EXCLUSIVE: Annie Gonzalez is making her official debut as Jenni Rivera, the legendary Regional Mexican singer recognized adoringly by her followers as La Diva de la Banda, within the official trailer for the ViX Authentic Movie, Jenni (above). The biopic will premiere by way of the TelevisaUnivision streamer and choose theaters within the U.S. and Mexico on December 6.
From a screenplay by Shane McKenzie and Kate Lanier, Jenni follows Rivera’s journey from the start of her profession in her hometown of Lengthy Seaside, California, to her meteoric rise within the music business as much as the final days earlier than her tragic and surprising loss of life in a 2012 airplane crash on the age of 43.
The mission additionally tackles the struggles she endured in her private life and the way she persevered and located energy from inside. This story of resilience and bravado reveals the constructing blocks of what made Jenni Rivera who she was and the outstanding legacy she left behind.
“After I learn the script, I used to be drawn to the girl behind the microphone. It was her coronary heart and soul that made her who she was and what the story is about,” Gonzalez tells Deadline about what attracted her to the position.
“The story takes place earlier than her fame and what led to that, which I recognized with. There’s quite a bit in there that I both skilled or know individuals who have. It felt like such an necessary story as a result of we see Jenni as this chingona, this peleona, this fighter, this pressure. However what we don’t see behind each robust lady normally, is all of the shit that they needed to undergo and combat to change into somebody like Jenni. [To portray her], I simply pulled from my very own life,” she added.
Gonzalez displays on the expertise additional by sharing how this journey with Rivera was “cathartic” for her in a private method. “It gave me an opportunity to totally expertise myself by this. This mission has freed me in so some ways,” the star of Flamin’ Sizzling reveals.
Jenni Rivera performs on the eleventh annual Latin GRAMMY Awards on November 11, 2010, in Las Vegas
Kevin Winter/Getty Pictures for LARAS
When Deadline introduced the mission was greenlit at ViX in 2023 with Gonzalez taking the lead position and making her official debut as an govt producer, there have been questions on whether or not or not the movie would mirror Rivera’s actual life—the black, white, and the gray. As is clear within the trailer above, the manufacturing didn’t draw back from something.
“There’s not a lot sugar coating occurring right here. This can be a actual alternative to deliver her followers nearer to her and her coronary heart which lives on. It additionally helps individuals who may not have recognized a lot about her, the f***ing magic she was, and introduces them to her music. There’s lots of grit to this movie,” Gonzalez shares.
She continues, “Once we inform tales of people that have handed, particularly our icons, we create a elegant model of their lives. We as a society as we speak are uninterested in the polish. Give us one thing actual in order that we will aspire to one thing sincere. Life isn’t about being excellent, it’s about being who you might be.”
Whereas her fame catapulted her to the higher echelons of success, Rivera was clear about how her life and family members have been tainted by home violence and sexual assault. In 2008, she based the Jenni Rivera Basis and have become an advocate for anybody who skilled abuse, particularly ladies and youngsters. So together with such subjects in her biopic could be very on-brand for Rivera.
Gonzalez proudly shares how she was chosen for the position by the surviving members of the Rivera household following a prolonged audition and interview course of. She was additionally entrusted to sing a lot of Rivera’s greatest hits, however followers could be certain they may even hear their Diva’s vocals spotlighted within the movie’s soundtrack. Gonzalez’s hope for audiences is that they’ll join with “La Mariposa del Barrio” and discover inspiration.
“There’s a lot magic in Jenni due to her combat. She fought for who she was each second of the way in which. She supplied grace to ladies all over the world who confronted adversity. I hope individuals see it and are impressed to combat the way in which she did. She taught me how one can combat,” Gonzalez emphasised.
Annie Gonzalez as Jenni Rivera within the ViX authentic movie Jenni
ViX
Alongside Gonzalez, the movie stars Manuel Uriza as Pedro Rivera, Jenni’s father and Regional Mexican entrepreneur; Cinthya Carmona as Chiquis Rivera, singer, TV character and the oldest daughter of Jenni; Jero Medina and Miguel Angel Garcia as Trino Marín, Jenni’s first husband and father of her three oldest kids, at later and earlier levels in his life, respectively. Gabriela Reynoso performs Jenni’s mom Rosa Saavedra; J.R. Villarreal as Juan “Cinco” Lopez, Jenni’s late second husband; and newcomer Tatiana Alicia Beltrán portrays the younger Jenni Rivera.
Jenni is produced by Javier Chapa and Phillip Braun of Mucho Mas Media and Alec Meachem from De Line Photos, with Gigi Saul Guerrero (Tradition Shock, Bingo Hell) serving as director.
In mild of the latest election and different equally necessary world information, Gonzalez hopes Jenni audiences benefit from the trip and are impressed.
“We’re confronted with adversity throughout us that would make us really feel defeated or like victims, whether or not private or skilled. And as you’ll see within the movie, Jenni took all the pieces that occurred to her and understood that the villain and the victor lived inside her. I hope this conjures up extra humanity on this planet and fewer judgment. We’re all making an attempt to do one of the best we will with the instruments that we have now,” Gonzalez concludes.
This interview has been edited and condensed for size and readability.
