it.[3] Abraham said how Selena had young admirers and did not want them to think eloping is the right choice, Nava continued to persuade Abraham on the scene for a few days before he agreed to it.[3] Abraham was curious on how Nava found out about Selena and Chris eloping, Nava told him he found out because they interviewed Chris and Abraham initially thought that Chris had pressured Selena in getting married.[3] Roger Mussenden was hired as the casting director, and held casting calls throughout the United States including San Antonio, Texas, Miami, Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles.[3]

The biographical film was focused on Selena's life instead of her death, Nava said "I don't want to attend to [her murder]", while her death is treated "at a distance".[5]

Post-production

Nava confessed in 2007 that Selena was the most emotional film he had ever made.[3]

Casting

In June 1996, it was announced that Jennifer Lopez was chosen to play Selena, in what was described as the "role of a lifetime", for a reported salary of US$1 million.[6][7] Also that month, it was announced that a 10-year-old girl originating from Harlingen, Becky Lee Meza, was chosen from "thousands of girls who answered a nationwide casting call" to play a younger version of Selena in the film. Lee Meza stated: "I'm really excited about this because I've never done anything like this before".[8] Lopez, along with other actresses, had to undergo intense auditioning for the role, even though she had previously worked with Nava in the film My Family (1995).[9] The screen testing was described as "grueling", requiring "nine minutes of singing and dancing and eight pages of script."[5] On August 8, 1996, the Los Angeles Daily News announced that Jon Seda and Edward James Olmos had joined the cast as Chris Perez and Abraham Quintanilla, respectively.[10]

However, Lopez's casting was the subject to high criticism from fans of Selena, who weren't pleased that Lopez, a New York City native born to Puerto Rican parents, was selected to play Selena, a Texan of Mexican descent. They preferred an actress with Mexican roots. The Latino community began protesting for a re-cast. During pre-production, Lopez stated: "I know a few people were protesting, but in Corpus [Selena's hometown] everyone has been really supportive".[5] Nava admitted that the backlash was "a little hurtful", and felt that the protesters "should be celebrating that we have an all-Latino cast and that Jennifer Lopez, one of our own, is becoming a star."[5] Dave Karger of Entertainment Weekly noted that "nothing could have prepared [Lopez] for the hype attached to her million-dollar salary". Lopez perfected Selena's dialect while also "studying performance footage of the pop sensation" according to Nava. Lopez said "you need to do your homework on this gig" because Selena was "fresh in the public's mind".[5] After seeing Lopez's portrayal of Selena, protesters revised their opinions and were more accepting of Nava's decision.[11] Filming Selena inspired Lopez to begin her own music career.[12][13]

Filming

Principal photography began September 1996, in San Antonio, Texas, Corpus Christi, Texas, Poteet, Texas, Houston, Texas and Lake Jackson, Texas. Nava used locals as extras for the film.[14] Selena's real singing voice was used in the film, while Lopez would lip-sync to her songs.[5] During filming, Jon Seda was unable to play the guitar the way Chris Perez did, as he explained on the film's DVD extra, Making of Selena: 10 Years Later.[15] He then persuaded Perez to pay a visit to the set without telling him that he was going to have Perez play the guitar during the scene in which Chris auditions for Abraham, and the camera would zoom into his hands to make it seem like Seda was playing the guitar. Perez eventually agreed, and his hands were made up to match Seda's.[15][16] In the noted stadium scenes, where Selena once performed, the producers used approximately 35,000 extras. Filming took place at the Alamodome in San Antonio, rather than the actual concert location: the Astrodome in Houston.[17] Nava said he wanted to capture the "magnificence, beauty and excitement" of the concert.[18] Abraham Quintanilla told Nava to remove scenes where Chris and Selena elope, because he didn't want to influence Selena's younger fans that eloping is right. However, Nava maintained that while this was true, the scene was inevitable because it was an important part to Selena's story. Abraham eventually agreed.[15]

Music

Main article: Selena (soundtrack)

An original motion picture Selena soundtrack was released by EMI Latin on March 11, 1997 debuting at number 20 on the US Billboard 200.[19] The CD contains twelve tracks including Selena singing songs heard in the film. The only songs performed by Selena that were not heard on the film were "Is it the Beat," "Only Love," and "A Boy Like That," and the Selena tributes sung by other artists.

The only recordings by Selena heard on the film were the "Cumbia Medley," "Disco Medley," and "Where Did the Feeling Go?", which was played in the last half of the closing credits of the film. The Vidal Brothers' "Oldies Medley" was also on the film. Included are rare tracks, hits, and cuts like the "Disco Medley, Part II", recorded live during Selena's 1995 concert at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. All songs were recordings of Selena from concerts.

