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\n\tThe Weeknd\u2019s<\/a> film debut as a lead actor is less than a month away. With Hurry Up Tomorrow<\/a><\/em> set to hit theaters nationwide on May 16, Abel\u2019s press run is underway as he opened up about the movie alongside director Trey Shults and co-star Jenna Ortega to Fandango <\/em>on Thursday (April 24). <\/p>\n \n\tWhile the Hurry Up Tomorrow<\/em> album<\/a> arrived in February ahead of the film, the Toronto singer explained that the film actually came before the LP took shape.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThe film came first. The album didn\u2019t exist. We were scoring and writing music to picture,\u201d he said. \u201cThe idea came from a real-life incident that had happened and I always saw it as a film. The film came first, then the music.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tShults revealed that The Weeknd came to him with an idea for the film, which they bonded over, and the duo continued to \u201cswap traumas\u201d and built out the universe for a potential movie.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe\u2019re both cinephiles that have this like-minded taste,\u201d Shults added. \u201cFirst, it started just, like, Abel had this idea, and we were both connecting over that. And then [we] got creative juju and super inspired and excited and bouncing back and forth. <\/p>\n \n\tHe continued: \u201cAnd then, naturally, influences started filtering in. You know, it ranged from Persona<\/em> to Raging Bull<\/em> to Purple Rain<\/em> to Audition<\/em> and you name it.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe film finds The Weeknd playing a fictionalized version of himself as a pop star. Jenna Ortega (Annie) plays his love interest and Barry Keoghan also stars in the film as Abel tests the depths of his soul throughout the psychotic journey. <\/p>\n \n\tWith the album serving as a companion piece, The Weeknd released another visual from Hurry Up Tomorrow <\/em>for \u201cI Can\u2019t Wait to Get There,\u201d <\/a>which pulls scenes from the movie and is essentially a preview to the flick, enticing fans to buy tickets. <\/a><\/p>\n \n\tFans in select cities will have the exclusive opportunity to screen the film early on May 14, prior to Hurry Up Tomorrow<\/em> coming to theaters on May 16. <\/p>\n \n\tPrior to the film\u2019s arrival, The Weeknd will kick off his\u00a0After Hours Til Dawn Tour<\/a> on May 9 in Phoenix. The trek will invade stadiums across North America this summer with\u00a0Playboi Carti<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Mike Dean\u00a0<\/a>serving as the tour\u2019s special guests.<\/p>\n \n\tCheck out The Weeknd\u2019s interview with Ortega and Shults as well as his new video for \u201cI Can\u2019t Wait to Get There\u201d below: <\/p>\n