‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’: Everything to know about Jennifer Lopez’s return to the Oscar race as new trailer drops
Jennifer Lopez is posed to hustle her way back into the awards race in October. That's when her Sundance-premiering movie musical, Kiss of the Spider Woman, opens to the general public courtesy of Roadside Attractions. A new trailer for the film landed on the world wide web today, offering a longer look at the Bill Condon-directed feature than the teaser that was released earlier in the summer.
Based on the 1993 Broadway musical that was based on Manuel Puig's 1976 novel and its 1985 feature Oscar-winning film adaptation, the new Spider Woman earned strong reviews on the festival circuit and awards Lopez a showcase role tailor-made for Oscar season. Here's everything you need to know about the film ahead of its Oct. 10 release date.
What is Kiss of the Spider Woman about?
First things first: no, this isn't an Into the Spider-Verse spin-off. Set in Brazil during the South American country's mid-20th century military dictatorship period, Spider Woman largely unfolds in a jail cell occupied by revolutionary Valentin Arregui (played by Diego Luna) and gay cinephile Luis Molina (Tonatiuh). Unbeknownst to Valentin, Luis has been offered an early release if he plays informant for the ruling junta. In order to get his cellmate to open up, he recounts the plot of a fantastical feature starring screen siren Ingrid Luna (Lopez) as the titular arachnid being. The 1985 film starred Raul Julia as Valentin, William Hurt as Luis and Sônia Braga as Ingrid, while Anthony Crivello, Brent Carver and Chita Rivera played those roles on Broadway.
What awards have previous versions won?
The 1985 film version made Hollywood history as one of the first movies with overt LGBTQ+ themes to be nominated for Best Picture. It was also one of the first independently financed global productions to secure a spot in the Best Picture race. Additional nominations went to director Héctor Babenco, screenwriter Leonard Schrader and Hurt, who won Best Actor over Harrison Ford in Witness and Jack Nicholson in Prizzi's Honor. The Broadway version was equally lauded, scoring 11 Tony nominations and seven wins, including statues for its three leads — Crivello, Carver and Rivera — as well as Best Musical.
Will we see Jennifer Lopez on Oscar night?
The awards track record of previous Spider Woman incarnations certainly bodes well for the new version. Lopez was notably singled out in many of the Sundance reviews, signaling a path towards a Best Supporting Actress nomination. That's the nod many hoped she would receive for her scene-stealing turn in 2019's Hustlers, but that fan-fueled campaign ultimately fell short at the Oscars. (Lopez did receive a Golden Globe nomination for the role, though.) Look for Roadside Attractions to weave a Supporting Actress campaign that catches voters in its web.
