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The movie musical has morphed drastically over a century. When the musical genre first came to prominence in the sound era of Hollywood, it was a space for revues with little care or thought as to a storyline connecting musical numbers. Eventually, just as the stage musical changed with "Oklahoma!" and "South Pacific," Hollywood morphed in the same way. But it wasn't just that films such as "An American in Paris" or "The Band Wagon" told full stories with song-and-dance numbers; Hollywood went straight to the source to take stage musicals and adapt them into features. Although we're not in a Golden Age of movie musicals the way that things were in the 1960s, there are plenty of big-budget musical adaptations that burst onto the scene, as well as more low-key affairs meant to match their source material, everything from the mid-2000s adaptation of "Dreamgirls" to "Dear Evan Hansen.

In this week’s episode of “Screen Talk,” we take a look at the slow Sundance market as well as the new shape of the Oscar race post-Karla Sofía Gascón’s implosion.

There were a few competitive buys at the tail end of this year’s Sundance: Neon bought horror flick “Together,” Netflix acquired period Denis Johnson adaptation “Train Dreams,” Janus and Sideshow bought art film “Peter Hujar’s Day,” and A24 bought breakout Eva Victor’s “Sorry Baby.”

But so far, no one has picked up Bill Condon’s “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” which awkwardly tries to meld a Kander & Ebb Broadway musical with a prison romance. If a distributor positioned it well, there might be some action for star Jennifer Lopez as a legacy prize, as well as breakout Tonatiuh.

Netflix is making an Oscar play with Clint Bentley’s “Train Dreams,” starring Joel Edgerton. And “Sorry...

In their dark, damp prison quarters, Malina (Tonatiuh) and Valentin (Diego Luna) only have each other for company. Valentin is a radical imprisoned for his revolutionary views; Malina is a window-dresser condemned for homosexual activities. Valetin wants nothing to do with Malina, focusing on his work as his cellmate flutters around their modest room trying to make the best out of a bad situation. To Valentin, Malina is a man who lacks substance and morals, living a life without dignity. Their room is decorated with Malina’s posters and trinkets procured by the guards, with his queerness implied to be the payment. “There are privileges in degradation,” he tells Valetin, who responds with disgust. Valentin remarks that Malina shouldn’t “make himself trivial.” Malina flaunts his queerness and Valentin displays no sexuality, but his straightness is implied––at least at first. As the two men slowly warm up to each other,...

Screen International is keeping track of the key packages launched before and during the 2025 European Film Market, which runs February 13-19.

Refresh the page for latest updates. Listed in alphabetical order.

Arctic Skies

Morfydd Clark and Ariyon Bakare star in this UFO thriller, to be shot at Steven Knight’s Digbeth Loc. Studios in Birmingham. Writer-directors Elliot and Zander Weaver. Their Elliander Pictures are producing with Lowkey Films.

Int’l sales: Independent Entertainment

Bad Boy

From the producers of Longlegs and M3gan comes a serial killer project financed by C2 in which a dog is the hero. Ke Huy Quan...

While the Sundance Film Festival mulls a big move for 2027, the 2025 program, its 41st edition, kicked off January 23 in Utah, and you can look below for all of Deadline’s reviews from the fest.

Sundance founder Robert Redford promised that audiences “can expect a 2025 program that showcases varied and vibrant filmmaking globally.” Running through February 2, the lineup includes more than 85 features and six episodic projects set to screen in Park City, Salt Lake City and online.

Below is a compilation of our reviews from the fest. Click on the movie’s title to read our full take.

Atropia ‘Atropia’

Section: U.S. Dramatic Competition

Director-screenwriter: Hailey Gates

Cast: Alia Shawkat, Callum Turner, Chloë Sevigny, Tim Heidecker, Jane Levy

Deadline’s takeaway: Ripe with aughts nostalgia around the Og iPod, frosted lip gloss and Guy Fieri’s favorite flame-printed shirts, Atropia is ultimately a clever meditation on the atmosphere of war...

Exclusive: While it continues to stalk a U.S. buyer, Jennifer Lopez’ Sundance musical-drama Kiss Of The Spider Woman will be tempting international buyers at next week’s EFM for Stuart Ford’s AGC.

AGC will screen the Bill Condon-produced film privately for buyers in Berlin where it’ll be among the bigger-budget projects available. WME and CAA Media Finance are co-repping U.S. rights.

Diego Luna (Andor) and Tonatiuh (Promised Land) star with global icon Lopez (Hustlers), who, along with Condon and Diego Luna, also executive produce. Pic is based on the acclaimed 1976 novel Kiss of the Spider Woman by Argentinian writer Manuel Puig and the Tony-winning Broadway musical of the same name by the multiple Tony-winning playwright Terrence McNally and composer/lyricist team John Kander and Fred Ebb.

