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00:00When you're looking at a career such as yours, you don't have to do this anymore.
00:14You've made the stardom, you've turned in acclaimed performances, and you're still getting better and better.
00:23Why Unstoppable at this point in your career? Why did you want to do it and continue to do it?
00:29First of all, I want to address the comment of I don't have to do this anymore because I don't see a world where I don't do this.
00:37There's just no life for me without being creative, without acting and singing and making music and dancing and performing for everybody and entertaining.
00:48That's what I do. And there is just no life for me without that.
00:56You know, as an individual, obviously, I have my kids and everything and I have a beautiful life in that way.
01:02But as an individual, as a person, that's that's who I am. And I love it.
01:08And so I will continue doing it as long as I'm here. So there's that. What was the other question?
01:15Why Unstoppable at this point in your career?
01:19You know, I read the story and. I love that it was a Latino story, number one.
01:27I want to make as many of those movies and stories as we can, and that's what we do at New Eureka, me and Elaine.
01:37But I also love that there was this it was inspirational, it was, you know, very kind of complex characters there.
01:48And Judy herself was a very inspirational woman as well.
01:52And it's that thing of like you see this champion, you see this very extraordinary person in Anthony Robles.
01:59But without his mother, he would not have been that person. And that's what he says.
02:04You know, she's my hero. She's this. And so when I read the script, sometimes it happens this way.
02:10You read something and you see the story. And I thought, oh, this is Anthony's story.
02:15That's great. This is a great story. I'll play the mom. It'll be this smaller role.
02:20That's OK. I'd like to get these movies made if I can.
02:25And then as I got to know Judy and I got to know Anthony, I realized it was both their story.
02:33And because of how he felt that he wouldn't be the human, he wouldn't be the champion he is,
02:39but he also wouldn't be the human that he is, which is even more extraordinary than the champion he is when you get to know him.
02:44And I thought that that was beautiful. And she gave me so much when I met her, really opened up to me.
02:53I really wanted her to trust me. And she did.
02:56And she allowed me to take on so much of things that she never told anybody in her life,
03:02of how she felt about different things that were happening in her marriage.
03:07Her as a person, you know, having a child at 16 years old who was born without a leg,
03:13like all of those deep, deep feelings that she never really came out and said, like,
03:18I always felt like it was my fault that he was born that way.
03:22And I just carried that with me all the time. And she didn't say that.
03:26She carried it with me all the time. But she said, I felt it was my fault.
03:29And I knew she carried it with her. You know, I mean, so we had this really great, beautiful exchange.
03:35And we connected on being moms and we connected on, you know,
03:40wanting obviously, you know, to do the best for your kid that you can do.
03:44And we also connected on being women who, you know, were in challenging relationships,
03:49which I have been and she has been. And we understood that.
03:53And so there was a lot that I was able to kind of identify with at this time in my life
04:02that I was strong enough and ready enough to use in a part, which I maybe have not tapped into before.
04:10And I think you can see it in the performance. So that's why.
04:17Sure. Thank you.
04:22I'm going to take a trip back. This coming year is going to be 30 years since Selena.
04:32Which is crazy because you're 30. So I can't believe you were an infant when you did that role.
04:37It's really crazy. But this whole weekend has been about you.
04:43They've been screening some of your best films.
04:46And there's, you know, we got a lot of argument about what the best performances of JLo are.
04:50And that's a good, that's a testament to a good artist that we can have an argument about it.
04:54But take me back to the mid 90s and taking on that iconic role and what it meant to do that.
05:01And then eventually lead you to out of sight, partner up with Steven Soderbergh
05:07and a great up and comer named George Clooney.
05:10And then eventually, 15 years later, we get Hustlers, which was,
05:19I can't do anything you did in Hustlers, like at all.
05:23Like I'm physically unable to, but you make everything look so easy all the time.
05:28I think that's the trick, is that artists make people feel like they can do anything.
05:33I want you to think that you can do that trick on the pole.
05:36And then laugh when I can't. Got it.
