Leighton and Selena in "Monte Carlo"

Launching their fun summer romantic, girl-romp adventure film Monte Carlo, Selena Gomez and Leighton Meester talk galpal bonding, a wild time overseas, summer reads and they both give you advice for handling yet another school year at summer’s end.

TeenHollywood: Does this movie have a message for young girls?

Selena: Yes, I think there are multiple messages. Obviously, the biggest one is learning who you are and embracing that part of you and spreading your wings and exploring yourself and the world. There’s another message in family; having stepsisters and getting along and there’s romance. Every girl is going to love falling in love with each of the boys in the film. It’s sweet.

TeenHollywood: Talk about playing kind of three roles; Grace, Cordelia and Grace playing Cordelia.

Selena: It was fun. I thought Grace was very sweet trying to make the best of every situation. Cordelia was really fun because she was just evil. I had fabulous clothes and her demeanor was just awesome to create. Then Grace being Cordelia, I never knew what I was doing which day or which character I was playing so that was fun because it was easy for me to stumble and mess up the accent which was easy because I’m not British but I worked with a dialect coach for two weeks before the film.

TeenHollywood: Leighton, your character starts out as sort of a killjoy then becomes more fun. What caused that transformation?

Leighton: She starts off a little bit broken. She’s awkward and hasn’t had a lot of social time because a lot of her time was spent with her mother in her last years then her dad immediately went with this other woman and she was a little bitter about that and, of course, Emma (Katie Cassidy’s character) and Grace are super tight and I think she’s a little jealous and awkward about that relationship. She’s a lot like me in that she’s kind of a dork and that was fun.

Then I think what transforms her is seeing Emma and Grace being real with her and putting her in her place and telling her what she’s doing wrong. She needed a wakeup call. But, also being away from everything her life was before and getting to just let go. Also, she gets with a guy so that’s fun for her. She’s on the beach, gets alone time and dances. I think all of that is representative of her breaking free of her previous ways.

TeenHollywood: What is your idea of the ultimate escape vacation?

Leighton: Since I don’t get to go on vacation a lot, I get down to Florida to see my family all the time and that’s the best because my family lives on a little island so there’s really nothing to do except go out on the boat and barbeque and play X-box. That’s all we do and they’re the most honest, real, amazing people I could ever have in my life because they’ve known me since the day I was born. That’s the best time. Besides that, I just went to the beach in Mexico and that’s really nice. Getting away from everything; turning off your phone and computer, not worrying about anything.

TeenHollywood: Favorite place to visit while making the film?

Selena: Well we started out in Budapest then we went to Paris and Monte Carlo. We went to this little beach club and swamp out to a dock and were yanked around on the back of a boat on an inner tube. It was really fun. We saw fireworks and we got to stay at the actual hotel you see in the movie which was really fancy pants… nice.

TeenHollywood: You both were or are on TV. Talk about the challenges or rewards of TV vs. Film?

Selena: I worked on a sitcom (“Wizards of Waverly Place”) so we had four cameras and an audience. I enjoyed that. It was easy and I was very comfortable. On a film we work night shoots and 14-hour days so that was different but the reward was being on these beautiful locations and work with great people.

Leighton: I think the big difference for me is I’ve done the same character for the last five years and that’s really rewarding because you get to go through a life with the character but with a movie you get to choose everything you do because you know the whole story (beginning to end), their entire arc and you can be careful with your choices and you go do it and you’re done.

TeenHollywood: Leighton, you’ve been working with some great actresses like Gwyneth Paltrow so who else would you love to work with besides the ladies in this film?

Leighton: Kate Winslet is one of my favorite actresses and I’m sure she’d be wonderful and gorgeous to meet and I love Meryl Streep, Audrey Hepburn, not possible to meet her but I really love her. I like Cate Blanchette a lot.

TeenHollywood: Fave scene to do in the movie?

