Lopez plays famous Latin pop singer Kate Valdez, who surprisingly proposes to a stranger in one of her concerts. Originally, Kate was expected to pop the question to her music partner Sebastian, a popular singer portrayed by Colombian reggaeton artist Maluma, in a highly anticipated media event announced to the four winds and planned to stream live to millions of people as part of her Marry Me Concert Tour.

But after learning of her boyfriend’s cheating on the news just minutes before their carefully planned public engagement, a shocked and brokenhearted Kate proposes to a concertgoer holding a sign that said: “Marry me.” The stranger, a recently widowed single dad named Charlie, is played by Owen Wilson.

The film is directed by Kat Coiro, known for helming TV comedy series like Fox’s The Mick, FX’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and ABC’s Single Parents and comedy movies like Daddy Issues and A Case of You.

The screenplay is by John Rogers, Tami Sagher and Harper Dill, whose respective credits include Flightplan, Catwoman and Inside Amy Schumer. The script is based on a graphic novel by newcomer writer Bobby Crosby. Marry Me is executive produced by Lopez for her company Nuyorican Productions. The film’s 10-member producers team includes some that have worked with Lopez in previous movies, such as Hustlers’ Benny Medina and Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and Second Act’s Alex Brown.

The rest of the main cast is rounded up by Sarah Silverman (Wreck-It Ralph), Utkarsh Ambudkar (Brittany Runs a Marathon), Jimmy Fallon (The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon), John Bradley (Game of Thrones), Chloe Coleman (My Spy) and Brady Noon (The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers).

The last romcom starring Lopez was the 2010The Back-up Plan, about a woman who conceives twins through artificial insemination but then meets the man of her dreams on the very same day. The film won Lopez a nomination for the Teen Choice Awards.

An actress, singer and dancer, Lopez is considered one of the most influential Latino artists in the U.S. as well as one of the most powerful celebrities on the planet, making popular lists of influential magazines like Forbes and Time. She has reportedly sold about 70 million records and boasts a cumulative film gross of more than $3 billion. Her most notable films include Selena, Anaconda, The Cell, Shall We Dance, Monster-in-Law and Hustlers. Last year she received an Emmy nomination for her live performance along with Shakira in the Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show. And this year Lopez performed a musical mashup at the inauguration of President Joe Biden, incorporating some words in Spanish.

Along with Marry Me, the musical, JLo will also release a soundtrack that includes two duets with Maluma, “Pa’ Ti” and “Lonely.” The pair performed the songs at the 2020 American Music Awards last November. And in early December, Lopez dropped the video for her ballad “On my Way,” another track from the film. The soundtrack album is slated to debut in February, too.

Marry Me, the movie, is set to be released simultaneously in theaters by Universal Pictures and on the streamer Peacock.

Featured Photo: ‘Marry Me’ (Photo: Universal Picture)

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Jennifer Lopez in her best role in years as Ramona, the hard-edged Bronx single mother and top strip club dancer in the hit film Hustlers, might just clinch an Oscar nomination as best supporting actress come award season.

In a year where there was a dearth of Latino talent represented in major theatrical feature films, (the exception being Dora The Explorer and Alita: Battle Angel) only Antonio Banderas is being talked about as a potential Oscar nominee in the Best Actor category for his performance in Pedro Almodovar’s Pain and Glory. Banderas has already won the Best Actor prize at the Cannes Film Festival this past May.

A strong Oscar campaign on Lopez’s behalf by the film’s producers and distributors should ensure at least a nomination for the veteran Latina actress who at age 50 is a true superstar and internationally recognized as one of the most beautiful and talented women in the world. 

Hustlers is Lopez’s biggest-grossing live-action film of her career, with a domestic box-office total gross to date of $104 million according to Box Office Mojo with an additional $32 million in worldwide earnings. 

Produced by Benny Medina (under Lopez’s own Neuyorican productions) and directed by Lorene Scarfia, from her own script, Hustlers was made on a $20 million dollar budget and is already profitable.

Based on a true-life incident featured in a 2015 New York Magazine article, Hustlers is about a group of New York City strippers, led by Lopez’s Ramona, who orchestrate a plan to scam their wealthy Wall Street clients after the 2008 recession.  

Beyond its box office success, Hustlers is also one of those rare movies starring diverse women of color which also inclueds Constance Wu (Crazy Rich Asians), Cardi B., Lizzo, Kiki Palmer, Julia Stiles and Lili Reinhart.  Wu as the neophyte Dorothy plays well against Lopez’s hardened but sympathetic Ramona and they give each other ample support under the sensitive and stylish direction of Scarfia, one of the few women in Hollywood to helm a major feature film.  Sixty-seven percent of the film’s audience has been made up of women, 36% Caucasian, 27% Hispanic, 26% African-American, and 11% Asian/other. 

Lopez is currently at work in New York City starring in a new romantic comedy Marry Me, a Universal feature film starring in the role of Kat Valdes opposite Owen Wilson with Sarah Silverman and featuring Columbian pop star Maluma.

Hustlers is distributed by STX.

The post Jennifer Lopez’s “Hustlers” Tops $100M And Elicits Oscar Buzz first appeared on .