Jennifer Lopez is riding high after her latest movie, Kiss of the Spider Woman, premiered at Sundance and is set for a fall release — and a source exclusively tells In Touch she’s hailing producer and friend Matt Damon for championing the project and putting his faith in her, even as he continues to delicately juggle his relationship with her and Ben Affleck.
“Matt has been a driving force behind the scenes of Kiss of the Spider Woman and helped put the movie together, specifically as a star vehicle for J. Lo that could win her awards and connect with an international audience,” the source explains.
The “Let’s Get Loud” singer, 55, divorced Matt’s best friend Ben in August 2024, after spending a difficult summer apart from her beau due to troubles in the relationship that began in April. Jen had been seen deep in conversation with The Martian star, 54, and holding his hand shortly after the breakup, though as In Touch reported, in a completely platonic sense, as the two got to know each other when J. Lo first dated Ben, 52, in the early 2000s and have remained close ever since.
“No matter how things ended between her and Ben, this film is a passion project for Matt and Jennifer,” the source assures. Despite Ben’s very public sulking and the heartbreak Matt, as a BFF, had to deal with and help him heal through, the insider adds Matt plans on doing right by his buddy’s ex wife and is “going to see it through to the bitter end and they’re both going to fight to get her into the Best Supporting actress race.”
“Matt has an insanely busy schedule, but he continues to make time for this film, and time with Jennifer, to get it right as they approach a fall release and what is sure to be a tricky marketing campaign.”
“In success, everybody benefits, including Matt’s business partner Ben, if this movie makes a lot of money,” the insider adds. “But if it fails to connect, Matt is the one to blame, because he has been such a strong backer of the source material and of Bill Condon, who he helped bring aboard to direct the movie.”
The reception for the upcoming flick as a whole was tepid at Sundance, but critics noted and specifically praised J. Lo’s performance in the piece, which bodes well for her next big career resurgence. It follows her most recent project, This Is Me… Now: A Love Story, which flopped upon its 2024 release, but was nonetheless an important part of Jennifer’s journey as an artist.
“What everybody has faith in are the incredible singing and dancing scenes Jennifer has in the movie. Every musical number she does in the film is a slam dunk and that material is going to be the focus of the campaign going forward, not the prison romance that frames the fantasy sequences.”
“Is that going to be enough to get Jennifer onto that Oscar stage next March? Matt believes it will be, and Jennifer continues to be thrilled that he has so much confidence in the project.”
