Things got pretty real for Selena Gomez while shooting "Spring Breakers." During a pivotal moment between the former Disney starlet and James Franco, the emotional pressure of shooting the NSFW flick really took a toll on the bikini-clad 20-year-old.
"There is a scene in the movie where James and I have a confrontation — a very awkward, uncomfortable confrontation," she told about a particular moment in the flick. "And I knew about that scene two minutes before we shot it. I was supposed to be finished for the day. We had finished the crying scene. I was in the pool house and I was bawling and I was so tired of crying because you get exhausted from crying. I was like, 'Oh, I'm done.' "
However, the day was far from over. "[Director] Harmony [Korine] pulls me aside, and he goes, 'All right, so we're gonna do a scene in here with you and James.' And he goes, 'He's going to convince you to stay with the girls.' and I go, 'OK, well, what do I say? Am I sad? Am I mad? Am I scared?' And he goes, 'Sure.' And I was like, 'Well, wait a minute. What's happening?' "
Perhaps still running off the emotions from the previous scene and all the unknown of what was to come, Gomez went into the moment unsure but willing. "[James] sat and he held my hand and I go, 'Oh my goodness. What's about to happen?' And that scene was absolutely intense and so real because I had no idea that that was going to happen, and he was so brilliant in it."
The back-and-forth fueled the highly-charged scene — which ended in Gomez getting pretty emotional. "It was just my job to kind of give it back to him, but there was a point where I couldn't handle it anymore. It was like I was going head-to-head, and I bowed down. It was too intense," she said. "So that one is probably my favorite scene in the movie, it was just so great."
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Even when the cameras stopped rolling, it took Gomez a moment to recover. Luckily, Franco was there to support her. "I was shaking. I think we did the scene three times. We only did it three times, but I was shaking at the end," she recalled. "And I remember James just gave me a big hug and he was like, 'You did it. You were amazing.' I was like, 'Oh, thanks.' I was so exhausted and the whole day was such a stressful day for me that it was great."
The flick opens in limited release Friday before going nationwide March 22. In addition to Gomez and Franco, the film also stars Vanessa Hudgens, Rachel Korine, Gucci Mane and Ashley Benson.
Check out everything we've got on "Spring Breakers."