The synopsis reads: “Argentina, 1983. With the country’s military dictatorship waging a brutal war against its political opponents,...

"Sooner or later, you're certain to meet, in the bedroom, the parlor or even the street... There's no place on earth, you're likely to miss her kiss." The moment this film ended I knew this performance was one of the best of the festival. But now that I'm finally writing this review after having seen a grand total of 54 films at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival line-up, I feel confident in saying - Tonatiuh gives the best performance in any film at the festival. This 2025 update on Kiss of the Spider Woman is a modern re-imaginging of this iconic story from South America, which was turned into a big Broadway musical in the early 1990s. It is the second film adaption of the 1976 novel Kiss of the Spider Woman by Manuel Puig, following the 1985 Brazilian film adaptation. Director Bill Condon, who's no stranger to big musicals having made Dreamgirls before, gives...

Agents have been telling us for years now that the pace of the market at Sundance isn’t what it used to be. Maybe it’s time we started taking them seriously. Just as industry people arrived home from Park City last week, everyone checked the proverbial scoreboard and realized not one world premiere feature had been acquired from Sundance. Where are the sales?!?

The next day, Midnight movie “Together” sold in a $17 million worldwide deal to Neon, a number that matches the high mark of last year’s sale of “It’s What’s Inside” to Netflix and puts it in the upper echelon of all-time Sundance deals. It was a true bidding war, with Searchlight Pictures and A24 also in the mix.

Later that day, a journalist at an event asked Netflix’s Bela Bajaria why Sundance was so “dull” and if this was a sign Netflix is changing course on indie movies.

[Editor’s note: When “Kiss of the Spider Woman” breakout star Tonatiuh offered to share his own personal snapshots from his very first Sundance ever, we jumped at the chance to share his inside look at his life-changing experience. What follows are the actor’s own notes on Sundance 2025, and a selection of his photos from the festival.]

The right stories find you at the right time. When “Kiss of the Spider Woman” landed in my inbox, it felt like a calling — not just a role, but a form of cinematic resistance.

Sitting in an audience full of cinephiles — some my heroes, others friends I’ve made over the years in TV and film — was both exhilarating and nerve-wracking. No matter how much you believe in a project, no matter how much of yourself you pour into it, you never truly know how it will be received. But standing on stage next to Jennifer Lopez and Bill Condon,...

Bill Condon felt that Jennifer Lopez was perfect to lead the cast of 'Kiss of the Spider Woman'.The 69-year-old director is behind the camera on the movie that is based on the stage musical of the same name and explained that he believed the 'Atlas' star had the range to play "three parts" in the picture.Bill told Collider: "Jennifer plays three parts in the movie. She plays an actress, she plays the lead character in the movie within the movie, and then another character in the movie – she plays Spider Woman, Aurora, and Ingrid. Three separate parts."It is a musical movie, so she has 11 musical numbers, which is spectacular. No one else on Earth could have done this, especially because we shot them all in a four-week period before we went to Uruguay to do the prison part of the movie."The 'Gods and Monsters' filmmaker...

The penultimate Sundance Film festival to run in Park City ended over the weekend ina flurry ofawards.

There was scarcely any on-site activity by way of completedacquisitions, although deals will follow in the weeks and months ahead. And there were genuine discoveries, reflecting the accepted wisdom that Sundance is a complicated beast and is many things to many people.

The big talking point is where will the revered soul of independent cinema house itself starting in 2027. The festival hierarchy will reveal all before long. Screen looks at some of the key talking points to emerge from the festival, which ran...

The penultimate Sundance Film festival to run in Park City ended over the weekend ina flurry ofawards.

There was scarcely any on-site activity by way of completedacquisitions, although deals will follow in the weeks and months ahead. And there were genuine discoveries, reflecting the accepted wisdom that Sundance is a complicated beast and is many things to many people.

The big talking point is where will the revered soul of independent cinema house itself starting in 2027. The festival hierarchy will reveal all before long. Screen looks at some of the key talking points to emerge from the festival, which ran...

A24 has gotten on the board at the Sundance Film Festival. The indie distributor is closing an acquisition deal for Sorry, Baby. Scripted and directed by Eva Victor, the drama premiered Monday night at Eccles. It become the third film in sight of a deal, with more coming. Film was fought over by several suitors, and sold for around $8 million, Deadline hears.

The logline: Something bad happened to Agnes. But life goes on … for everyone around her, at least. The film stars Eva Victor, Naomi Ackie, Lucas Hedges, John Carroll Lynch, Louis Cancelmi, and Kelly McCormack. Producers are Adele Romanski, Mark Ceryak, and Barry Jenkins.

