Jennifer Lopez Says ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ Filming Was a ‘Dream’ and 97-Year-Old Composer John Kander Was Very Involved
variety.comMarc Malkin Senior Editor, Culture and Events John Kander may be close to 100 years old, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t involved with the upcoming film adaptation of the Broadway musical “Kiss of the Spider Woman.” Kander and the late lyricist Fred Ebb – known collectively as Kander and Ebb – composed the music and wrote the songs for the original 1993 Tony-winning Broadway production of “Kiss of the Spider Woman.” The upcoming film, directed by Bill Condon, stars Jennifer Lopez, Diego Luna and newcomer Tonatiuh. “John Kander, who is 97 years old, was in the studio with me,” Lopez told me Monday at the premiere of her new Netflix sci-fi action movie, “Atlas.” “He is the most beautiful man.
He was there for all of our recordings of the album and the pre-records for the movie. It was a dream.” Lopez said Kander only had “very small notes” on her performance. “I was shocked,” she said.
Lopez’s producing partner, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, added “Jennifer can’t says this, but [Kander] was astounded. He said it was the best he ever heard.” “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” based on Manuel Puig’s novel of the same name, is set in an Argentinian prison in 1981.
Lopez stars as the titular role, a fantasy woman named Aurora created by Luis Molina (Tonatiuh), a gay hairdresser serving an eight-year sentence for allegedly corrupting a minor.
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