Jennifer Lopez is making some serious money moves in her new film — and she went through great lengths to pull them off convincingly!
The first trailer (above) for Hustlers dropped midnight on Wednesday, showing the 49-year-old superstar as a scamming stripper who turns the tables on her Wall Street clients with the help of her colleagues, played by Cardi B, Lili Reinhart, Lizzo, Keke Palmer, Constance Wu, Trace Lysette, and Mette Towley.
According to writer-director Lorene Scafaria, J.Lo took playing the role of Ramona very seriously; so much so, she invited her fiancé Alex Rodriguez to do some character study with her… at a strip club!
Related: Jennifer Talks Her 3 Failed Marriages & Plans For A BIG Wedding
In a recent interview with Vulture, the director said with a laugh:
“She and Alex went and visited a strip club, and she was able to give me some… insights.”
LOLz! That’s commitment right there!
In addition to extensive character research, Lopez worked hard to get into even better shape than she usually is by taking pole dancing lessons. The filmmaker added:
“She’s obviously such an unbelievable dancer, but she trained so hard-core for this. 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.”
The starlet wouldn’t disagree. At the New York City stop of her It’s My Party Tour earlier this month, the performer said pole dancing was “probably one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done for a film,” telling ET:
“My arm is still recovering and my back. So yeah, I would say that was the hardest thing I ever did, but it was worth it. I love this character. I love this story. It’s a really gritty New York story [with] women at the forefront… To be able to produce it and star in it was very special.”
For the director, however, landing J.Lo as her lead was really the only option. Scafaria explained:
“The moment I finished the script, I realized, ‘Oh my God, Ramona is Jennifer Lopez. Jennifer Lopez is Ramona. The two of them are the same; they have all of these similar qualities. It has to be her’ … 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.”
Locking down the rest of her star-studded cast was no easy feat either. The director recalled:
“I chased Lizzo for a year. I met with Trace Lysette probably a year earlier, then wrote her a part. I knew I needed Keke Palmer so early on. I remember casting the Mercedes character and saying, ‘It has to be Keke Palmer.’ Jacqueline Francis, who goes by Jacq the Stripper on Instagram, was somebody I knew I wanted to write a part for as well. Mette Towley was someone I’d met with probably two years earlier.”
The toughest star to get signed on to the project was Cardi, who agreed to do the film after two years of Scafaria chasing her down through Instagram DMs.
Photo: Cardi Turns Up For Kulture’s First Birthday During NYC Blackout!
The rapper and former stripper said of the project back in May:
“This movie is something I can relate [to]… All the actress in the movie I can tell them, like, ‘No, no, no. This is how it goes.’ … The club that the movie is based on that’s… the first type of club that I worked in… This was my life.”
Fortunately, all the chasing down paid off, as the cast got along wonderfully. The director revealed:
“Constance and Jennifer love each other. There was this very beautiful sister relationship that was unfolding. And Keke and Lili together, they’re so adorable. Trace and Mette really hit it off… We had a pretty remarkable time together; it was an incredible bond for something that was shot in 29 days with 15 women.”
We’re sure this bond will be palpable on screen when Hustlers hits theaters September 13!
Are U excited for this film? We mean, just the talent alone is overwhelming! Ch-ch-check out the trailer (above) to get a taste for the mayhem in store!
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