UTA Independent Film Group structured the financing and is brokering the deal on behalf of the filmmakers.

That marks the third deal of the festival. Each one has been a struggle, but that was not unexpected given the tenuous state of the indie business, and...

Plot: During the last months of The Dirty War in Argentina, a political prisoner, Valentin (Diego Luna), and a trans prisoner, Molina (Tonatiuh), are forced to share a cell. Despite their differences, the two become friends. However, unbeknownst to Valentin, the warden is forcing Molina to spy on his cellmate, a fact complicated by their growing intimacy.

Review: Kiss of the Spider Woman has a fascinating legacy that spans literature, cinema, and the stage. Originally written as a novel by Manual Puig, it was turned into a taboo-bursting 1985 film, which won star William Hurt an Oscar. Considered boundary-pushing in its frank depiction of homosexuality, it was later turned into a Tony-award-winning musical. Now it’s getting a lavish movie musical directed by Bill Condon. In addition to movies like Gods and Monsters, Condon also directed one of the better stage-to-screen adaptations, Dreamgirls, and does an excellent job with a film...

Cinema has never been shy about self-mythologizing. If ever there were a project that could lay claim to the “magic of movies,” it might be “Kiss of the Spider Woman.” The very subject of Bill Condon’s adaptation of the John Kander and Fred Ebb musical is the power of the silver screen to both explain and reshape reality. The problem inherent in such a premise is that a film about the magic of the medium has to also exemplify it, and that’s something this movie musical only achieves in fits and starts.

Continue reading ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ Review: A Musical About Movie Magic Doesn’t Always Conjure It [Sundance] at The Playlist.

At its heart, Sundance is about discovery. Some of our brightest, biggest filmmaking stars — we’re talking Steven Soderbergh, Richard Linklater, Ava DuVernay, Paul Thomas Anderson, Lulu Wang, Ryan Coogler, Aubrey Plaza, Catherine Hardwicke, Todd Haynes, Tessa Thompson, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Eggers, the Duplass brothers, Michael B. Jordan, Amy Adams, Elizabeth Olsen, Brie Larson, Lakeith Stanfield, Miles Teller, Anya Taylor-Joy, and many, many more — first rose to acclaim by bringing their work to Sundance.

In 2025, a year that was long-heralded as one all about new discoveries, that tradition only continued. While this year’s lineup included a number of returning names, like Ira Sachs, Amy Berg, Andrew Ahn, Justin Lin, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Cooper Raiff, Kahlil Joseph, Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady, David France, Jesse Short Bull, Ryan White, Sophie Hyde, Jesse Moss & Amanda McBaine, Meera Menon, and Clint Bentley, there were also a hefty number of newbies joining those filmmaking ranks.

Many Oscar contenders have been dive-bombed over the years, but Best Actress nominee Karla Sofía Gascón did herself in: first for complaining about rival Fernanda Torres, then for resurfaced tweets on her now-deleted X account (@karsiagascon). In past posts that went viral this week, she dissed Muslims, George Floyd, and Oscars diversity, among other things. We debate: If Gascón is out of the running, does she bring down her movie as well, which leads the field with 13 nominations?

Ryan Lattanzio is back from Sundance, which Friday announced its awards; he and Anne are both bingeing on the Sundance portal. While some films came in with distribution, the market seems slow. One Midnight entry spawned a bidding war won by Neon for over $16 million, Michael Shanks’ horror flick “Together,” starring husband-and-wife team Alison Brie and Dave Franco, which Ryan enjoyed and believes will hit big at the box office. Neon has...

In 1983 Argentina, under the harsh military dictatorship during the Dirty War, Kiss of the Spider Woman unfolds its story within a prison cell. The setting operates as a stark representation of societal control and human endurance. Luis Molina, a gay window dresser imprisoned for public indecency, shares his cell with Valentin Arregui Paz, a Marxist revolutionary tortured for opposing the regime. Their shared confinement becomes a space where different worldviews clash and eventually merge.

Molina’s imaginative narratives emerge as a survival strategy, deeply connected to Latin American interpretations of classic Hollywood cinema. His fixation on Ingrid Luna, a fictional screen actress representing cinematic archetypes, transcends simple distraction. These stories reveal how global cultural elements are transformed through local perspectives to create complex personal identities. Director Bill Condon weaves a narrative that shifts between harsh prison reality and vivid cinematic dreams, showing how storytelling becomes a form of psychological resistance.

