After 'The Idol,' Abel Tesfaye's new movie 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' brought 'joy back into filmmaking'

LAS VEGAS – Abel Tesfaye has ever known helium wanted to prosecute a vocation successful cinema. He sees his meteoric emergence to fame arsenic 1 of today’s biggest popular superstars nether the moniker The Weeknd arsenic a detour to marque that happen.

Nearly 2 years aft helium made his acting debut with HBO’s “The Idol,” which helium co-created with Sam Levinson, Tesfaye said his latest experimental philharmonic movie which besides stars Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan “brought the joyousness backmost into filmmaking."

“Hurry Up Tomorrow,” a Lionsgate merchandise hitting theaters May 16, is simply a benignant of companion portion to the last medium of the aforesaid sanction released earlier this twelvemonth successful the artist’s record-breaking trilogy.

Along with manager Trey Edward Shults, Tesfaye, 35, spoke with The Associated Press astir retiring The Weeknd, losing his dependable onstage successful 2022 and lessons learned from making “The Idol.”

The interrogation has been edited for clarity and brevity.

AP: How has cinema and long-form storytelling done movie influenced you arsenic an artist?

TESFAYE: Cinema, for me, it’s ever been my fig 1 passion. And past I happened to sing and marque euphony and it benignant of felt similar a small detour, a small cheat codification to benignant of get into this.

I ever wanted to marque movies and I ever privation to marque euphony with movies. You ever benignant of perceive and spot the DNA of cinema successful my albums and my euphony videos, my performances and my stage. So it’s ever conscionable been a portion of me.

AP: You travel successful with this precise vulnerable, idiosyncratic project, and you enlist Trey to marque it. How did you guys navigate that and wherefore did you spot him?

TESFAYE: Well, archetypal and foremost, I was a instrumentality of his work. So I knew that helium was gonna, immoderate I gave him, he’s gonna marque thing incredible. But erstwhile we met, we conscionable were benignant of inseparable. We became really, truly adjacent friends and family. And the spot conscionable came earthy aft that. It’s similar nary 1 other tin archer the communicative but Trey. So it was precise casual for me.

SHULTS: For maine too, it was similar my archetypal movie I made for $30,000 with literal household members acting successful it and friends successful it. It was this beautiful, magical acquisition and I told myself going forward, doing bigger projects, I lone wanna enactment with humans that I genuinely consciousness connected to and you consciousness that kismet bully vigor transportation and erstwhile I met Abel, I felt that. And it was conscionable earthy and integrated and helium was a genuine instrumentality and I could archer his genuine spot and similar wanting to embolden maine and effort to marque this my ain film. And I conscionable got brainsick inspired.

AP: Did you ever spot this arsenic the 3rd portion successful the trilogy?

TESFAYE: It was ever the 3rd part, yeah. I didn’t cognize what I wanted to accidental astatine the time, but I knew I was making immoderate benignant of saga. But that was much conscionable for myself. I benignant of wanted to found that I wanted to marque thing that tin extremity a story. And lo and behold, thing really happened to maine that I felt like, immoderate I had successful store, immoderate plans I had prior, threw it retired the model aocused 110% connected this story.

AP: How did what happened alteration your knowing of you arsenic an artist? You said cinema has ever been the goal. Do you consciousness similar it benignant of helped you spot your priorities successful immoderate ways?

TESFAYE: Absolutely. I mean I was juggling a cardinal things astatine the time, you know, and I was connected tour, dealing with idiosyncratic worldly arsenic well. But that’s happened before. I was capable to inactive trust connected my ace power. You know, I tin spell connected signifier and it’s this cathartic acquisition with the fans. I tin unopen my satellite disconnected for an hr and a half, 2 hours and conscionable suffer myself successful my performance. And erstwhile it got to a constituent wherever the lines were blurring, it was affecting my signifier show — radical walk a batch of wealth to travel to these shows. They prevention up for a year, and it got a constituent where, ohio my God, I can’t springiness them what they want, my dependable is failing me. And I knew astatine that moment, I needed to beryllium down and fig retired what was going connected up there. Because it wasn’t a carnal injury.

AP: Did that power your determination to discontinue The Weeknd?

TESFAYE: That benignant of helped it.

AP: So present you’re bringing yourself? Abel is who you privation radical to know?

TESFAYE: It’s not adjacent that. I mean, I’ve ever been Abel. The Weeknd’s ever been a performance. I’m gonna beryllium ace hyperbolic present a small bit, but it felt similar I had thing other to say. That’s what it benignant of felt similar to me. I was connected signifier and it’s similar I’ve said everything I tin accidental arsenic this person, and present it’s clip for maine to instrumentality that adjacent step. And this movie was benignant of similar that guiding airy for me.

AP: Were determination immoderate lessons from “The Idol” that you took into this project?

TESFAYE: Yeah, I mean, people you learn. That was the archetypal happening we had ever done. You ever learn. You’re moving with great, large artists astatine the clip and I'm inactive truly adjacent with everyone from the set. But it was a learning experience.

This felt a small bit, had a small much joyousness making it. Felt a small but much personal. “Idol” didn’t truly consciousness similar excavation astatine the time. This 1 felt precise overmuch idiosyncratic and I’m saying this now, that Trey truly brought that, and Jenna, of course, brought the joyousness backmost into filmmaking. Like, “Yeah, I bash privation to bash this. This is great.” (Laughs)

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.