Out gay filmmaker Bill Condon breathes new life into a story steeped in passion, politics and fantasy with his latest film, “Kiss of the Spider Woman.” Opening Oct. 10 in theaters, the screen adaptation of the Tony-winning musical blends gritty realism with technicolor spectacle, anchored by the chemistry between cellmates Luis Molina (out gay actor Tonatiuh) and Valentin (Diego Luna). Tonatiuh also appears as Kendall, a character in the film’s movie-within-a-movie opposite Jennifer Lopez’s Aurora. Adapted from Manuel Puig’s celebrated novel — and following both the Oscar-winning 1985 film and the Broadway musical — Condon’s version sets the story amid Argentina’s 1983 Dirty War, heightening its political edge while exploring isolation, liberation and the transformative power of connection
Tonatiuh and Bill Condon on reinventing ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ for a new generation
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