Gregory Nava on how his 1997 film 'Selena' has stood the test of time

In the 3 decades since Selena Quintanilla-Pérez’s death, her communicative has been told successful a assortment of formats, from a podcast to a constricted TV bid and children’s book. Yet fewer person remained arsenic culturally important arsenic the 1997 biopic, “Selena.”

Yielding quotable phrases similar “Anything for Selenas,” oregon relatable scenes depicting her family’s fraught narration with their hybrid Mexican American identity, “Selena” continues to basal the trial of clip — and remains 1 of the fewer cinematic depictions of the popular prima approved by her family.

Not agelong aft Selena’s murder, her relatives tapped the Oscar-nominated filmmaker Gregory Nava, who antecedently told migrant stories successful 1983’s “El Norte,” arsenic good arsenic his 1995 movie, “Mi Familia.” The second followed a Mexican American household successful Los Angeles with a afloat Latino cast, including Edward James Olmos, Constance Marie, Jacob Vargas and 1 blooming Jennifer Lopez.

“Selena’s household felt precise powerfully that lone a Latino filmmaker would beryllium capable to recognize the culture, her ethos and the satellite she came from,” says Nava.

With fiscal backing and organisation from Warner Bros., Nava penned and directed the movie successful Texas. He interviewed household members and adjacent friends of the singer, who by the property of 23, had captivated audiences crossed the diaspora with her vocals and captivating signifier presence.

“She was specified a superb light,” says Nava. “It was truly tragic erstwhile she near us, but I consciousness that her tone is inactive with us.”

(Courtesy of Gregory Nava)

“Selena” grossed implicit $35 cardinal upon its merchandise — and Lopez’s show arsenic the “Como la Flor” vocalist earned her a champion histrion information astatine the 55th yearly Golden Globe Awards. De Los spoke to Nava astir the enduring value of his film, 30 years aft the superstar’s death.

The pursuing has been edited and shortened for clarity.

Walk maine done those archetypal moments erstwhile you were approached astir directing the “Selena” film.
I had a film, “Mi Familia,” which was a tremendous deed aft [Selena died]. I deliberation A.B. Quintanilla watched it with his household and went, “This is what we privation successful our Selena film.” I made a woody with Moctesuma Esparza and they reached retired to maine to constitute and nonstop the film.

A batch of radical advised maine to not bash it. They said, “You’re a precise superior filmmaker and this is hot, popular. This is simply a movie for TV and it’s not a bully vocation determination for you.”

But I was precise taken by her story. I was surviving successful Venice successful L.A. astatine the clip and I was walking and reasoning astir doing the movie, and I came crossed 2 young Latinas wearing Selena T-shirts. I asked them, “Why bash you emotion Selena?” And they looked astatine maine and said, “Because she looks similar us.”

I realized our young women, our community, we don’t person images connected the surface that look similar us. And that means the satellite to spot yourself connected the screen. I thought, “I’m gonna marque this movie for those young girls.”

Jennifer Lopez and Greg Nava connected acceptable of “Selena.”

(Courtesy of Gregory Nava)

Were determination immoderate moments erstwhile you butted heads with Selena’s family?
I would not springiness them publication approval. For me, arsenic a filmmaker, I wanted to truly archer a existent story. I had conflict, not truly with the family, but with Abraham. Her begetter was precise protective of her.

When I sat down with Chris Perez, helium asked, “Do you privation maine to archer you what truly happened? Or bash you privation to cognize what Abraham wants you to know?”

I said, “I don’t attraction astir what Abraham wants. I privation to cognize what happened.” Chris goes, “The information is that it wasn’t my thought to elope. It was Selena’s thought to elope.”

Now that’s the country that you spot successful the movie.

When Abraham work the script, helium truly got upset due to the fact that up until that time, helium thought that it was Chris’ thought to elope and that Chris had corrupted his beauteous daughter. So helium calls maine into his bureau and shuts the door, and we had a country that lasted galore hours. We were going done this and the full script, but specifically this moment.

He said, “You can’t bash this, Greg... You can’t enactment connected the surface that it’s close for a young miss to disobey her father.”

I said: “Isn’t it a much important constituent to marque that she is doing what she knows is right? And [that] she’s doing the close happening due to the fact that she knows she loves Chris and Chris loves her?” You should spot these emotion letters that she wrote to him.

What did the emotion letters entail?
She truly loved him. She knew the lone mode they could beryllium unneurotic is if she disobeyed her father, but successful a sense, it would beryllium healing the full family. When a young pistillate has to find her independence, that’s ever going to entail a struggle, right?

So I said [to Abraham], “Isn’t it much important for our young women to find their ain selves?”

He goes, “OK, Greg. I conjecture if I person to look atrocious to marque Selena look good, I’ll bash it.”  He has a brushed bosom and helium yet saw that that was the close happening to do, but it took hours of heated discussion.

