'The Godmother': Jennifer Lopez Crime Drama Coming From 'The Handmaid's Tale' Director And 'The Departed' Writer
Jennifer Lopez is forever hustling for her next project. And maybe this one could finally land her that much-deserved Oscar. The Hustlers star is set to play the real-life Colombian drug lord Gridelda Blanco in The Godmother, a crime drama set to be helmed by The Handmaid's Tale director Reed Morano and penned by The Departed screenwriter William Monahan.
Deadline reports that The Handmaid's Tale director Reed Morano is in talks to direct the Jennifer Lopez-starring crime drama The Godmother at STXfilms, with Oscar-winning The Departed William Monahan in talks to do a rewrite of the first draft from Terry Winter and Regina Corrado.
The Godmother, which follows "the ups and downs of Blanco, who outsmarted and outhustled the men around her to rise from an impoverished childhood in Colombia to become one of the world's biggest drug lords" comes right after Lopez's acclaimed turn in Hustlers, a surprise hit for STX last year that went on to become the studio's second highest-grossing movie worldwide and Lopez's biggest live-action opening of all time. Lopez in particular earned raves for her turn as the savvy stripper-turned-conwoman, with Oscar buzz surrounding her performance before she was unfairly snubbed. But perhaps this meaty role — which STX set up with Lopez soon after the box office success of Hustlers last July — in which Lopez plays the notorious crime lord who was a key figurehead in Miami's Cocaine Cowboy Wars, could get the actress the Oscar nod she deserved for Hustlers.
The one-two combo of Morano and Monahan certainly lends to that potential. Morano earned praise for her Emmy-winning direction of The Handmaid's Tale, while Monahan certainly has a handle on the crime drama, having won an Oscar for penning Martin Scorsese's gangster flick The Departed. Morano and Monahan are teaming up another project, the Zoe Saldana war movie Sabaya, and could be the dream team that Lopez needs.
Lopez, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and Benny Medina, as well as Julie Yorn are producing The Godmother. Winter, Alex Pettyfer, Alex Brown and Rick Yorn are executive producing.