David O. Russell to Direct Selena Gomez-Starring Linda Ronstadt Biopic

The Selena Gomez-starring Linda Ronstadt biopic has found its director: Oscar-nominated Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle filmmaker David O. Russell.

Variety reports that Russell will helm the film, which Gomez teased — and Rolling Stone confirmed — via social media earlier this week.

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In that Instagram post, Gomez simply posted a photo of Ronstadt’s 2013 memoir Simple Dreams. Fans quickly speculated that Gomez — who like Ronstadt is of Mexican descent — would portray the legendary singer on the big screen.

Russell, a three-time Best Director nominee at the Academy Awards, last helmed 2022’s all-star Amsterdam, which featured Gomez’s buddy Taylor Swift in a supporting role.

The biopic is currently in pre-production, with Ronstadt’s manager John Boylan and James Keach — who helmed the documentary  Linda and the Mockingbirds, chronicling Ronstadt’s voyage to Mexico — serving as co-producers. Additional casting details and a release date have not yet been announced.

The biopic will follow the acclaimed documentary Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice, released in 2019. That film traced her incredible multi-genre career that stretched nearly five decades, including her domination of the country rock scene in the Seventies, her Pirates of Penzance Broadway moment, and more. “I was tired at the end [of watching it],” she told Rolling Stone. “I thought, ‘I can’t believe I did that much stuff!’”

Ronstadt, who last performed live in 2009, retired from singing after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2012.

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