Arts & Entertainment

Selena Gomez: Trying to please everyone is my weakness

Los Angeles, Jan 14 (EFE).- Selena Gomez says she wishes she could be invisible for a day because wanting to please everyone is a weakness of hers, a personality trait she shares with her character – Mavis Dracula – in the American animated film franchise Hotel Transylvania.

“I’m guilty of being a little bit of a people pleaser. I want everyone to be happy. That would be my dream,” the American singer, actress and producer said with a smile during an interview with Efe ahead of the premiere of the fourth and final film in the series.

“That is Mavis’s goal (as well), and I think that’s something that she is. She tries to keep the family together. She just wants everyone to get along.”

After the first three installments in this family-friendly monster adventure series enjoyed successful theatrical releases, “Hotel Transylvania: Transformania” has bypassed the box office entirely and on Friday premiered directly on the Amazon Prime Video online media streaming service.

Gomez is one of the franchise’s original cast members and is participating in the last installment alongside Andy Samberg, Kathryn Hahn and Steve Buscemi, who also have been voice actors since the first film, “Hotel Transylvania” (2012).

“Every movie for me was a challenge in the voice department because I kept growing up, so my voice was changing,” the Texas native recalled. “So I would need … a few takes to kind of like get back into her and also I did try to keep my voice pretty high for a while, and eventually it was impossible.”

This Sony Pictures Animation-owned franchise, which turns iconic horror movie antagonists into sympathetic figures that appeal to young audiences, has managed to carve out a niche for itself in the varied and competitive world of animated films.

The first three pictures in the series – “Hotel Transylvania,” “Hotel Transylvania 2” (2015) and “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation” (2018) – grossed a total of more than $1.3 billion worldwide (against a combined production budget of less than $250 million) and succeeded in the increasingly challenging task of building up a loyal fan base.

Gomez got her start with the franchise at age 20 and now at age 29 is one of the executive producers of “Hotel Transylvania: Transformania.”

In the new movie, Professor Abraham Van Helsing’s “Monsterfication Ray” invention turns Count “Drac” Dracula (played this time around by Brian Hull) and his monster pals into humans and Mavis’s husband “Johnny” Loughran (Samberg) into a monster, a new state that he relishes.

But when it becomes clear the changes could be permanent, a solution must be found before it’s too late.

“I also do think it’s fun that we cater a little bit of the humor to the adults too, and I think that’s so much fun being able to create something that everybody enjoys,” Gomez said of one element of the franchise’s appeal.

The multi-faceted celebrity also is enjoying a great deal of success with two other projects.

“Selena + Chef,” the HBO Max streaming television cooking show she hosts, was renewed in November 2021 for a fourth season, and the Hulu mystery-comedy series “Only Murders in the Building,” has received widespread critical acclaim and multiple Golden Globe Awards, Critics’ Choice Television Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations, among others.

Last September, it was renewed for a second season.

“I love my job. I’ve done it since I was seven,” said Gomez, whose first acting gig was her appearance on the Barney & Friends children’s television series at age 10. “I don’t know anything different, and I’m just really happy. I’m going to do this until it’s not fun anymore and I can just chill and be a mom one day.” EFE

romu/mc

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