For a musical so dedicated to celebrating and critiquing the transformative potential of cinematic fantasy, Bill Condon’s Kiss of the Spider Woman brings relatively little of the kind of overwhelming star power that can truly transport audiences. This isn’t to say that the film is poorly acted or doesn’t understand how to deliver movie magic. In fact, there are few working directors who know better than Condon how to recreate the pizzazz of classic Technicolor musicals without it feeling like pastiche. But despite the material’s highly dramatic potential and handful of show-stopper moments, it too often feels like a well-meaning production that has many of the right elements but misses a cast that could bring it all to life.

Condon adapted Terrence McNally’s book for the Tony-winning 1992 stage musical by John Kander and Fred Ebb, which was itself based on Hector Babenco’s Oscar-winning 1985 film of Manuel Puig’s novel.

As countries on both sides of the Atlantic careen uncontrollably towards illiberalism, authoritarian, and fascism, art as an act of resistance, opposition, or defiance gains ever greater importance. That includes an oft-adapted work, such as Manuel Puig’s 1976 postmodern novel, Kiss of the Spider Woman, which was initially banned in Argentina under the then-current military dictatorship, adapted for the stage in 1983 by Puig himself, adapted into an Oscar-winning film helmed by Hector Babenco (Pixote) two years later, adapted into a commercially successful, Tony Award-winning stage musical in 1993, and now, not exactly coming full circle, adapted into a new, stunningly realized cinematic adaptation, written and directed by Bill Condon. Following previous interpretations of Puig’s tale, Kiss of...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

This time last year, industry experts and armchair pundits began the drumbeat for Kieran Culkin’s performance in A Real Pain. The intimate drama about a pair of cousins (Culkin and writer-director Jesse Eisenberg) who travel to Poland to see the ancestral home of their grandmother, who left the country during the Holocaust, was one of several buzzy titles to debut at last year’s Sundance Film Festival. It was eventually acquired by Searchlight Pictures, given a platform theatrical release last fall, and feted throughout awards season with honors for Culkin. He’s currently the top pick to win Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars in March, 14 months after his film’s initial debut. Culkin and Eisenberg, a nominee in the Best Original Screenplay category, are just two of several 2024 Sundance standouts that received bids from the Academy this year, including A Different Man (Best Makeup and Hair) and Best Documentary nominees Sugarcane,...

As the films of 2024 alone have demonstrated, there's still a good amount of confusion about how a movie musical should function in our modern age. Even 2016's "La La Land," the film that ended up bringing back the popularity of the movie musical in a big way, wasn't interested in fully leaning into its ode to the movie musicals of classic Hollywood, using it instead as a jumping off point, a wry commentary on the subgenre and cinema itself. Since then, it's felt like each new movie musical has had to find some offbeat justification for its existence: this one is a multi-part blockbuster event ("Wicked"), this one is an anti-musical musical ("Emilia Pérez"), this one has a monkey in it ("Better Man"), and so on. Even "Chicago" director Rob Marshall, who for many years seemed to willfully bear the torch of keeping the more traditional movie musical alive, has...

Eddie Murphy has been cast in the superspy action comedy ‘Blue Falcon’ for Sony.

Murphy will play a retired superspy who heads for the destination wedding of his estranged son and finds himself in proximity to his arch-rival.

Penned by ‘London Has Fallen’ scribe Chad St. John, the project will be produced by Davis Films’ John Davis, Cliff Roberts through Syndicate Entertainment, and Murphy and Charisse Hewitt-Webster through Eddie Murphy Productions.

Also in news – Jon M. Chu to co-direct ‘Dr Suess’ animated musical

Murphy was last seen reprising his iconic role as Axel Foley in Netflix’s ‘Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F’. He is also set to reprise his voice role as Donkey in ‘Shrek 5’, alongside Mike Myers as Shrek and Cameron Diaz as Fiona with DreamWorks Animation setting a December 2026 release date. His other projects include reuniting with Bill Condon on the life of Parliament-Funkadelic founder George Clinton.

Artists Equity, the studio founded by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, announced today that it has elevated Dillon West to the role of chief operating officer and named Andrew Gumpert to the new role of president, business affairs & strategy. Former Artists Equity COO Michael Joe, who started the studio alongside Affleck and Damon, will transition to a strategic advisory role and will remain on the board of directors.

West previously served as Artist Equity’s chief strategy officer and will continue to serve on the company’s board of directors. Before artists Equity, West focused on media and entertainment investments at RedBird Capital Partners, whose CEO Gerald Cardinale co-founded Artists Equity with Damon and Affleck.

With more than three decades of industry experience, Gumpert most recently served as COO at Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Studios, overseeing business affairs, strategic planning, home entertainment distribution, and television licensing. Gumpert also previously served...

