EMILIA PÉREZ PRODUCTION
COMING TOGETHER Bringing Emilia Pérez to life was a five- year endeavour that only concluded mere days before the Cannes deadline. “Jacques was always changing things like it’s a sculpture,” admits Dru. “When you’re doing that with voices, music and songs, it’s complicated. It was this puzzle that was hard to join together.” He adds: “I have 20 songs in my Dropbox that aren’t in the movie.” Because of this final push, which ultimately paid off given the film’s reception at the festival, releasing the soundtrack became an afterthought. “When we worked on the final production, we ran to go to the festival, so were only focused on the movie,” Dru reveals. Now, the 92-minute soundtrack, with both the score and original songs, is available. Despite being a Spanish-language film, Emilia Pérez was primarily shot in Paris, and Audiard, Dru, Ducol and Camille are all French. “There was a language [barrier],” says Dru, who had a personal connection to the project as his grandmother was Spanish. “I was back to my roots in a way,” he muses, “while also diving into something very new. “Working with Jacques, every day is an adventure,” Dru concludes. “The journey is never what you expect; it brings surprises. Those five years were intense but also filled with joy. It was the most amazing experience of my professional life.” Emilia Pérez is now available to stream on Netflix
Gascón and Adriana Paz – was a mixed bag in terms of musical experience. Dru arranged vocal coaches for each of the actors, with sessions generally taking place over Zoom. “We were in a studio in Paris, and she was amazing – a true singer,” Dru says of Saldaña, whose background is in dance. “With Selena, it was the same,” he adds, noting that her song Mi Camino was written in one week, in the midst of production, to give her character more emotional depth. “We sent it to Selena, and she was very moved. She’s an amazing singer, so it was easy.” Gascón, who plays the titular character, had less musical experience and practised for two years to fine-tune her voice and record her playback tracks. “We worked a lot with her, the team, the coaches, Camille and Clément day by day,” describes Dru. “It’s a long way down to Reno, as you say in the US. She worked so much on the movie.” Besides the musical numbers, Dru oversaw the score, composed by Ducol and Camille. “We collaborated with the whole team to think of one sound,” he articulates, mentioning that Audiard wanted the film to have a single sonic aesthetic – or architecture, as Dru phrases it. The score combined instrumentals with vocals from The Mexican Choir – as well as Camille’s own voice. “These arrangements are very beautiful and unique,” states Dru.
I WAS back to my roots IN A WAY, WHILE ALSO DIVING INTO something very new ”
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