05:39I did try. It looked easy. She did it, I can do it.
05:43I can do that.
05:44Yes, I like that. I actually enjoy that.
05:48So Selena, you wanted to know, take you back to that moment.
05:52You know, I was such a baby. I was in my 20s when I got the role of Selena.
05:59And I just knew right away that it was a huge responsibility.
06:03I actually didn't know Selena's music before then.
06:07I wasn't really into Spanish music as much.
06:10And so I didn't know her as an artist.
06:12I was into like all the American music and everything.
06:15And my parents listened to Spanish music.
06:17And it was like, that's what it is growing up in this country.
06:19We all know that. Anybody who's Latino understands that.
06:21And now it's so different.
06:25Now everybody knows Spanish music.
06:27It doesn't matter if you're Latino or not, which is amazing.
06:31But when I took it on, I didn't know.
06:34And so I really got immersed in that world.
06:36But I knew immediately she meant so much to so many people.
06:39I remember seeing her funeral pictures and all the people that showed up.
06:43And I was like, whoa, what is this?
06:46And I just knew that there was this big role,
06:48which there never was a big role for a young Latin girl to be the lead in a film.
06:53And I thought to myself as an actress, I was like, I really want to do this.
06:59And I just learned everything I could about her before the audition,
07:03not even when I got the role.
07:05I just immersed myself in really understanding who she was and her impact.
07:12And I wanted to talk to the family right away, and they wouldn't let me.
07:17They were like, no, you have to audition and all this stuff.
07:20And so it was an amazing ride.
07:23But I think it taught me so much, even for playing Judy now.
07:28I knew that I couldn't mimic her or try to do some kind of impression of her.
07:35That wasn't the thing.
07:36I knew I had to capture the essence of who she was,
07:39because the essence of who she was, everybody loved so much.
07:43And I was like, who is that?
07:45How do you do that with people?
07:48How do you bring them into your life?
07:50And it was her heart.
07:52And I think at the end of the day, when Greg chose me for the film,
07:58he always says, you go with the talent, you go with the talent.
08:00And he put me in the movie.
08:02But I think it was more that we had a similar heart.
08:06And I was able to grab onto that with her.
08:09And the same thing like me and Judy being a mom.
08:12It was like me and Selena had a similar heart in that way.
08:15And I could understand, I understood her joy.
08:18I understood how she loved.
08:20I would watch her on stage and her dancing.
08:22And I was just like, she's just like, she's just doing it.
08:27There's no choreography.
08:28There's nothing.
08:29I was a dancer.
08:30I was like, there's just joy.
08:32There's just singing.
08:33There's just moving.
08:35There's just feeling.
08:36There's so much about her.
08:38And she taught me so much.
08:40I didn't even realize at that time I would go on to make 10 albums or 11 albums.
08:45I didn't.
08:46I just was at the beginning of my acting career.
08:48I had been a dancer before that.
08:50I had done the fly girl thing.
08:51I had been on TV.
08:53I didn't know where my career was going.
08:55I knew I wanted to do all these things.
08:57But I didn't know that I'd make records so quickly.
09:01But she inspired me to do all of that.
09:05And seeing how she handled the public and the grace that she did things with.
09:09There was so much about that movie that I carry with me to this day.
09:13It was such a big moment.
09:16And then Greg getting me paid, being the first actress to be paid,
09:22Latin actress to be paid a million dollars.
09:24That was a huge big deal at that time.
09:26Nobody had done that.
09:28And so there was so much movement in the world because of Selena.
09:33And the fact that I was blessed to be able to be chosen to do that.
09:38Awesome.
09:41Do you hear how she casually drops fly girl?
09:45She just drops it in there like it was no big deal.
09:47Right?
09:48You saw that, right?
09:49I peeped that.
09:50Don't worry.
09:51It's all right.
09:52You mentioned this before.
09:54And you and I have spoken about this in a different interview.
09:57What we love so much about Unstoppable, it's a Latino story.
10:02But you never hear them say, it's a Latino story.