Release

Box office

Following its August 1995 announcement, Selena was slated for an August 1996 release date.[14] It was last pushed back to sometime at "the end of" 1996.[7] Ultimately, it was released in America on March 21, 1997, after being pushed back several times. After its opening weekend, Selena grossed a total of $11,615,722 domestically, opening at #2 at the United States box office.[20] In its second weekend, the film fell #3, grossing $6,138,838. The following weekend, it fell to No. 6, grossing $3,456,217. By April 20, 1997, Selena grossed a total of $32,002,285.[21] Its total lifetime gross stands at $35,281,794.[20] According to Box Office Mojo, Selena is the ninth highest-grossing musical biopic of all time.[22]

Critical response

Selena received mostly positive reviews from critics. Roger Ebert, film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, was impressed by the acting, and gave Selena three-and-a-half stars out of four and wrote, "Young Selena is played by Becky Le Meza, who has a big smile and a lot of energy. The teenage and adult Selena is played by Lopez in a star-making performance. After her strong work as the passionate lover of Jack Nicholson in the current Blood and Wine, here she creates a completely different performance, as a loyal Quintanilla who does most of her growing up on a tour bus with her dad at the wheel."[23]

Film critic Lisa Kropiewnicki liked the film and wrote, "Jennifer Lopez delivers a breakout performance...[and] Nava's engaging script wisely mines his subject's life for humor and conflict, embracing Selena Quintanilla's passion for music."[24] Film critic James Berardinelli also liked the film and the screenplay, writing, "It would have been easy to trivialize Selena's story, turning it into a sudsy, made-for-TV type motion picture." He believed the acting was top notch and wrote "Jennifer Lopez is radiant as the title character, conveying the boundless energy and enthusiasm that exemplified Selena, while effectively copying not only her look, but her mannerisms. I wonder if Selena's family, upon watching this performance, felt an eerie sense of déjà vu."[25]

Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan gave the film a mixed review. He wrote the film is part of a "completely predictable Latino soap opera." Yet, "there are chunks of Selena that only a stone could resist. This movie turns out to be a celebration not only of the singer but also (as "What's Love" was for Angela Bassett) of the actress who plays her, Jennifer Lopez."[26]

Some critics, however, did not like how the film appears like a sanitized Selena portrait. Critic Walter Addiego considers Nava's work a worshipful biography of her. Addiego, writing for the San Francisco Examiner, did have a few enjoyable moments viewing the film but wrote, "You can't help cheering for Selena, but the good feeling is diminished by the sense that her story's been simplified and sanitized."[27] The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 64% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on thirty-nine reviews.[28] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from film critics, it has a rating score of 65, indicating "Generally favorable reviews".

Awards

Award Date Category Recipients and nominees Result Ref.
ALMA Awards June 4, 1998 Outstanding Feature Film Selena Won [29]
[30]
Outstanding Actor in a Feature Film Edward James Olmos Won
Jon Seda Nominated
Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film Jennifer Lopez Won
Jackie Guerra Nominated
Outstanding Latino Director of a Feature Film Gregory Nava Won
Golden Globe Awards January 18, 1998 Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Jennifer Lopez Nominated [31]
Grammy Awards February 25, 1998 Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media Selena: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Nominated [32]
Imagen Awards April 1, 1998 Best Theatrical Feature Film Selena (tied with The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca) Tied [33]
Lasting Image Award Jennifer Lopez, Selena Won
Lone Star Film Awards 1998 Best Actress Jennifer Lopez Won [34]
Best Supporting Actor Edward James Olmos Won

Distribution

The film opened in wide release on March 21, 1997 (1,850 theaters) and sales the opening weekend were $11,615,722. Selena ran for 15 weeks domestically (101 days) and eventually grossed* 60,000,000 ($35,281,794 in the United States. The film sales worldwide were considerably more. At its widest release the film was shown in 1,873 screens. The production budget of the film was approximately $20,000,000.[35][36]

A 10th Anniversary DVD edition of Selena was released on September 18, 2007 by Warner Home Video. The two-disc set contains the original theatrical version (127 minutes) and a director's cut version (134 minutes) of the film, which had been shown on several TV stations before. Extras include a Making of Selena: 10 Years Later featurette, a Queen of Tejano featurette, and nine additional scenes.[37]

