Jennifer Lopez is headed to the slopes.
Her new movie-musical, “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” will have its world premiere in January at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
Based on John Kander and Fred Ebb’s Broadway show (which itself is based on Manuel Puig’s 1976 novel), “Spider Woman” is directed by Bill Condon — the director of “Dreamgirls” and Oscar-winning screenwriter of “Chicago.”
“Spider Woman” is about two inmates in a Brazilian prison. One named Molina (Tonatiuh) escapes his awful surroundings by fantasizing about old movies. One features Ingrid Luna — the titular “Spider Woman” played by Lopez. The other incarcerated man is Valentin, who’s played by Diego Luna.
The “Unstoppable” actress has said she worked directly with Kander, part of the legendary songwriting team that also created “Chicago” and “Cabaret,” on her role.
“John Kander, who is 97 years old, was in the studio with me,” Lopez told Variety. “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.”
Chita Rivera won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for playing the part in 1993 on Broadway.
Sundance announced 93 features and episodic programs on Wednesday for the festival that runs Jan. 23 to Feb. 2 and sets the tone for the year in movies.
“Opus,” in the Midnight section, stars Ayo Edebiri (“The Bear”) and John Malkovich, and is about a young writer who’s unexpectedly invited to the home of a pop star who disappeared 30 years earlier.
Rose Byrne stars in “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” part of Premieres, as a mother whose life spirals while her child suffers from a mystery illness. The eclectic cast of writer-director Mary Bronstein’s film includes A$AP Rocky, Conan O’Brien and Danielle Macdonald.
And “Wedding Banquet,” starring “Saturday Night Live”’s Bowen Yang and Oscar-nominated actress Lily Gladstone, is about two friends who get into a green card marriage. Antics ensue. The film is directed by Andrew Ahn, who had a talker in 2023 with the rom-com “Fire Island.”
Sundance has become a hotspot for documentaries. The last three Best Documentary Oscar winners — “20 Days in Mariupol,” “Navalny” and “Summer of Soul” — all premiered at the festival.
Some exciting titles this year include “Sally,” about the secret personal life of astronaut Sally Ride; “Pee-wee as Himself,” featuring some of the last interviews with the late Paul Reubens; and “Predators,” a look at the rise and fall of the TV series “To Catch a Predator.”
