Selena Gomez Interview For ‘Hotel Transylvania’

Welcome to the Hotel Transylvania, Dracula’s (Adam Sandler) lavish five-stake resort, where monsters and their families can live it up, free to be the monsters they are without humans to bother them. On one special weekend, Dracula has invited some of the world’s most famous monsters – Frankenstein and his bride, the Mummy, the Invisible Man, a family of werewolves, and more – to celebrate his daughter Mavis’s (Selena Gomez) 118th birthday. For Dracula, catering to all of these legendary monsters is no problem – but his world could come crashing down when one ordinary guy (Andy Samberg) stumbles on the hotel and takes a shine to Mavis. Alongside Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez and Andy Samberg, the voice cast for ‘Hot Transylvania’ also includes David Spade, Kevin James, Cee-Lo, Steve Buscemi and Molly Shannon. Directed by Genndy Tartakovsky (Samurai Jack), the film is scheduled for a September 28th release in the US and a October 12th release in the UK.

While there’s been countless Dracula and vampire movies, ’Hotel Transylvania’ has a unique look at the character, by centering on Dracula and his daughter Mavis’s relationship?

Selena Gomez: Yeah, Dracula built this incredible hotel where Monsters can stay and be safe from humans, because there’s this whole battle between humans and vampires. He basically built this hotel to keep his daughter Mavis safe. And Mavis, she turns 118 years old and wants to have freedom, see the world, to go see a real human for the first time. She just wants a little bit of her freedom and her father kind of freaks out a little bit (laughs). He doesn’t want her to leave. Then we meet Jonathan, who is the first human who stumbles upon the Hotel, and he isn’t completely fazed by Monsters, not even scared, he doesn’t even worry – he’s fascinated with them. He meets Mavis and they kind of fall in love. It’s dealing with that and freedom, a father/daughter story, falling in love for the first time, meeting a human for the first time. It’s a sweet story.

What was it like being a part of this huge ensemble cast of voice actors, and in particular with Adam Sandler as your father in the film?

Selena Gomez: I was super honoured to be a part of such a great cast. Everybody who’s a part of ’Hotel Transylvania’ does the parts incredibly well – and they’re incredibly fun! Its got a great message, it’s a family movie, anybody can go. There’s not really an age limit on it, it appeals to everybody. I’m very excited to be a part of it, it was such a fun movie. And Adam Sandler, just working with him alone was enough. I grew up watching him, so I was super excited when I got the call for the film. I’m glad to be apart of it. It was a challenge as well, as I think it can sometimes be harder to act with your voice than to act with your actual self. It was nice being out of my comfort zone in that way.

Going into the film, how did you perceive Mavis, what sort of characteristics do you think define her? She’s joined by a whole gang of classic Monster in ’Hotel Transylvania’….

Selena Gomez: Yeah, you have everyone from The Mummy, The Invisible Man, to Big Foot, Frankenstein….we kind of touch on all of them, in a way. They all have their own personalities and you get to see a lighter side of all of them. And Mavis, I would say she’s exactly what you think Dracula’s daughter is like. She’s got the cute hairstyle, she dresses kind of stylish. She has a little bit of an attitude but she’s really sincere and caring, she cares a great deal about her Dad and she cares about her family – but she wants to have a little bit of independence. I feel like that’s exactly what I would have envisioned what Dracula’s daughter would be like.

Look out for a more in-depth interview with Selena Gomez for ‘Hotel Transylvania’ closer to the films release date.