The first trailer for the film adaptation of the musical Kiss of the Spiderwoman has arrived giving us our first look at Jennifer Lopez in the role made famous by Chita Rivera.
The film stars Lopez alongside Diego Luna (Andor, Rogue One, Y tu mamá también), and Spanish star Tonatiuh.
The musical was created by the team of John Kandar and Fred Ebb, who also wrote Chicago and Cabaret alongside playwright Terrance McNally who is remembered for Masterclass and Love! Valour! Compassion!
The film had it’s premiere at the Sundance film festival where it got great reviews, and it’ll be released theatrically in October.
The musical is based on the book of the same name by Argentine Manuel Puig.
Set in an Argentinian prison in 1981 during the Dirty War, Luis Molina (Tonatiuh), a gay hairdresser, is serving an eight-year sentence for allegedly corrupting a minor.
To escape the horrors of his imprisonment, Molina imagines films starring a classic screen actress named Ingrid Luna (Lopez), including a role of the spider woman, who kills her prey with a kiss. Molina’s life is upended when a Marxist, Valentin Arregui Paz (Luna) , is brought into his cell, and the two form an unlikely bond.
The film is directed by Bill Condon who previously created Gods and Monsters, Chicago, Beauty and the Beast and several Twilight movies.
Puig’s book was first published in 1976, and it was adapted into a film in 1985 starring William Hurt, Raul Julia and Sonia Braga. Hurt won the Best Actor Academy Award for portraying Luis Molina.
The musical adaptation came in 1992 with its first run in Toronto. It later opened in the West End, and then moved to Broadway in 1993. It won the Tony Award for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score, while stars Chita Rivera, Brent Carver and Anthony Crivello all picked up acting awards.
