Hustlers music supervisor Jason Markey halted plans for a Jennifer Lopez, Lizzo and Cardi B collaboration.
The three superstars come together in the cast for the new stripper comedy, and while there were some discussions about a musical conclusion to the movie in a similar vein to Lil’ Kim, Pink, Mya and Christina Aguilera’s rendition of “Lady Marmalade” for Moulin Rouge, it seemed too “cheesy.”
Markey told Variety: “At one point, there was some conversation from the producers’ standpoint: ‘Should we do a big end-title song, like a ‘Lady Marmalade’ thing?’
“I was the first person to stand up and go, ‘I think that’s cheesy!’ ”
He argued his point to director Lorene Scafaria and won over the filmmaker as he suggested a “more poignant” ending than a “big pop number.”
He added: “I said to Lorene [Scafaria] in sort of a private jest, ‘Honestly, I really don’t believe in having a Jennifer-Cardi B-Lizzo song in this movie — I just think we could do much better than that’.”And not in a bad way in relation to their artistry, but we can end with a more poignant option, as opposed to this big pop number. And she agreed with me. So we stood our ground — and won the battle.”
Instead, one of the movie’s standout musical moments sees J-Lo pole dancing along to “Criminal” by Fiona Apple, which Markey admitted was a risk as the singer’s 1997 hit had only been licensed a handful of times for TV and never on the big screen.
He said: “I was very scared because Fiona notoriously says no to everything. We sent her the clip and she approved it, so I would assume she just liked what she saw.
“Maybe she’s not a fan of Jennifer, but when you watch her dance, it’s undeniable. It’s dramatic gold.”