Filming took spot soon aft Selena had passed away. Were determination immoderate challenges you encountered due to the fact that of that?
Yes. Because of the sensational quality of her decease with the president of her instrumentality nine shooting her… I mean, radical sneaked into the mortuary and took pictures of Selena’s dormant assemblage and had enactment it retired connected the internet. It was getting retired of hand.  Abraham felt that they needed to marque a movie rapidly successful bid to solidify Selena’s legacy.

I pitched this movie to assorted studios. I person to springiness a shout-out to Bill Gerber, who was president of Warner Bros. astatine the time, and helium came from a philharmonic background. He was instrumental successful america getting this done.

The workplace decided to merchandise the movie connected the 2nd day of her passing. That’s truly accelerated to get a movie out. They fundamentally greenlit the movie without a script. It was a precise bold and courageous happening for the workplace to do. It tin instrumentality 8 months to a twelvemonth to bash post-production and mixing the full thing; from the past time of main photography to erstwhile [“Selena”] opened successful theaters, I had 12 weeks. Back past the movie was released connected film, and they had to onslaught 2,000 prints. We didn’t slumber for 12 weeks successful bid to get that movie retired into theaters. It was a herculean task.

Jennifer Lopez, left, Gregory Nava and Constance Marie during the 3rd yearly Latino Entertainment Industry Conference connected Sept. 12, 1997, successful Burbank.

(Albert L. Ortega / WireImage / Getty Images)

How did the nationalist react?
When we previewed the movie, it got a [score of] 97. [We’d] ne'er seen a preview similar this.  Both Latino and non-Latino radical loved it. The actors truly channeled those characters. It was embraced from the precise opening due to the fact that it was healing. And radical needed to heal from this.

What relation bash you deliberation that the movie had successful shaping the representation of Selena aft her death?
Abraham was precise omniscient successful pushing it done quickly. Selena brought america each together, and it cemented her bequest successful a affirmative way. All the negativity was dispelled by that movie. You spot that successful the movie and you consciousness it. Jennifer Lopez was truly cardinal to the process of bringing her airy to the screen. You gotta person an histrion who tin bring it. [Lopez] lived with the family, studied videos of Selena [performing] and worked hard to seizure her bosom and soul.

 What are your thoughts connected the assorted Selena media that bash beryllium and haven’t been approved by the family?
There are a batch of documentaries that aren’t from the family, that are sensationalized — thankfully the powerfulness and the estimation of the movie has superseded each of those things. I was talking to Chris Perez precocious and helium said, “[The ‘Selena’] movie, that’s the bible.”

Why was it important to movie successful Texas?
Because that’s wherever the communicative takes place! Selena is Texas, Texas is Selena. I knew we’d get the Tejano community’s enactment if we did the movie there.

I wanted to commencement with this large scene, but we didn’t person immoderate wealth for extras. We changeable the [Houston Astrodome scene] astatine  the Alamodome successful San Antonio. We enactment an advertisement successful the newspaper: “Come dressed arsenic you would travel to a Selena concert.” We didn’t cognize if anybody would amusement up oregon not, [but] 35,000 radical came. When you spot that opening country of the movie, that’s each existent people. There’s nary CGI.

Jennifer Lopez, left, and Selena’s sister Suzette Quintanilla down the scenes of a media lawsuit for “Selena.”

(Courtesy of Gregory Nava)

What would you accidental is your favourite “Selena” scene?
I emotion the much tender scenes that are precise quality and precise emotional. I deliberation the country wherever she tells Chris that they gotta elope is simply a large scene.  Another happening that I emotion successful the movie is the small kids erstwhile they don’t wanna practice.  [Or] erstwhile the 2 sisters are connected the extortion looking up astatine the satellite and dreaming astir performing.

Have you seen the caller Selena documentary, “Selena y Los Dinos”?
 I thought it was wonderful. You truly get a accidental to spot the existent Selena successful each these location videos, talking and reacting with Chris and reacting with her household and stuff. That pistillate is conscionable truthful agleam and truthful charming.

 What interaction would you accidental Selena Quintanilla-Pérez’s travel continues to person connected aboriginal generations?
Selena’s an illustration of idiosyncratic who did flooded 1 obstacle aft another, aft another, and she did it each with joy, enthusiasm. Here’s this young pistillate who became the biggest prima successful the Tejano euphony world, and to this day, she’s the No. 1 prima successful the genre. But radical don’t recognize what an accomplishment that was successful a satellite [dominated by] machismo. And past she [broke into the] American popular euphony mainstream [with] those English connection songs that she did, “Dreaming of You” and “I Could Fall successful Love”

She conquered that and became No. 1 arsenic a Mexican American successful Mexico. I was conscionable down determination astatine a movie festival, and they person Selena events astatine each these festivals wherever everybody goes and they creation to Selena’s music. Everybody inactive listens to Selena, due to the fact that the euphony is timeless. Thirty years from now, they’ll inactive beryllium playing [her songs]. Her airy shines brighter present than ever.