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Jennifer Lopez was at the Sundance Film Festival over the weekend for her latest musical film, Kiss of the Spider Woman. The film adaptation of the Broadway music telling the love story between two men in an Argentine prison debuted at the festival on Sunday, January 26, 2025. Embraced by the audience, it ended in a standing ovation that brought Lopez to tears of joy.
Following the premiere, the singer-actress addressed the audience at Park City's Eccles Theater, sharing how starring in the musical had fulfilled one of her lifelong dreams. She said:
"I've been waiting for this moment my whole life. The reason I even wanted to be in this business is because my mom would sit me in front of the TV and [West Side Story] would come on once a year. I was mesmerized and was like, 'That's what I want to do."
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Jennifer Lopez added that starring in Kiss of the Spider Woman was the first time she "actually got to do it." She referred to the musical's director, Bill Condon, saying:
"This man made my dream come true."
Kiss of the Spider Woman marked Condon's first return to the Sundance Film Festival after his period drama Gods and Monsters in 1998. He previously worked on movie musicals like Dreamgirls, Disney's remakes of Beauty and the Beast and The Greatest Showman.
Jennifer Lopez admits that Kiss of the Spider Woman wasn't the first time she auditioned for a movie musical
Starring in Bill Condon's Kiss of the Spider Woman was a dream come true for Jennifer Lopez. However, it wasn't her first rodeo in trying to land a role in a movie musical. Before receiving the standing ovation during their premiere at Sundance on Sunday night, Lopez spoke to The Hollywood Reporter on the red carpet. She shared that while being part of a movie musical had been her lifelong dream, it wasn't for her lack of trying.
The singer-actress admitted that she had auditioned in other projects before but always seemed to get passed over. She said:
"I remember auditioning for Evita, I remember auditioning for Chicago and for Nine—getting very close on Nine... There was a lot of things that I had always hoped that I could do and just wasn't the right time. But this [Kiss of the Spider Woman] is the right thing."
Evita, which was directed by Alan Parker in 1996, ended up starring Madonna. Meanwhile, Chicago, which Condon wrote and Rob Marshall directed, ended up casting Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, and Renee Zellweger and ultimately won six Oscar trophies in 2003. Although Lopez didn't specify which role she auditioned for, Nine's casting included Marion Cotillard, Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz, Judi Dench, and more.
While the Atlas actress couldn't be part of those modern movie musicals years before, she got the role of a lifetime as Aurora in Kiss of the Spider Woman. Per The Hollywood Reporter, it wasn't a role that she simply auditioned for, as Condon confirmed that he wrote the part specifically with Jennifer Lopez in mind.
Kiss of the Spider Woman also stars Diego Luna, Tonatiuh, Bruno Bichir, Josefina Scaglione, and more, with Jennifer Lopez' ex-husband Ben Affleck credited as one of the executive producers.
