August 28, 2020, marks a big day for Selena Gomez. Not only does her song with Blackpink, “Ice Cream,” make her debut, but her latest film, This Is The Year, debuted. And her former Wizards of Waverly Place co-star, David Henrie, directed the film. That’s why he calls her involvement in the film ‘supernatural.’
Selena Gomez and David Henrie stood in ‘Wizards of Waverly Place’
While Gomez and Henrie started performing as children, they became famous in their teens when they appeared in the Disney Channel sitcom Wizards of Waverly Place. They portrayed Alex and Justin Russo, respectively – seemingly ordinary teenagers who learn magic to determine which of them will continue on the line of the family’s witches.
When the series ended in 2012, each pursued their careers separately. But they have remained friends through the years. Gomez, along with others Wizards of Waverly Place co-stars such as Jake T. Austin and Maria Canals-Barrera, attended Henrie’s 2017 wedding.
She co-starred in his film ‘This is the Year’ as executive producer
Now, the two have collaborated for what was considered a Wizards of Waverly Place reunion. Gomez executive produced Henrie’s directorial debut, This Is The Year. And not only that, but fans can watch their virtual reunion from home during a live premiere event.
“I agree again with my friend and big brother, David Henrie,” Gomez said in the event trailer. “David and I are so excited to announce the premiere of a live virtual movie for our new movie, This Is The Year, which premieres August 28, so I know you’ll give all the feelings. With all the madness in the world, a feel-good movie is just what we need. ”
Gomez gave Henrie advice before coming on board
Gomez is no stranger to working behind the scenes. She executive produced the Netflix drama 13 Reasons Why and documentary series Life without documentation. She is currently working on several other projects, including her HBO Max show Selena + boss. Because of this, Gomez was quick to offer her previous co-star tips while working on his film.
“Because we are such good friends, we know what lives in each other,” Henrie told Showbiz Cheat Sheet. ‘She knew that for a long time about the film, even when we started filming. And she had always given me advice as an executive producer type just like a friend. Look out for this person to cast, this movie. She always gave me good advice. ”
Why Gomez loves ‘This is the year’
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May This Is The Year, Henrie pays tribute to films from the 1980s and coming years. But he also wanted to make it more relevant to a modern audience. “The’ 80s made some great movies and some fun movies and meaningful movies, ”Henrie said. “But there were some tropics they established that weren’t that old,” he added, referring specifically to the hot-girl tropics with one note.
“This is actually the thing that got Selena Gomez involved in the film. She really liked how we flipped some troops on her head, ”Henrie continued. ‘That was just in the same conversation [that we said], ‘Let’s do it, let’s join forces.’ It was supernatural and not really planned in that sense, you know, it was just kind of organic. ”
