Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez Visited a Strip Club While She Was Preparing for Hustlers
Jennifer Lopez did a little field research while filming her upcoming movie Hustlers.
In a new interview with Vulture, the movie’s writer and director Lorene Scafaria reveals how Lopez and husband-to-be Alex Rodriguez helped make the movie about strippers as authentic as possible.
“She and Alex went and visited a strip club, and she was able to give me some … insights,” Scafaria told the outlet.
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The movie is based on the 2015 New York magazine article on a group of New York strippers who scammed men out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. And it all clicked into place once Scafaria got Lopez, 50, on board.
“The moment I finished the script, I realized, ‘Oh my God, Ramona is Jennifer Lopez,’ ” she said. “’Jennifer Lopez is Ramona. The two of them are the same; they have all of these similar qualities. It has to be her.’ Casting was made infinitely easier once Jennifer was attached. Everybody really, really, really wanted to work with Jennifer. That was the beauty of making this movie, too: casting what felt like the right people for each part, and watching them interact the way that they should with each other.”
“She’s obviously such an unbelievable dancer, but she trained so hard-core for this,” Scafaria said about Lopez. “Pole dancing is not like anything else. It required muscles you don’t know you have. So we did treat it a little bit like a sports movie in that way.”
Lopez is joined in the movie by Cardi B, 26, who is open about being a stripper in New York City before making it big in music.
In addition to the two Grammy nominees, the cast also features several other notable stars: Crazy Rich Asians’ Constance Wu, Riverdale‘s Lili Reinhart as well as Keke Palmer and Julia Stiles.
The film, directed by Scafaria (The Meddler) and produced by STXfilms, is based on the 2015 New York Magazine article “The Hustlers At Scores” written by Jessica Pressler. Will Ferrell and Adam McKay will produce the project alongside Lopez and her Second Act producing partner Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas.
In an interview with Deadline, Scafaria expressed her excitement towards the film, saying, “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work with this dynamic group of women. We’re grateful to have assembled such a powerhouse cast and can’t wait to start filming at the end of the week.”
Hustlers opens Sept. 13.
