Selena (film)
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| Selena | |
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| Directed by | Gregory Nava |
| Produced by | Abraham Quintanilla Jr. |
| Written by | Gregory Nava |
| Starring | Jennifer Lopez Edward James Olmos Constance Marie Jon Seda Lupe Ontiveros |
| Music by | Dave Grusin (original) |
| Cinematography | Edward Lachman |
| Distributed by | Warner Brothers |
| Release date(s) | March 21, 1997 |
| Running time | 127 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Selena is a biopic about the life and career of Tejana singer Selena Quintanilla Perez (1971-1995). Selena was a Grammy Award-winning recording artist and well known within in the U.S. Latino community and Mexico. Music industry executives believed she was ready to cross over into mainstream popularity on the U.S. pop charts when she was murdered on March 31, 1995 by the president of her fan club.
The film was directed by Gregory Nava, who in 1983 was nominated for an Oscar for his film El Norte. The movie featured Jennifer Lopez as Selena and her father Abraham Quintanilla, Jr., was played by Latino actor Edward James Olmos. The actress Constance Marie played Selena's mother, in heavy make-up.
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[edit] Plot
Selena begins her career at the age of 10, along with her brother and sister. They are known as "Selena y Los Dinos", a follow up to her father's band. Later in her life, she becomes a Grammy-winning Tejana artist. Although she was very famous in the Latino community, not many others knew her very well, as seen in a scene when she and a friend are shopping in an L.A. mall for a dress for Selena to wear at an upcoming music awards ceremony and are discriminated by a white saleslady. But some of the Latino workers at the mall recognize her instantly and her prescence draws a huge crowd. Selena glady begins signing autographs for her excited fans, while the saleswoman who snubbed Selena is dumbstruck at the attention she is receiving. Selena then replies to her curtly, "We won't be needing the dress."
Selena elopes with her boyfriend Chris Perez, because her father doesn't allow them to be together. When they arrive together as a newlywed couple, her father finally accepts the fact that they are in love. She and Chris want to have kids, but they never get around to it. She opens up her own boutique, and credits her husband and her fan club manager (who would later be her murderer) for helping her. The family later realizes that Yolanda was stealing money from the club, and Selena is very upset when she finds out. The film details Selena's relationship with her family, her musical performances, and her romance with her boyfriend, and later husband, Chris Perez. It also deals briefly with her murder.
[edit] Production notes and film overview
Selena was produced with the participation of the Quintanilla Family. Her father Abraham was credited as the executive producer of the film. Selena's own recordings were used on the soundtrack. The movie used approximately 64,000 extras, many of whom were already fans of Selena, especially in the stadium scene. This was filmed at the Alamodome in San Antonio, rather than at is actual location in the Astrodome in Houston.
Some of Selena's fans were initially upset that Jennifer Lopez, a New York City native born to Puerto Rican parents, played Selena, who was Mexican-American. In its opening weekend, the film grossed a total of $11,615,722. Selena eventually grossed $45,000,000 domestically, and went on to gross over $100,000,000 with the video release.
The film was generally well received by critics. Film critic Lisa Kropiewnicki said, "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."
[edit] Awards
- ALMA Awards: The film was nominated for six American Latino Media Awards (ALMA) and won four.
- Golden Globe Awards: Jennifer Lopez was nominated for Best Performance by an actress in a Musical or Comedy motion picture.
- Grammy Awards: The film was nominated for 1 award, Best Instrumental Composition Dave Grusin.
- MTV Movie Awards: Jennifer Lopez nominated for Best Breakthrough Performance.
