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Forget Hannah Montana; meet Selena Monte Carlo! (1)
2011-04-20 17:19
What:
Monte Carlo the Movie
When: opening 1 July 2011
This new feelgood movie, loosely based on Jules Bass's novel 'Headhunters' not only plays on the aspirations of millions of teen Bieberettes around the world (
Selena Gomez, the lead, is Justin's real-life gf), but also pits Paris against Monaco as the capital of Romance.
The story involves a double fantasy: Grace saves up to go on the trip of a lifetime to the French capital with her stepsister and best friend, but their holiday turns out to be something of a disappointment: shoddy hotel accommodation and a dire package tour are not what teen dreams are supposed to be made of. What about the ritz and glitz?
You may well ask - and surprisingly it turns out to be closer than she thinks, when Grace is mistaken for British heiress and party-girl Cordelia Winthrop-Scott. Before she and her friends get the chance to reveal their true identities it's too late: the private plane to
Monte Carlo is booked and the girls are on their way to a world of endless champagne and polo.
On set: The Hôtel de Paris
Originally planned as an adult comedy with Nicole Kidman, this substantial rewrite, with Gomez in the lead, is an inspired change of tack: the Cinderella story is just so much better with kids! And the movie will attract a slew of attention because of the teen celeb status of its young actors.
As well as Selena, the film also stars Katie Cassidy, Leighton Meester, and Glee's Cory Monteith. Gomez, now 19, had to perfect a cut-glass English accent - as well as actually learning to play the game of kings - experiences which will no doubt stand her in good stead when she books into the
Hôtel de Paris for real.