Jennifer Lopez has waited her whole life for a role like ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’. The film marks her return to musical cinema after a series of successful dramatic roles.
The 55-year-old star plays the lead character in the new musical drama film and revealed that it helped her fulfil her dream of starring in an old-school musical movie. This adaptation comes with a $75 million budget, showcasing Hollywood’s continued investment in musical theater adaptations.
“I was waiting my whole life to be able to do a real big MGM Hollywood musical, and I finally got to do it,” Lopez told Variety. “It was more (than I hoped). Me and Diego (Luna) were on set and we’re dancing around and we’re singing and looking at each other and it’s like we don’t want to do anything but musicals. Diego said that! Me too. I don’t want to do anything else.” The production features over 15 original musical numbers.
‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ is an adaptation of the 1993 Broadway musical of the same name and is set in an Argentinean prison in 1981. The original Broadway production ran for 904 performances and won seven Tony Awards.
Lopez plays a fantasy woman called Ingrid Luna, who is created by gay hairdresser Luis Molina as he serves an eight-year sentence for the alleged corruption of a minor. The role required three months of intensive dance and vocal training.
To escape the horror of imprisonment, Molina imagines classic movies starring Luna – including the role of the spider woman who kills her prey with a kiss. The film’s costume department created over 30 unique period-specific outfits for Lopez’s character.
His life is transformed when he is joined in his cell by a Marxist, Valentin Arregui Paz, as the pair forge an unlikely bond. The film was shot on location in Argentina over a period of four months.
Lopez believes the picture serves as a reminder “that love heals all divides”. The production employed over 200 local Argentine crew members and artists.
“It’s about two different people who come together and find the humanity in one another and fall in love. To me, that is something that is special and needs to be seen. We are all just human. It’s an important movie in this way,” the ‘Unstoppable’ actress said. The film features dialogue in both English and Spanish.
The 1985 adaptation of ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman‘ saw the late William Hurt win the Oscar for Best Actor and Lopez hopes that the new movie – which Bill Condon has directed – can be bestowed with similar awards success. Condon’s previous musical, “Chicago,” won six Academy Awards.
“Of course, I would love it to get the recognition that I believe it deserves,” she said. Early screenings have already generated Oscar buzz for Lopez’s performance.
The ‘Marry Me’ star added: “Bill wrote a script that for the first time in my life I was in bed reading it and I started saying it out loud. Saying the lines and laughing and crying. The screenplay underwent 15 revisions before reaching its final form.
“This is what I’ve been waiting for my whole life. This is all I’ve ever wanted to do. The film features several homages to classic Hollywood musicals from the 1950s.
“I got into movies because of ‘West Side Story’. I thought I was going to do Broadway. I wanted to do movies but I didn’t even think about records. I wanted to do musicals. I love musicals. My kids love musicals. My mother did. The production includes several original songs written specifically for Lopez.
“It was a dream fulfilled in having done the movie.” The film is set for a worldwide release in fall 2024, with premieres planned in major cities globally.
