Bill Condon Shares Differences in New Film Version of KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN

Bill Condon, who has written and directed the upcoming Kiss of the Spider Woman film, recently discussed the film in an interview with Deadline at the Sundance Film Festival.

Condon spoke on the casting on Jennifer Lopez in the film's lead role, noting that he thinks she was "born in the wrong time."

"The extraordinary talent that she has, she would have so flourished in the old studio system," he said. "It’s heartbreaking in a way to me because I think it does open up all these possibilities, and I hope she’s able to do many more of these, but it should have happened much earlier."

Condon also went on to discuss how this film differs from previous versions of the musical.

"First of all, Molina, and the conversation that he has about his own gender and identification as a woman that just felt very, very current. And that’s something that had not been included in any other version," Condon shared.

"It also had more than those other versions because of the times in which they were made. There was this sense of a limit to how much a mainstream audience could accept ... The world has grown in 50 years and that felt like an important thing to explore."

Read the full interview on Deadline.

Winner of seven 1993 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Kiss of the Spider Woman, based on the novel by Manuel Puig, explores the complex relationship between two men caged together in a Latin American prison for very different reasons. The musical has a book by Terrence McNally, with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb.

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.

The film is written and directed by Bill Condon, who previously helmed Dreamgirls, two of the Twilight films, and Disney's live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast. The cast includes Diego Luna, Tonatiuh, Jennifer Lopez, Bruno Bichir, Josefina Scaglione, and Aline Mayagoitia.