Selena: The end where I’m saying goodbye to Leighton because our characters go through this huge arc so it’s nice to see us bond and another scene I like is where I’m with Katie and we’re talking about our feelings and what we’re going through. I think it’s really sweet and Katie did a great job.

Leighton: Well, pretty much everything I got to do with Selena and Katie was wonderful. We became like sisters and it was a beautiful journey for us in real life and in the movie. The more we got into it, the better it got.  Also I love running around in Paris, across the bridge and up in the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. We had all of it to ourselves. It was genius.

I loved the scene I had with Luke Bracey who plans Riley, my love interest in the film. It was the last day of filming. We get there, do a rehearsal, we jump in the ocean and swim around in the water, go have this lovely French lunch, work for a few hours, jump again in the water then we’re done. It was really fun.

TeenHollywood: Are you reading any good books this summer?

Selena: I’m currently re-reading “13 Reasons Why” so I’m into that right now.

Leighton: I grew up reading “Sense and Sensibility”, “Pride and Prejudice” girlie kind of books and I love “The Custom of the Country” by Edith Wharton and “Age of Innocence” and I love anything to do with old New York so those.

TeenHollywood: Leighton, what do you think Blair Waldorf would do if she found out someone was impersonating her?

Leighton: (laughs) Oh gosh, I’d be scared. But, very much what Cordelia (in this film) would do. She’s not such a nice girl. I was more scared of Cordelia which was funny. Blair would probably rip her head off. She would not be so happy about that.

TeenHollywood: How did you like your clothes in the film?

Selena: Grace’s wardrobe was very Texan and simple but very pretty. Cordelia’s was very intense. She wore amazing dresses and jackets and purses and earrings. It was really fun to create that whole vibe. She was very high fashion. My personal clothes are kind of simple. I like classic things.

Leighton:  I think, visually the movie was really beautiful and uplifting. The clothes in the movie are gorgeous. The (sets and wardrobe) start out in nudes and browns, subdued, then you bring in some reds and blues then, eventually it’s like Oz at the end in Monte Carlo and it’s yellows and pinks and pastels. The clothes are gorgeous.

Meg starts out uptight and dorky so she doesn’t know her sense of style then she ends up in a bathing suit so that says something.. and a pink dress. The most fun was that we didn’t have a lot of changes so that was pretty easy. In real life I just wear what I like and be comfortable.

TeenHollywood: Did you two ever have a great summer adventure of your own?

Selena: For me it would have to be this movie. I was seventeen (she’s 19 now) when I shot the film and I got to live in Budapest for six weeks and go to Paris and Monte Carlo and work with Katie and Leighton which was awesome. That whole experience was life changing. I learned so much on this film so I would say that was the best adventure.

Leighton: I completely agree. It was exactly the same thing for me. This was a total summer revelation. It was really fun. A winter trip is different.

TeenHollywood: There is a school graduation in the film. Do you have advice for teens going back to school in the fall?

Selena: It’s so hard not to give in to the trends and what people are saying but ultimately, I’m so happy I was the oddball out than create something for myself that I’m not proud of so I really hope they just stay who they are.

Leighton: That was good. High school wasn’t all that much fun for me. It was fun after when you realize that school ends and everything that is so important at that time is not important. If people don’t like your jeans or whatever, it doesn’t matter. But, it’s so funny how this business is very much like high school in that it always matters who is gossiping about who or who is dating who. I can look at exactly the same way. A lot of it isn’t true so just be yourself and stay out of trouble. You can save that for college (she laughs).

TeenHollywood: Is Monte Carlo the perfect movie for girls?

Selena: I think so and every age too. I think moms will appreciate the message and younger girls would love the physical comedy and teen girls will fall in love with the romance. I think it appeals to all ages.

Leighton: I think women will appreciate it too because they’re going through similar things in their lives even (as a grown-up) just changing but also just remembering that time in their lives when they had just finished high school and were in between. My character was done with college and trying to figure out what she’s doing. And visually, the movie is so beautiful; the clothes and locations and the boys and the music. Everything is sparkly and beautiful.