Jennifer Lopez has been an A-list star for decades now, with a celebrated career as both an actress and global pop star. She’s been keeping super busy lately, while also making headlines for her marriage with Ben Affleck. Her new action/comedy Shotgun Wedding is coming to Amazon this weekend, which features a killer ensemble cast. And JLo’s co-stars recently spoke to CinemaBlend about working with her as both an actor and producer.
The Selena icon was super involved in Shotgun Wedding, playing one of the protagonists opposite Josh Duhamel and also serving as a producer. As you can see in the video above, I had the privilege of speaking with the cast of Shotgun Wedding ahead of its release, where I asked what it was like working with Jennifer Lopez in her dual roles. They all gushed about the experience, with (surprise action star?) Jennifer Coolidge, who recently won an Emmy for White Lotus, telling me:
That girl puts many hours into her day. But always looks like she just came out of hair and make-up, even though she didn’t have hair and make-up on. Early morning, before hair and makeup she looks like she’s had makeup. She’s glamorous all the time and running the show. She’s an anomaly. She has more energy than anyone I ever met. She’s a very impressive person.
I don’t think anyone can doubt that. On top of being an ageless fashion icon, Jennifer Lopez is known for keeping super busy. Case in point: her recent deal with Netflix, performing at the Super Bowl, and releasing Marry Me and Shotgun Wedding in quick succession on two different streaming services. And that hustle (no pun intended) hasn’t gone unnoticed.
Of course, Jennifer Coolidge wasn’t the only one impressed by how Jennifer Lopez was able to wear so many hats in Shotgun Wedding (read the reviews here). After all, she was the lead character and had to get involved in a number of wild action sequences in addition to her role as a producer. The truly iconic Cheech Marin also spoke to me about his experience working with JLo, saying:
She had a couple of challenges early changing cast members, and not going crazy doing that in that process. And being the lead, and being warm and inviting and smiling and funny and beautiful at the same time. That’s a lot of stuff.
Another solid point. While Jennifer Lopez accomplishing all that she did during Shotgun Wedding’s production is impressive enough, she did it while creating a warm environment for the rest of the movie’s cast and crew. It would have been understandable if she had a bad day or two, but it sounds like she was super kind in the midst of her busy schedule.
The Good Place and A League of Their Own actress D’Arcy Carden plays Harriet in Shotgun Wedding, the younger girlfriend of JLo’s father. She was similarly impressed with Jennifer Lopez as a person, but also spoke about the experience of seeing her acting chops up close and personal. She told me:
I remember the first day filming with her, I’m doing a scene, filming with her in real life. My eyes are looking at her eyes its real life and it’s Jennifer Lopez and I’m like ‘This is wild.’ That was surreal but then when it was her coverage I was looking through the monitor and was like ‘She is a movie star!’ The way she looks on [camera], she is on another planet.
Having seen Shotgun Wedding early, I can’t deny D’Arcy Carden’s impression of Jennifer Lopez. The camera truly loves her throughout the action/comedy flick, and her timing and physical comedy are truly at an all-time high. As Carden put it, she’s a classic movie star in every sense of the word.
Luckily, moviegoers won’t have to wait too long before seeing Jennifer Lopez and the rest of the cast of Shotgun Wedding, as it’ll be released on Amazon Prime this weekend. And given Lopez’s production deal with Netflix, there should be plenty of more content coming to the streaming world moving forward. Some of which she’ll star in, while others will be from her production company Nuyorican Productions.
Shotgun Wedding will be released on January 27th. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. That includes The Mother, which will be a Netflix release.