Artists Equity, the studio launched in 2022 by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, is shuffling key roles in its executive suite.

Dillon West has been elevated to Chief Operating Officer, with current COO Michael Joe transitioning to a strategic advisory role but staying on the company’s board of directors. Andrew Gumpert, an industry veteran known for tenures at Paramount, Sony and Dimension Films, has been tapped for the newly created role of President, Business Affairs & Strategy.

West had been Artists Equity’s Chief Strategy Officer, overseeing the startup’s growth plan and new business initiatives. He also serves on the company’s Board of Directors. West had previously worked at RedBird Capital Partners, whose CEO, Gerry Cardinale, co-founded Artists Equity with Damon and Affleck. During his run at RedBird, West focused on media & entertainment investments, in a role similar to a past one in investment banking at at Evercore Partners.

Deadline reports that Eddie Murphy is set to star in Blue Falcon, an action comedy scripted by Chad St. John (London Has Fallen). Murphy will be playing a “retired superspy who heads for the destination wedding of his estranged son, and finds himself in proximity with his archrival.” It makes me think of that Andy Warhol quote: “In the future, everyone will play a retired superspy.” I think that’s how it went.

Blue Falcon will be produced by Davis Films’ John Davis, Cliff Roberts through Syndicate Entertainment, and Murphy and Charisse Hewitt-Webster through Eddie Murphy Productions.

Related Eddie Murphy to get down as George Clinton in an upcoming biopic from Dreamgirls director Bill Condon

Murphy most recently reprised his role as Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, but he has plenty of other upcoming projects on his slate. He’s set to reunite with Dreamgirls director Bill...

Exclusive: Sony Pictures has Eddie Murphy poised to star in Blue Falcon, a two-hander action comedy. Studio acquired a script by Chad St. John, the the London Has Fallen scribe who most recently scripted the just-wrapped Alan Ritchson-starrer Motor City.

In Blue Falcon, Murphy will play a retired superspy who heads for the destination wedding of his estranged son, and finds himself in proximity with his archrival.

The film will be produced by Davis Films’ John Davis, Cliff Roberts through Syndicate Entertainment, and Murphy and Charisse Hewitt-Webster through Eddie Murphy Productions.

Murphy, who’s repped by WME, Ml Management and Ziffren Brittenham, most recently starred in Netflix’s Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, and among the projects he’s got percolating is a reteam with Dreamgirls‘ Bill Condon on the life of Parliament Funkadelic founder George Clinton.

He also is set to return at Donkey alongside Mike Myers as...

Neon has closed what is understood to be a $17m worldwide deal on Together, the body horror starring Alison Brie and Dave Franco that has been the standout commercial prospect of Sundance.

The first deal of the festival means that, for the second year in a row, Kristen Figeroid and the team at Neon International will head to Berlin with a buzzy genre hit from Park City after picking up Lucy Liu ghost story Presence last year.

Figeroid’steam will represent all international rights excluding Australia and New Zealand. Neon has scheduled an August 1 theatrical release in North America.

Michael Shanks...

Neon has closed what is understood to be a $15m worldwide deal on Together, the body horror starring Alison Brie and Dave Franco that has been the standout commercial prospect of Sundance.

The first deal of the festival means that, for the second year in a row, Kristen Figeroid and the team at Neon International will head to Berlin with a buzzy genre hit from Park City after picking up Lucy Liu ghost story Presence last year.

Figeroid’steam will represent all international rights excluding Australia and New Zealand. Neon has scheduled an August 1 theatrical release in North America.

Michael Shanks...

Neon is understood to be nearing a $15m worldwide deal on Together, the body horror starring Alison Brie and Dave Franco that has been the standout commercial prospect of Sundance.

The first deal of the festival means that, for the second year in a row, Kristen Figeroid and the team at Neon International will head to Berlin with a buzzy genre hit from Park City after picking up Lucy Liu ghost story Presence last year.

Michael Shanks made his feature writing and directing debut on Together, the Midnight selection about a couple who relocate to the country where their touch-and-go...

Theoretical musings on gender, sexuality, and revolution are messily woven together in Kiss Of The Spider Woman, Bill Condon’s reimagining of the musical that swept the 1993 Tony Awards. While that production was based on the wildly successful 1985 Brazilian film of the same name—which itself was based on Argentine...

Even one of the biggest pop stars in the world was once upon a time just a theater kid.

Jennifer Lopez, who stars in the movie musical adaptation of “Kiss of the Spider Woman” that just premiered at Sundance, revealed in the IndieWire Studio presented by Dropbox that, unbeknownst to even some of her biggest fans, musical theater is where she got her start, and it’s where not just her true passion lies, but also where she says her true talent lies.

