Jennifer Lopez debuted her first movie musical in chilly Utah.
The 55-year-old actress-singer, accompanied by director Bill Condon, costar Tonatiuh, and others, walked the red carpet for the world premiere of Kiss of the Spider Woman on Sunday, Jan. 26, at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City.
Lopez looked stunning in a black Valdrin Sahiti lace gown embellished with Hassanzadeh jewels that formed a spiderweb from her neck to her feet. She wore a white fur coat over her attire to remain warm on her way to the event.
Diego Luna, who was significantly absent from Sundance, plays a political prisoner during Argentina’s civil war in the 1980s in Kiss of the Spider Woman, alongside Tonatiuh.
“Luna sends his affection. “I know he had a family emergency that kept him in Madrid, but he’s heartbroken not to be here,” Condon, 69, said of Luna, 45, earlier in the day at a Los Angeles Times film panel.
John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Terrence McNally staged Kiss of the Spider Woman, a reinterpretation of Argentine writer Manuel Puig’s 1976 novel. The Broadway adaptation won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 1993. A non-musical 1985 film based on the same story stars William Hurt, Raul Julia, and Sônia Braga.
The official Sundance Film Festival summary for the new film characterizes it as “a textually rich historical and political drama with the flashy technicolor extravagance of an old Hollywood musical.”
“Lopez is an astonishing scene-stealer in a career-highlight performance as Luna/Aurora, with showstopping musical numbers that underscore the exuberant prowess of her dancing and voice,” according to the trailer.
Lopez stated during the L.A. Times panel that she spent months preparing to play Ingrid Luna, a movie star within a film.
“I wish I had a year to make a major musical like this, but this was an indie production, so everything was rushed.” We didn’t have much time,” Lopez explained. “It was tough. It truly was. I was a dancer. It was challenging for Diego and Tona, but we managed to overcome it.
Tonatiuh praised Lopez for his natural force on set.
“Seeing you in front of me every time was like witnessing a maestro at work. There were instances when I wasn’t even in the number and would go up to set and be like, Oh my gosh, she’s doing well again. “This is incredible,” Tonatiuh stated during the panel. “Remember, we were filming multiple times a day. You truly are a formidable presence.”
In an appearance on Live with Kelly and Mark in May, Lopez described Kiss of the Spider Woman as “all singing and dancing, which was equal parts exhilarating and exhausting as well,” as reported by Entertainment Weekly. “I am the thinnest I have ever been. “I am in fighting shape right now.”
We have not yet determined the distributor and release date for Kiss of the Spider Woman. The film’s producers include Lopez, Ben Affleck, and Matt Damon, through their business, Artists Equity.