The new adaptation of Kiss of the Spider Woman that stars Jennifer Lopez is close to a sale after premiering at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.
Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate and LD Entertainment are in final negotiations to acquire domestic distribution rights for the musical feature. Diego Luna, Tonatiuh and Tony Dovolani round out the cast for director Bill Condon‘s film that hails from Artists Equity and Mohari Media.
Kiss of the Spider Woman is based on playwright Terrence McNally’s stage musical that debuted on Broadway in 1993 and adapted Manuel Puig’s 1976 novel of the same name. Condon penned the script, and the film features music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb.
The project centers on a political prisoner (Luna), whose cellmate (Tonatiuh) creates a fantasy Hollywood narrative involving his favorite star, Ingrid Luna (Lopez).
Producers include Barry Josephson, Tom Kirdahy and Greg Yolen. Among the executive producers are Ben Affleck (who is Lopez’s ex-husband) and Matt Damon for Artists Equity.
Lopez was moved to tears while addressing the crowd at the Sundance premiere and expressed her appreciation for being involved in the movie musical.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life,” she said at the time. “The truth is, when you talk about the importance of musicals, the reason that I even wanted to be in this business was because my mom would sit me in front of the TV when West Side Story would come on once a year, on Thanksgiving. I was just mesmerized. And I was like, ‘That’s what I want to do.’”
In his review for The Hollywood Reporter, chief film critic David Rooney wrote, “Bill Condon sets himself a tough assignment trying to transform the tricky material into a great movie musical, but thanks in part to laudable work from his three leads, he occasionally comes close.”
Puig’s novel was previously adapted into a 1985 film that stars William Hurt, Raul Julia and Sonia Braga. That feature earned four Academy Award nominations, with Hurt winning the Oscar for best actor.
Lopez’s recent credits include the 2024 movies Atlas and Unstoppable.
Deadline was first to report on the negotiations for Kiss of the Spider Woman.
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