“I actually started in musical theater. Actually, my voice is more suited to musical theater than it has ever been to pop music,” Lopez told IndieWire in regards to how she prepared for her role in Bill Condon’s film. “I love making music, but that was where my heart started and where I actually learned to sing. People don’t know this about me, but they’ll see,...

ByMonday evening in Park Citystudios and streamers were understood to be in hot pursuit of the Alison Brie-Dave Franco body horror Together, by far the most broadly appealing acquisitions target in what Sundance buyers agree has otherwise been a desert of commercial prospects.

‘Together’: Sundance Review

Michael Shanks’ feature directorial debut and Midnight entry turned heads (and stomachs) as soon as it debuted on Sunday at Eccles Theatre. Buyers including Apple, A24, Focus Features, Amazon, and Searchlight Pictures are among those who were either in attendance at the premiere or who have since seen it.

Real-life item Alison Brie...

ByMonday evening in Park Citystudios and streamers were understood to be in hot pursuit of the Alison Brie-Dave Franco body horror Together, by far the most broadly appealing acquisitions target in what Sundance buyers agree has otherwise been a desert of commercial prospects.

‘Together’: Sundance Review

Michael Shanks’ feature directorial debut and Midnight entry turned heads (and stomachs) as soon as it debuted on Sunday at Eccles Theatre. Buyers including Apple, A24, Focus Features, Amazon, and Searchlight Pictures are among those who were either in attendance at the premiere or who have since seen it.

Real-life item Alison Brie...

ByMonday evening in Park Citystudios and streamers were understood to be in hot pursuit of the Alison Brie-Dave Franco body horror Together, by far the most broadly appealing acquisitions target in what Sundance buyers agree has otherwise been a desert of commercial prospects.

Other fiction features without distribution have impressed over the first five days, despite the preponderance for bleak stories that some observers say has set a rather sullen table for the US acquisitions space in the next few months ahead.

However many agree the quality of filmmaking has been high, and nowhere has this been more evident that with the documentary selection,...

The Deadline photo studio hosted talent at the Sundance Film Festival, as cast members of Sundance-premiering films stopped by including Ayo Edebiri, John Malkovich, Juliette Lewis, Murray Bartlett, Stephanie Suganami, Tatanka Means for Opus; Sarah Jessica Parker for The Librarians; Dylan O’Brien, Lauren Graham, Aisling Franciosi and director James Sweeny from Twinless; Himesh Patel, Sarah Goldberg, Dave Franco and Director Evan Twohy from Bubble & Squeak; Olivia Colman and John Lithgow for Jimpa; Bill Condon, Jennifer Lopez, Tonatiuh for Actor for Kiss of the Spider Woman; Alia Shawkat, Hailey Gates for Atropia, & many more.

The Deadline Studio at Sundance Film Festival runs January 24-27, where the cast and creatives behind the best and buzziest titles in this year’s lineup sit down with Deadline’s festival team to discuss their movies and the paths they took to get to Park City.

The 2025 Sundance Film Festival takes place from January 23-February...

Fighting back tears and fresh from receiving the first of two standing ovations, Jennifer Lopez told a Sundance Film Festival audience on Sunday night that starring in Bill Condon’s movie musical Kiss of the Spider Woman made a lifelong dream come true. But it wasn’t for lack of trying.

Talking to The Hollywood Reporter on the red carpet ahead of the world premiere at Park City’s Eccles Center Theatre, the superstar entertainer revealed that she had auditioned for some of Hollywood’s best known modern movie musicals, only to get passed over.

“I remember auditioning for Evita, I remember auditioning for Chicago and for Nine — getting very close on Nine,” said Lopez, outfitted for the premiere in a very method ensemble, a glittering spiderweb gown by designer Valdrin Sahiti. “There was a lot of things that I had always hoped that I could do and just wasn’t the right time.

With a star-studded cast and well-known director in Bill Condon (the live-action Beauty and the Beast), the new version of Kiss of the Spider Woman was one of the highest-profile premieres at this year’s Sundance. Despite this promising batch of talent in front of and behind the camera, the film is mostly middling — although its strengths reach such highs that they can carry the film.

Kiss of the Spider Woman Review

Kiss of the Spider Woman is based on the 1992 Broadway musical of the same name, which was itself based on the 1976 novel. It follows a political prisoner who finds unexpected kinship with his cellmate, who begins to tell him the story of their favorite old Hollywood musical starring an iconic movie star.

For a film that is literally Bill Condon’s love letter to classic movie musicals, it’s a shame that Kiss of the Spider Woman is so lethargic.