References

  1. 1 2 "Selena (1997) gross". The-Numbers. 17 September 2011.
  2. ↑ "October 12, 1995, the testimony of Norma Martinez". Houston Chronicle. October 12, 1995. Archived from the original on July 15, 2007. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 The Making of Selena: 10 Years Later (DVD). Corpus Christi, Texas: Warner Bros. 2007. Event occurs at 30.
  4. ↑ "Nava chosen for `Selena' movie Filming to begin in February 1996". The Dallas Morning News. (James M. Moroney III). August 30, 1995.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Karger, Dave (August 9, 1996). "Biopicked for Stardom". Entertainment Weekly. Time Warner. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  6. ↑ Jakle, Jeanne (October 30, 1996). "Selena star says yes to role as fiancee". San Antonio Express-News. Hearst Corporation.
  7. 1 2 "`Mi Familia' actress Jennifer Lopez to play Selena in movie". Austin-American Statesman. (Cox Enterprises). June 15, 1996.
  8. ↑ "Harlingen girl chosen to play young Selena". San Antonio Express-News. (Hearst Corporation). June 19, 1996.
  9. ↑ Associated Press (June 14, 1996). "Lopez gets Selena role". Dallas News.
  10. ↑ "News & Notes". Los Angeles Daily News. (MediaNews Group). August 8, 1996.
  11. ↑ Guzman, Isabel Molina and Angharad N. Valdivia. "Brain, Brow, and Booty: Latina Iconicity in U.S. Popular Culture", Routledge: Volume 7, Number 2 / April–June 2004.
  12. ↑ Mendible, M. (2007). "From bananas to buttocks: the Latina body in popular film and culture". Austin: University of Texas Press. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
  13. ↑ "On the Down Lo". Billboard. 119 (5). Nielsen Business Media. February 3, 2007. p. 27. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  14. 1 2 Bennett, David (September 14, 1996). "Director to use Corpus Christi, S.A. locales in Selena movie". San Antonio Express-News. (Hearst Corporation).
  15. 1 2 3 Making of Selena: 10 Years Later (DVD). Gregory Nava. September 2007.
  16. ↑ Selena LIVE: The Last Concert, "All Access: Behind the Scenes", movie featurette.
  17. ↑ Béhar, Henri. Film Scouts, interview with Gregory Nava.
  18. ↑ "60,000 sought at dome for `Selena' scene". San Antonio Express. (Hearst Corporation). September 4, 1996.
  19. ↑ "Billboard 200 > 29 March 1997". Billboard. 109 (13). 29 March 1997. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  20. 1 2 "Selena (1997) - Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo, Amazon.com. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  21. ↑ "Selena (1997) - Weekend Box Office Results - Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo, Amazon.com. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  22. ↑ "Biopic - Music Movies at the Box Office - Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo, Amazon.com. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  23. ↑ Ebert, Roger. The Chicago Sun-Times, film review, March 21, 1997. Last accessed: January 9, 2008.
  24. ↑ Kropiewnicki, Lisa. Selena at AllMovie, film review. Last accessed: January 9, 2008.
  25. ↑ Berardinelli, James. Reel Views, film review, 1997. Last accessed: January 9, 2008.
  26. ↑ Turan, Kenneth. Los Angeles Times, "In the Authorized Selena, She's Seen in the Best Light", Calendar Section, March 21, 1997. Last accessed: January 9, 2008.
  27. ↑ Addiego, Walter. San Francisco Examiner, film review, page C, March 21, 1997.
  28. ↑ Selena at Rotten Tomatoes. Last accessed: September 12, 2011.
  29. ↑ "1998 ALMA Awards nominees" (PDF). ALMA Awards. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
  30. ↑ "1998 ALMA Awards recipients" (PDF). ALMA Awards. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
  31. ↑ Cottrell, Robert C (2010). Icons of American popular culture : from P.T. Barnum to Jennifer Lopez. M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 0765622998. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
  32. ↑ Baugh, Scott L (April 13, 2012). Latino American cinema an encyclopedia of movies, stars, concepts, and trends. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0313380376. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
  33. ↑ "13th Annual Imagen Awards". Imagen Awards. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
  34. ↑ Albertson, Mark. Cultivating Chicana/o Images: Negotiating the Cinematic Masterpiece for Cultural Survival. p. 18.
  35. ↑ The Numbers box office data. Last accessed: January 9, 2008.
  36. ↑ Box Office Mojo box office data. Last accessed: January 9, 2008.
  37. ↑ "10th Anniversary edition of Selena" at DVD Active.

External links

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