Jenny From the Block might just get her Oscar after all.
The first trailer dropped for Kiss of the Spider Woman, a film adaptation of the musical by Terrence McNally, John Kander, and Fred Ebb. Following the raves for her performance after the film’s Sundance Film Festival premiere, the first look at virtuoso J.Lo’s song-and-dance performance already has her fans envisioning Lopez’s first Academy Award nomination.
Set in an Argentine prison in 1981, the story centers on two cellmates: Luis Molina (Tonatiuh Elizarraraz), a queer man convicted for public indecency, and Valentín Arregui (Diego Luna), a political prisoner.
To escape the harsh reality of prison life, Molina recounts the plot of a Hollywood musical starring the glamourous onscreen actress Ingrid Luna (Jennifer Lopez).
“What’s your favorite movie?” Luis asks Valentín in the trailer, who shrugs his shoulders and replies: “I don’t have one.”
“I couldn’t live without movies. One of them, I will never forget. Kiss of the Spider Woman,” Luis says dreamily.
Directed by Bill Condon, known for his work on Dreamgirls, the film stars Bruno Bichir, Josefina Scaglione, Aline Mayagoitia, and Kristine Covillo.
Kiss of the Spider Woman received a standing ovation from audiences at its Sundance premiere, and Oscar buzz followed. JoBlo called the film an “entertaining, glamorous adaptation of the Tony-winning musical.” Meanwhile, Kevin Fallon from The Daily Beast’s Obsessed shouted out Lopez for her performance, claiming she absolutely “killed it.”
The “O” word is getting a lot of play on social media:
In an interview with Variety, Lopez spoke about what initially drew her to the project.
“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,” she explained.
And for the Oscar buzz? Well, Lopez isn’t ready to start talking about that kind of thing yet. However, that doesn’t mean she isn’t down for the movie getting its flowers.
“Of course, I would love it to get the recognition that I believe it deserves,” she said.
Set to hit theaters on Oct. 10, Kiss of the Spider Woman might just be an old-school Hollywood-style hit.
