Selena Gomez Says Linda Ronstadt Biopic Is ‘Still Happening’

Selena Gomez’s Linda Ronstadt biopic is still a work in progress.

“That’s still happening, though I’m not sure when,” Gomez, 32, told The Hollywood Reporter in a profile published on Wednesday, November 20. “With Linda, once I met her and read two books, one of them over and over, I just found her to be so [compelling].”

Gomez added, “She had such an interesting perspective on music and life, and I really admired that. She never really needed to be as successful, and she was willing to try different things.”

The Only Murders in the Building actress further stressed that “there’s a reason” the project is “taking time.”

“We want to make sure it’s going to be good,” Gomez said.

News broke in January that Gomez will portray legendary vocalist Ronstadt, 78, in David O. Russell’s forthcoming film.

“I have no words to describe my heart for this project,” Gomez wrote via her Instagram Story, weeks after she revealed on the platform that she was reading Ronstadt’s Feels Like Home memoir. “Years of hoping this dream would become my reality. 💙 Love your heart and soul for life and music @lindaronstadtmusic.”

The film doesn’t yet have a title or further casting, though it will be produced by Ronstadt’s manager, John Boylan, and James Keach, who previously helmed the 2019 documentary Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice.

Gomez, for her part, has long been a fan of Ronstadt’s career, even citing her album Revival as inspired by the singer’s 1970s era.

“It kind of reminds me a little of Linda Ronstadt, ’70s vibe,” Gomez previously told Ryan Seacrest in a 2015 radio interview. “I always used to get told that I looked like her and I started listening to her music because of that.”

Despite finding success as a triple threat at a young age, Gomez is particularly keen to focus on acting at the moment.

“Acting is just such a rush,” the Emilia Pérez actress gushed to THR. “I think that’s something I’ve always wanted. Music will always be in my soul, but I never really got to spend enough time in the field that I originally wanted to be in.”

She added, “I’ve been very strategic and trying my hardest to pick projects that are going to be compelling and not necessarily what people would envision me doing. That’s something I get a high off of. But it was funny with Emilia, I genuinely thought it was going to be a movie that, like, came out in France.”

Gomez and her fellow Emilia Pérez costars, including Karla Sofía Gascón and Zoë Saldaña, were all recognized as Best Actresses during the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. Gomez has also been shortlisted for a potential Oscar nomination, which would be her first.

“I was very confused. I was like, ‘Guys, why are we doing so many things right now?’ And everyone’s just laughing because it’s doing well,” Gomez told the outlet. “I do think I know what’s obvious, what people would maybe want to see me doing, but yeah, that’s been the biggest challenge that I’ve faced as an actor, and probably one of the hardest things to hear.”

Gomez continued, “I feel like the roles would be very similar to what I’ve played, which is more soft-spoken and the underdog character. I love those movies, but I have goals of wanting to work with specific people, people on my dream board, and so whenever those opportunities arise, I’ll put myself in that room, no matter what it takes. And I’ll say, ‘Let me show you that I can do it.’”

Emilia Pérez is now streaming on Netflix.