‘Hustlers’ music supervisor Jason Markey halted plans for a Jennifer Lopez, Lizzo and Cardi B collaboration.
The three pop superstars come together in the cast for the new stripper comedy, and while there were some discussions about a musical conclusion to the movie in a similar vein to Lil’ Kim, Pink, Mya and Christina Aguilera’s rendition of ‘Lady Marmalade’ for ‘Moulin Rouge’, it seemed too “cheesy”.
Markey told Variety: “At one point, there was some conversation from the producers’ standpoint: ‘Should we do a big end-title song, like a ‘Lady Marmalade’ thing?’
“I was the first person to stand up and go, ‘I think that’s cheesy!’ ”
He argued his point to director Lorene Scafaria and won over the filmmaker as he suggested a “more poignant” ending than a “big pop number”.
He added: “I said to Lorene [Scafaria] in sort of a private jest, ‘Honestly, I really don’t believe in having a Jennifer-Cardi B-Lizzo song in this movie — I just think we could do much better than that’.
“And not in a bad way in relation to their artistry, but we can end with a more poignant option, as opposed to this big pop number. And she agreed with me. So we stood our ground — and won the battle.”
Instead, one of the movie’s standout musical moments sees J-Lo pole dancing along to ‘Criminal’ by Fiona Apple, which Markey admitted was a risk as the singer’s 1997 hit had only been licensed a handful of times for TV and never on the big screen.
He said: “I was very scared because Fiona notoriously says no to everything. We sent her the clip and she approved it, so I would assume she just liked what she saw.
“Maybe she’s not a fan of Jennifer, but when you watch her dance, it’s undeniable. It’s dramatic gold.”
Hustlers have bagged $33 Million on its opening weekend. According to a report on Variety, its performance was boosted by rave reviews and stellar word of mouth, “Hustlers” beat expectations and now ranks as the best start for an STX film, along with the biggest live-action opening weekend for stars Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu.
