J.Lo also defends her co-star against claims that the 'Crazy Rich Asians' star behaved like 'a diva' on set, saying, 'My experience with her was lovely. We became really great friends.'
- Sep 12, 2019
AceShowbiz - "Hustlers" director Lorene Scafaria has addressed rumors of tension on the set of the stripper movie. Denying that the film's stars Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu were feuding during the shooting of the drama pic, the helmer insisted that the cast got along so well.
"Honestly when I heard about it, it was such an insult to my set, because I don't run things like that," Scafaria said on BuzzFeed News' "AM to DM" on Wednesday morning, September 11. "I love to work with actors of all kinds who need different things, but everybody got along so great on this."
The filmmaker stressed that "Jennifer and Constance really did have that chemistry and that relationship right away." She went on noting, "It's kind of hard to fake that, to be honest."
Speaking up about the same issue during an interview with USA Today, J.Lo echoed Scafaria's statements. "I have the most amazing relationship with Constance. She was a doll baby to me on the set and to everybody every time I was on the set," she clarified the rumors about Wu's alleged diva behavior.
"It was 29 days and I was there most days. I don't know if there was somebody (talking to the media) who had a gripe or she had a bad day one day. Who knows?" she shared her opinion on how the rumors might have started. "I know how this can go sometimes, and how really nice, good people can be portrayed as something other than what they are. That's a fun headline for people but doesn't necessarily mean it's true. My experience with her was lovely. We became really great friends."
Admitting that "making movies is hard" between pre-dawn call times, 12- to 16-hour days and late nights, the actress/singer said, "People are allowed to get cranky sometimes." She quickly added of Wu, "I'm not saying that was her. But everybody's human. So I don't know where that came from but it wasn't my experience at all. I love her. And she's great in the this movie, too."
Previously, Wu was said making several demands, including insisting on getting top billing on the film, and was deemed "a pain in the f**king ass" to work with. A source told Page Six, "She refuses to do interviews, she won't have visitors on her sets. It's like a cliche. She is very talented - but all signs are pointing to a difficult diva."
Wu quickly brushed off the reports at the time, saying in a statement to ET Online, "We made this film with an incredible spirit of sisterhood and love. Any reports otherwise have felt like an age-old attempt to pit us against each other and knock us down when, in truth, we had the best time making this! We won't be knocked down. We will continue to share and celebrate this story together, as sisters. Thank you to all the fans for believing in us and supporting this film."
"Hustlers", also starring Keke Palmer, Julia Stiles, Lili Reinhart, Cardi B and Lizzo, is set to open wide in U.S. theaters on September 13 after premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7.
