Jennifer Lopez won’t be making the trip to Savannah this weekend after all.
The singer and actress was slated to receive the Virtuoso Award at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival, an event that was also set to host a screening of her latest project, “Kiss of the Spider Woman.” However, those plans have quietly fallen apart—Lopez has bowed out of the festival entirely, and her film has been pulled from the lineup. No reasons have been given about the cancelation.
It’s hard to fault her. ‘Spider Woman,’ directed by Bill Condon, has seen its theatrical run collapse almost as soon as it began.
The Roadside Attractions release barely managed to collect $1M over two three before fading from theaters. On Thursday, it scraped together a paltry $22,000 nationwide. Despite Lopez gamely showing up for press duties, the $35M costing film has miserably failed to attract an audience.
The Savannah Film Festival will still have its usual stars showing up — Regina Hall, Oscar Isaac, Spike Lee, Sydney Sweeney, and others are all on the guest list. Lopez, though, is sitting this one out. A wise move, perhaps; no need to face the questions and headlines while the film’s bombing.
There’s still hope for ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman.” The Golden Globes tend to carve out space for musical/comedy categories, and Lopez’s turn could easily find recognition there—provided voters get a chance to see the film. However, Oscar-wise? Forget about it.
Not showing up to Savannah, where stars often appear to boost their Oscar odds, is terrible optics. Doing so just 48 hours before you’re being honored is even worse. The fact that Savannah chose to cancel the screening of her film says a lot.
Now this is a package. Armando Iannucci will write and direct a new film headed to the market, with James McAvoy, Alicia Vikander and Taron Egerton set to star. None of the three has worked with Iannucci before.