Sundance film festival: The star gives her all in Bill Condon’s uneven adaptation of the Broadway revision of a prison-set fantasy

There are certain things one expects from a prime-slot Sundance premiere. Crowd-pleasing character-based comedies, rural mood-over-plot dramas, provocative and probing documentaries; all tied together by the importance of an independent spirit, the reason the festival was birthed back in the late 1970s.

Sunday night then brought with it something a little more confounding: a splashy, Jennifer Lopez-starring, Affleck and Damon-produced adaptation of a Broadway musical combining Argentinian prison drama and technicolour song-and-dance setpieces. The inclusion of Kiss of the Spider Woman on a lineup that has been noticeably edging away from a reliance on A-list names raised a few eyebrows – wouldn’t this have been a better play at a more commercial showcase like Toronto? – but it brought a welcome sense of the unexpected to Park City,...

Jennifer Lopez has waited her whole life for a role like 'Kiss of the Spider Woman'.The 55-year-old star plays the lead character in the new musical drama film and revealed that it helped her fulfil her dream of starring in an old-school musical movie.Lopez told Variety: "I was waiting my whole life to be able to do a real big MGM Hollywood musical, and I finally got to do it."It was more (than I hoped). Me and Diego (Luna) were on set and we're dancing around and we're singing and looking at each other and it's like we don't want to do anything but musicals. Diego said that! Me too. I don't want to do anything else."'Kiss of the Spider Woman' is an adaptation of the 1993 Broadway musical of the same name and is set in an Argentinean prison in 1981.Lopez plays a fantasy woman called Ingrid Luna,...

Jennifer Lopez starred in the world premiere of “Kiss of the Spider Woman” at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, realizing a career-long aspiration to perform in a musical film. The Bill Condon-directed feature received a standing ovation at its Sunday night screening at the Eccles Theatre.

The film blends two contrasting storylines: a gritty prison drama set in 1983 Argentina and a vibrant Hollywood musical. It follows Luis Molina, a gay window dresser imprisoned on morals charges, and his cellmate Valentin Arregui, a Marxist revolutionary.

Condon reimagined the 1992 Broadway musical by creating a single fictional film within the narrative. This approach allowed Lopez to showcase her talents in elaborate musical numbers, including a Marilyn Monroe-inspired dance sequence.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life,” Lopez said after the screening, recalling her childhood inspiration from watching “West Side Story” with her mother. The film represents a technical triumph,...

Dreams do still come true, it seems. On Sunday night in Park City, Utah, the big “hot ticket” screening was the world premiere of Bill Condon’s much-anticipated “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” a dazzling big screen adaptation of Terrence McNally, John Kander, and Fred Ebb’s 1992 Broadway musical of the same name (itself a take on Manuel Puig’s 1976 novel of the same name). While the story, about a pair of Argentinian prisoners who are brought together during the “Dirty War,” was previously made into a feature film in 1985 with stars William Hurt, Raul Julia, and Sônia Braga, Condon’s film marks the first big screen musical spin on the original material.

And, for star Jennifer Lopez, starring in a musical — her very first, if you can believe it — was the culmination of decades of dreaming. The film, which stars breakout star Tonatiuh as Luis Molina and Diego Luna...

Bollywood Mascot: Jennifer Lopez made a striking entrance at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where she attended the world premiere of Kiss of the Spider Woman. Known for her impeccable sense of style, Lopez wore a stunning black lace gown designed by Valdrin Sahiti. The gown featured intricate spiderweb-like detailing, adding a dramatic and thematic touch to the event. The design was elegant yet edgy, reflecting both the character she portrays in the film and the festival’s vibrant atmosphere. Lopez paired the gown with dazzling Hassanzadeh jewelry, further elevating her ensemble for the high-profile occasion.

Her performance in Kiss of the Spider Woman has already attracted a great deal of attention. In the film, she plays Aurora, a character in a political drama based on Manuel Puig’s 1976 Argentine novel. Directed by Bill Condon, the movie follows two political prisoners during Argentina’s tumultuous civil war. Lopez’s performance is...

Sometimes, it takes a pinch of audacity and a dash of serendipity for something to truly steal the spotlight. So, if you’ve been living under a rock (or perhaps in a parallel universe where Emilia Pérez hasn’t dominated every award show conversation), let’s quickly break it down. Directed by Jacques Audiard, it is a musical about a Mexican cartel leader—played by Karla Sofía Gascón—who embarks on a journey of transformation, seeking to become a woman.

The plot’s as complex as it is captivating, with a powerhouse cast including Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, and Édgar Ramírez. It’s a film that’s garnered international acclaim, a solid 13 Academy Award nominations, and racked up accolades at the Golden Globes, including Best Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy.