10:05This is diversity when I talk about it.
10:09They're Latinos.
10:10We can just have them be in the movie.
10:12We don't have to make it like a plot point to mention that.
10:15And you were a big fan of that as well.
10:18And Judy's, I'm going to quote Sterling K. Brown here.
10:22He said, you can be universal in being specific.
10:25And that's exactly what we have a universal story about struggling mom.
10:30Can you talk about identifying with Judy and then being able to tell a
10:36Latino story without having it being overtly mentioned?
10:40Yeah, that's the thing.
10:41I think those are the best kind of stories.
10:43It's the one that hit everybody, that everybody relates to.
10:45It doesn't matter where you're from.
10:47And this was one of those stories that's just like an American story.
10:51An American, what we call the American dream,
10:54which is being able to, you know, reach your goals in life.
10:59Work hard at something.
11:01And if you work hard at something, you can achieve something.
11:03And I think that for me is what the movie was about.
11:06But more than that, because it is a kind of like,
11:09you could put it under sports movie, but it's not.
11:11It's more of a family story.
11:13It's really about these two people and the kind of,
11:16this bond between this mother and this son.
11:21And how together, I always thought,
11:24like when I was in the stands as Judy, I needed him to win.
11:30She needed him to win.
11:32Because when he won, she won.
11:34And they both needed that.
11:37And he needed her to win.
11:39Meaning, without her, he couldn't win.
11:43And so there was just so much there that was beautiful
11:48and inspiring and victorious.
11:51But none of that is as victorious without the struggle
11:55that they went through.
11:57And him not having his real father.
11:59And him being raised by a stepfather who did not want him.
12:02Who told him right away that, you know, you're not my kid.
12:05And that's that.
12:07That's it.
12:08That's my son.
12:09You're not my son.
12:10And that battle right from the beginning.
12:12All of those things are what I think make this movie very special.
12:19Two last questions for you.
12:21This is probably the most throwaway question,
12:23but I just need to know.
12:24Are you making coquito for Christmas?
12:26Of course.
12:27It's Thanksgiving, and we're going to make it for Christmas.
12:29There you go.
12:30All right.
12:31That's what people really need to know here.
12:32It's under your chair.
12:33By the way, we were looking for it yesterday.
12:34I was like, is there any coquito?
12:36They were like, no, Tiana took it.
12:40For white people in the room,
12:41coquito is a love potion around the holidays.
12:44It's almost like, you know, the equivalent would be like eggnog.
12:48But it's so much better, I think.
12:51Because there's alcohol.
12:53Yes.
12:55Maybe we should add alcohol to eggnog, and it would be better.
12:59There you go.
13:00See?
13:01Recipe by Jennifer Lopez.
13:03The final question I have for you is,
13:07Jarell Jerome, who's amazing in this film,
13:10Afro-Latino actor, Emmy winner.
13:15Your dynamic is remarkable.
13:18And for me, the scene of the movie is when you're crying on the bed,
13:22and he yells, mom, and lives to tell another day.
13:27Because I know if I yelled at my mom, that would be the end of it.
13:30But it's a big piece of fiction, I feel like.
13:32But there's something in that moment about the way you two are exchanging emotions,
13:40both as actors, and what this resonated with you.
13:45You spent a lot of time with Judy.
13:48I always feel like there's a big piece of yourself that remains on screen.
13:53What did this movie mean to you?
13:56And what was it like to exchange those type of emotional battles with Jarell?
14:02It was great, because I think because she was a young mom,
14:06and she was 16 when he was born,
14:10that it wasn't the normal, like you said, mother-son dynamic,
14:15where if he would have yelled at her like that,
14:17or tried to snap her out of that moment,
14:19you would have had a different reaction from some moms.
14:22It wasn't like that.
14:23They were almost like brother and sister in a way,
14:27even though she was very much the mom.
14:30And he was a big part of why she kind of pulled herself together.
14:38He knew what was going on.
14:41He was old enough to see.
14:43He was close enough in age to her to see the dynamic that existed
14:46between her and the stepdad.
