On Monday October 6, Kiss of the Spider Woman made its big New York debut with a star-studded premiere at The Shed in Hudson Yards. The night had all the usual trappings, a red carpet (of course), a screening, and an after party at the Crane Club where cast members, producers and director Bill Condon celebrated the film’s long awaited arrival.
Kiss of the Spider Woman has long held a unique place in storytelling. What started off as a daring novel by Manuel Puig tackling repression and desire later on became a 1985 film that earned William Hurt an Oscar, and then ultimately a Broadway success that swept the 1993 Tony Awards. Now, Bill Condon’s version takes that legacy and reimagines it with a dreamy mix of fantasy and realism.
Set in a Buenos Aires prison during Argentina’s Dirty War, the film follows a Marxist revolutionary, Valentín, portrayed by Diego Luna, and a movie obsessed window dresser jailed for public indecency, Molina, played by Tonatiuh. Molina passes time reenacting scenes from his favorite film, starring his idol, Ingrid Luna (Jennifer Lopez.) What begins as a simple escape for the two, slowly deepens into something more intimate and complicated, forcing them to question their own beliefs on masculinity, politics, and love.
Lopez made a grand entrance at the premiere wearing a gown by designer Harris Reed. Styled by Rob Zangardi, the dress featured a spider-inspired corset channeling her roles in the film. On the carpet, Lopez shared heartfelt moments with her mother, Guadalupe Rodríguez, and her 17-year-old twins, Max and Emme. Ben Affleck, who served as executive producer on the film, also joined Lopez on the carpet for a somewhat surprising but warm reunion.
Jennifer Lopez
Among some of the notables walking the carpet and spotted inside The Shed were Whoopi Goldberg, Spike Lee, J Balvin, Laverne Cox, Nathan Lane, Harvey Guillén, Marc Shaiman, Ben Platt, Brandon Flynn and Michael Cyril Creighton.
Ahead of the screening, Affleck praised Lopez’s performance and Condon called the movie “a love letter to the power of imagination” and thanked his cast for making the leap between stark realism and stylized fantasy feel seamless. Lopez kept her intro short but powerful, calling the Spider Woman role “the most challenging and rewarding experience” of her career, noting that the role required a delicate mix of vulnerability, strength, and theatricality.
Importantly, Condon’s film doesn’t stray away from its sensuality or its politics. The film is a story about Latin identity, queer love that survives oppression, humanity in confinement and the transformative power of storytelling. Lopez, Luna, and Tonatiuh embrace their roles flawlessly, delivering outstanding performances through a modern and inclusive perspective.
Laverne Cox
Story and Photography by Vincenzo Dimino