Emilia Pérez | Credit: Netflix

But while critics and industry bigwigs can’t stop singing Emilia Pérez’s praises, there’s...

Oscar-winning Sundance Film Festival veteran Bill Condon returned to Park City to present the world premiere of his new movie musical, Kiss of the Spider Woman, at Eccles Center Theatre on Sunday night. When it was over and all the credits had rolled, his star Jennifer Lopez was moved to tears, the capacity crowd delivered two standing ovations and a star was born thanks to a revelatory turn from Tonatiuh.

Considering the pedigree of its filmmaker — Condon previously directed musicals Dreamgirls and Beauty and the Beast and wrote the Oscar-winning Chicago — and its global superstar who plays dual roles including the title character, Spider Woman was the most anticipated debut of Sundance this year. In his review, The Hollywood Reporter‘s chief film critic David Rooney calls it one of Lopez’s best roles of her decades-long career.

Lopez, who skipped snow boots and sweaters for her festival debut, hit...

Jennifer Lopez, outfitted in a sparkling, webbed-up gown and sky-high black heels, fought back tears as “Kiss of the Spider Woman” was embraced at Sundance Film Festival with a standing ovation. She told the audience at Park City’s Eccles Theatre that starring in the musical adaptation fulfilled a lifelong dream.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life,” she said. “The reason I even wanted to be in this business is because my mom would sit me in front of the TV and [‘West Side Story’] would come on once a year. I was mesmerized and was like, ‘That’s what I want to do.’ This is the first time I actually got to do it. This man made my dream come true.”

She’s referring to director Bill Condon, who has become a preeminent filmmaker for movie musicals, having worked on “Chicago,” “Dreamgirls,” Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast...

Jennifer Lopez is not one of those actresses who disappears into a role. For one, she’s too famous to allow the audience to separate artist from character entirely. Often, those characters, whether Selena or in last year’s “Unstoppable” as a sports mom, are extensions of her persona, astral projections of her stature as a global pop superstar into a fantasy movie world that depends on her song-and-dance gifts. For another, a Jennifer Lopez joint is always more about her presence — her name on the marquee, her face under the big bright lights — than her skills in vanishing inside a character.

Writer/director Bill Condon’s “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” a new screen version of the John Kander and Fred Ebb Broadway musical itself inspired by Manuel Puig’s novel and Héctor Babenco’s 1985 Oscar winner, could do no better casting than Lopez as Ingrid Luna, a fictional...

A touching dedication at the end of Kiss of the Spider Woman reads simply: “For Fred, Terrence and Chita.” That would be lyricist Fred Ebb, playwright Terrence McNally and original star Chita Rivera, key figures behind the 1993 Broadway musical, alongside composer John Kander and stage director Harold Prince. The show won seven Tony Awards and ran for just over two years, though critics and audiences were divided, and it’s mostly considered a second-tier musical by the standards of Kander and Ebb, the celebrated team behind Cabaret and Chicago.

Bill Condon sets himself a tough assignment trying to transform the tricky material into a great movie musical, but thanks in part to laudable work from his three leads, he occasionally comes close. The writer-director revisits an idea that worked well in his screenplay for 2002’s Chicago — paralleling squalor and splendor, with central characters stuck in grim reality seeking escape through Golden Age Hollywood musical fantasy.

Boundaries are constantly blurring in “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” the revolutionary mid-’80s film that became a Kander and Ebb musical, and that cunningly (and stunningly) morphs back to the big screen, courtesy of “Dreamgirls” director Bill Condon. Confined mostly to an Argentine detention facility in 1983, at the height of the country’s Dirty War, the show is the flip side of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Evita,” focusing on the brutal military regime that came decades after first lady Eva Péron’s death. Bleak as that may sound, the musical finds rare shards of light — and an unlikely connection — in the most despairing of places.

In every incarnation of Manuel Puig’s novel, cinema offers much-needed escapism from not only political injustice, but also the kind of biological prisons that oppress us. Sitting in the dark, transfixed the dreams unfolding on screen, filmgoers leave their bodies for a time,...

There can be no question the Broadway musicals of John Kander and Fred Ebb have been charmed when it comes to movie adaptations. Bob Fosse’s 1972 film reinvention of Cabaret won eight Oscars. Director Rob Marshall and screenwriter Bill Condon’s cinematic interpretation of Chicago in 2002 is still the last musical to win the Best Picture Oscar. Both made the musical format work, even for those who hate movie musicals, by integrating the songs so they don’t collide with the narrative but seamlessly fit in with it.

It’s nice to report that the stunning new film adaptation of their 1993 Tony-winning musical Kiss of the Spider Woman joins Cabaret and Chicago as a master class in how to find the cinematic soul of...