'Kiss Of The Spider Woman' Press Conference: Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez and Diego Luna discuss 'Kiss Of The Spider Woman" dance choreography, character inspirations, and more behind the scenes details.

(L to R) Bill Condon, Jennifer Lopez, and Tonatiuh attend the 'Kiss of the Spider Woman' New York premiere. Credit: Jason Crowley/BFA.

'Kiss Of The Spider Woman', which is based on the musical of the same name, comes exclusively to theaters on October 10th. It tells the story of two prisoners who form an unlikely bond. Moviefone was in attendance at the press conference in support of the release, which featured Jennifer Lopez (who plays Aurora, Ingrid Luna, and Spider Woman) and Diego Luna (who plays Valentin Arregui and Armando). They shared details about the costumes and choreography, as well as the film's powerful message.

Kiss of the Spider Woman

RThriller Music Romance

Audience
Score

Release Date: Oct 10, 2025

Run Time: 2 hr 8 min

Budget: $30,000,000

Starring: Tonatiuh, Diego Luna, Jennifer Lopez

1) How Jennifer Lopez Crafted Three Separate Characters

(L to R) Jennifer Lopez and Tonatiuh in 'Kiss Of The Spider Woman'. Courtesy of Roadside Attractions.

Jennifer Lopez plays not one, not two, but three different characters in 'Kiss Of The Spider Woman'. Here, she discusses how she crafted all three of them.

Jennifer Lopez: It was three different characters that I got to play. Ingrid Luna, the actress, that Tonatiuh's character, Molina, idolizes and is in love with. There's her, and then there's Aurora, and then there's the Spider Woman, right? There is the dark and the light. The two sides of somebody. At the end of the day, you look at it and you say, okay, Molina is Aurora. They're the same person. And then Molina loves Ingrid Luna. For me, it was making them all just a little bit different, but knowing that all of us were the same, in that we were all searching for love. The Spider Woman just wants a kiss. Aurora's looking for her true love. Molina's dying to be loved, wanting to be loved, wanting to be seen. For me, playing each one of the three characters, it was about finding little nuances.

2) Jennifer Lopez Took A Lot Of Inspiration From Old Hollywood

Jennifer Lopez in 'Kiss of the Spider Woman'. Photo: Lionsgate.

When talking about the costumes, Jennifer Lopez reveals the old Hollywood actresses and styles that she and director Bill Condon looked to for inspiration.

Jennifer Lopez: It's the costumes and it's the hair and makeup, right? It's all of it because my three characters are so different. [The Costume Designer] Colleen Atwood was very specific about what she wanted. It wasn't like other costume designers I've worked with. She was like, this is the suit that I'm thinking of for this, and she had a sketch of it and she had color swatches. And she was like, what do you think? We kind of honed it down, but it made it very clear for me where I was in each moment because we are not making a whole movie in the musical, right? We're doing pieces of this movie. It made it very simple for me to understand exactly who I was in that moment. So for me, the costumes are a very big part of understanding the character and making the reality come to life in that way. We talked about Judy Garland [as inspiration] for Ingrid Luna a little bit. We kind of looked at some of her performances for that. When I think of old Hollywood movie stars, I think of Ava Gardner or Rita Hayworth, those type of women. Lana Turner was one that we looked at for the hair for Aurora. Audrey Hepburn for the Spider Woman.

3) Diego Luna Reveals How He Found The Characters Of Valentin & Armando

(L to R) Tonatiuh and Diego Luna in 'Kiss Of The Spider Woman'. Courtesy of Roadside Attractions.

Diego Luna explains how he crafted his 'Kiss Of The Spider Woman' characters and the inspiration behind them.

Diego Luna: I guess growing up in Mexico and learning about the recent history of Latin America, this film means a lot, you know? There are so many brutal examples of dictatorships in Latin America. I was in Mexico in the 90s where a lot was happening, in 94 particularly. It was a very important year for many things. For social movements and for community work. So, of course that's there. But I would say that the most important part of my past that I got to play with here is theater. My father was a set designer and this film to me is a homage to the theater, or how much film was theater back then.

4) Jennifer Lopez Says One Of The Film's Biggest Messages Is That Love Is Love

Jennifer Lopez attends the 'Kiss of the Spider Woman' New York premiere. Credit: Jason Crowley/BFA.

Jennifer Lopez is also an executive producer on 'Kiss Of The Spider Woman'. One of the things that drew her to this film is the powerful message that she wants viewers to take away.

Jennifer Lopez: I feel like the story and the message is not done yet. It needed to be told again to this generation. We need to remind people of the humanity of these communities. We need to remind people that love is love. It's a story that I think will keep being told until everybody gets on board with the fact that we're all just people and we all should just be loving each other. It doesn't matter who we are on the outside because you have this cisgendered man who's a political, tough, revolutionary, and then you have this window dresser who's on the gender spectrum and we're not quite clear what it is from that time because it was in the 80s. And you have the two of them just seeing the humanity in each other, realizing they need each other, and falling in love with who the other person is.

5) Jennifer Lopez Has Been Wanting To Do This Type Of Dancing In A Film For A Long Time

(L to R) Diego Luna and Jennifer Lopez in in 'Kiss of the Spider Woman'. Courtesy of Roadside Attractions.

When asked about the choreography for 'Kiss Of The Spider Woman', Jennifer Lopez admits that it is something she has wanted to do for a very long time.

Jennifer Lopez: It was amazing. I do a lot of shows, my own shows, and I do a lot of dancing, but I hadn't done this type of dancing for years and years and years. That musical theater, jazz, technical style of dancing, Broadway style of dancing. And so it was challenging. It was challenging, but so much fun. Because it was something that I had wanted to do for so long. I just loved it. I loved every minute of it.

Jennifer Lopez in 'Kiss of the Spider Woman'. Courtesy Of Roadside Attractions.

What is the plot of 'Kiss Of The Spider Woman'?

Valentín, a political prisoner, shares a cell with Molina, a window dresser convicted of public indecency. The two form an unlikely bond as Molina recounts the plot of a Hollywood musical starring his favorite silver screen diva, Ingrid Luna.