In Bill Condon’s Kiss of the Spider Woman, the dynamic and hopeful Molina (Tonatiuh) is imprisoned in Argentina and shares a cell with political prisoner Valentín (Diego Luna). As the two get to know each other, they are transported together to the much more colorful world of a musical Molina loves starring famed actress Ingrid Luna (Jennifer Lopez).
Awards Buzz spoke with production designer Scott Chambliss and set decorator Andrew Baseman about what they knew of the preexisting versions of the musical and how that molded their approach. Baseman shared:
“I saw the movie when it came out and saw the Broadway musical a couple times. That’s what I knew about it. I didn’t read the book. I’d like to go back to it now, though, because apparently Bill has taken things from the book that were neither in the book nor in the Broadway musical nor in other incarnations of it. I’m eager to read that and see what was missed.”
Chambliss added:
“I had seen the movie. When did it come out, 1985? So I was in grad school at that point. I remember being shocked by it. I didn’t expect that story at all. It seemed oddly abstract to me, particularly the movie-within-the-movie, which landed strangely, so I read the book. I wanted to read know what the source material was. That led me to read another one of his books as well, which I liked better, actually, called Betrayed by Rita Hayworth. More gay man 1970s in love with old movies, but it was a completely different story. I remember the Broadway musical existing. I didn’t see it, I had just moved out of New York, so I wasn’t there for that. And then I promptly forgot about all of it.”
Watch the full interview above to hear about their musical influences, use of color, and the experience of working with Bill Condon, Tonatiuh, Diego Luna, and Jennifer Lopez.
Kiss of the Spider Woman is currently playing in theaters and on demand.