14:48And for me, in those emotional scenes with Jarell,
14:53it was great, because he is so very emotionally available,
14:58and he is so laser-focused.
15:00And he's just right there at the drop of a hat.
15:05And I was in such a frenzy in that scene,
15:09because I think she was just so fucking shocked
15:15of what was happening in her life and how she allowed it.
15:19It's not that she didn't know.
15:20Like, how didn't I know?
15:21How didn't I know was the line.
15:22But it was like, I knew.
15:24I knew it.
15:26That's the awful part, I think,
15:28that you deal with when you're in those relationships.
15:30Like, I knew it.
15:32I knew that this was happening.
15:34This is how it was going to end up.
15:36I knew it.
15:37And you beat yourself up.
15:38And she's so lost in that.
15:40And he just kind of brings her back to reality with the mom.
15:44Like, mom, you have to stop this.
15:47You can't do this anymore.
15:50And he helps her.
15:53He helps her come to her strength by being strong.
15:58And he always says that she was the voice.
16:02He was like, there was all these voices saying
16:05that he couldn't do it in the stands.
16:07But the one voice that he could always count on was his mom's saying,
16:11you can do it.
16:12You are going to do it.
16:14You got this.
16:15One more.
16:16Two more.
16:17You know what I mean?
16:18And that was the voice that resonated in his head.
16:21I don't know about you guys, but I'm feeling good.
16:30Feeling like I could go win a wrestling championship or something.
16:34Maybe.
16:35Or a pole dance.
16:36Pole dance.
16:37Yeah, see?
16:38It makes it look easy.
16:39It's a disease.
16:41Listen, I can't believe it's been 30 years since Selena.
16:47I can't believe that in 30 years we're going to be doing the retrospective of this
16:51and you'll be 60 by then, which is crazy.
16:54God, you're just getting up there.
16:57No, I think what you do in this movie is one of your best performances yet.
17:05And it only shows that we're still just touching the surface.
17:10It's about to get crazy soon.
17:12So I can't wait.
17:13Well, it's funny you say that I'm getting up there.
17:16That's a joke, by the way.
17:17I was not going to say that.
17:18No, no, no.
17:19It's because I want to say thank you to you guys.
17:23Because we've been doing this a long time together.
17:26You've been doing it a long time and you guys have been here with me.
17:31Today I was singing some new songs and I went back and sang If You Had My Love,
17:37which was my first song, 1999, 25 years ago.
17:41And it's that thing of what a journey this has been.
17:47And I honestly feel that the best is yet to come.
17:52I honestly feel that my creativity and who I am as an artist,
17:56like you said, I also feel that this for me was another kind of level for me
18:03of going deeper into who I am as a person, as an artist.
18:07And these type of roles change you in a way when you allow them to
18:10because they come to you at times in your life when you need them
18:14and they help you grow and they heal you in a way.
18:17And if you can kind of let yourself be vulnerable enough and real enough
18:23to show your flaws and to really expose yourself in a way as an artist,
18:33that is a gift that you always want.
18:37You want to have that because then you know when people go out there,
18:42even with songs or whatever, it's like you want to know that
18:47if you're going through something, somebody else went through it too.
18:51And this is how they got through it.
18:53And this is what they did.
18:55Oh, and I'm not the only one who feels that way.
18:58And for me, that's really what my life is about,
19:00is about doing things and making things that are beautiful and entertaining,
19:06but that also let people know that love is what matters
19:11and that you're not alone, that we're all in this together.
19:19So thank you.
19:21Thank you, guys.
19:22I love you so much.
19:24I can't even tell you how much.
19:26I love you too much, yes.
19:28That's my cousin, everyone.
19:35We're going to hold it together.
19:36We got a lot of good projects coming up.
19:38I can't wait for you guys to see Kiss of the Spider Woman.
19:40I can't wait for you guys to see all these things that we're doing
19:43in the next couple of years.
19:45I'm very excited, and I love you.
19:47And thank you always for supporting me.