Carey Mulligan and Emerald Fennell on Paris Hilton and Promising Young Woman

Is Paris Hilton a Promising Young Woman? “Stars Are Blind,” the debut single from the smarter-than-she-seems socialite, gets a big singalong moment in the new thriller from Emerald Fennell, with stars Carey Mulligan and Bo Burnham traipsing through the neon-tinged aisles of a drugstore while belting out the tune. It’s a smart placement on Fennell’s part, and one that was in the script from the beginning.

As Fennell tells The A.V. Club in the video above, Hilton and the other female artists who appear on the film’s score have a commonality because they “maybe haven’t been taken seriously, maybe survived things, maybe made the best out of things that were difficult.” Fennell also says “Stars Are Blind” is a “legitimately brilliant song,” something we’re certainly not arguing with.

More from Fennell, as well as Mulligan’s thoughts on playing a sympathetic woman on the brink, can be found in the video above. Promising Young Woman hits theaters on Christmas Day, and should be on VOD sometime early in the new year.