First step: Get J.Lo to sign on.
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The scene depicts a sort of reciprocal ecstasy.
Lopezs expression the epitome of self-satisfaction was key to its authenticity.
But behind the scenes, the dollar bills didnt rain down as freely.
I felt very much like I could understand them.
I think weve all danced for the money a little bit.
This is the oral history of howHustlersgot made.
Pray Scorsese Passes
In early 2017, Annapurna Pictures asked Scafaria to be the screenwriter.
Scafaria wanted to direct the film as well, but the producers had other ideas.
We also thought about Adam McKay at one point.
Adam McKay knew I really wanted it.
I remember him saying, I hope Scorsese passes.
Kayla Emter,editor: I love working with female directors.
I think its freeing.
Its more of a conversation than bullet points.
What are we doing?
I joked with her: God, Im so glad Martin Scorsese didnt do this movie.
Pray J.Lo Doesnt
After Scafaria landed the job, she spent two years chasing the cast of her dreams.
But for Scafaria, one name loomed the largest: Jennifer Lopez.
She knew if she didnt get Lopez, the whole thing might fall apart.
Jennifer Lopez is Ramona.
It has to be her.
Elbaum: So we got the script to Jennifers team, and they responded and loved it.
Scafaria: Then we met at her home in January of 2018.
Shes also a producer on the film, so it was really collaborative and thought out.
I never expected to get somebody whos such a gifted dancer and performer.
Gayle Keller,casting director: Cardis name was always in the mix.
Lorene said, How can you write a movie about strippers and not put Cardi B in it?
Shes phenomenal just for her Instagram alone.
I mean, shes influencing Bernie Sanders.
Elbaum: Lorene had the idea to get Cardi, and Jennifer got it done.
Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas,producer: Jennifer called Cardi and said, you should probably be a part of this.
You know this world.
Jennifer Lopez,Ramona: I know she knew this world better than any of us.
I told her she had to do it.
And I wasnt going to take no for an answer.
Keller: Once we got her, I remember Lorene and I just screaming and yelling.
Scafaria: I remember trying to cast the Mercedes role and saying, It has to be Keke Palmer.
This character needs to be the one who makes Ramona laugh.
Usually when I have a meeting with the director or writer, its about 30, 40 minutes.
Lorene and I were there for two hours.
Im sure we talked about something crazy.
Maybe the avocado toast we were eating?
Elbaum: The producers primarily were women, our filmmaker was a woman.
Our editor is a woman.
Our costume designer well, hes a gay man.
Our production designers a woman; our line producer was a woman.
But Lorene hired the people who were right for the job.
I think this script just spoke to women.
Goldsmith-Thomas: Everyone agreed to be paid less than they usually would.
I was like, I dont care if I have to make sandwiches and sweep the floors.
Ill do anything to be a part of this movie.
[She plays the journalist.]
Keller: Lili Reinharts was the last part we ended up casting.
It was the hardest to cast.
Lili Reinhart,Annabelle: It was animal crackers and Sprite mixed together.
But it just tasted like animal crackers, so I didnt care.
Sweet-Talk the Suits
Shortly after Lopez became attached, Annapurna dropped the film.
Scafaria: The movie fell apart the day before my 40th birthday.
Well never really know.
Goldsmith-Thomas: I was Sisyphus with the boulder ofHustlerson my back.
Sometimes it would fall off and roll back on me.
And I was selling primarily to men.
Hustling, you might say.
Scafaria: Its the only time I really feel like a woman.
I feel that way when it comes to money.
Goldsmith-Thomas: Id say [the male studio executives] were a little uncomfortable.
Can they just do it to the people that deserve it?
They all could celebrateThe Wolf of Wall Street a guy doing it to women.
By the way, does anyone deserve to be drugged?
Men are also under their own construct.
Elbaum: There was a small piece inside of me going,Who is going to make this?
Scafaria: It was an existential crisis for a while there.
But I felt like I couldnt stop.
I had to get another writing job, but I refused to take any other directing job.
I refused to pursue any other film.
I just thought,If this isnt it, I dont know what movies are.It was really dark.
I knew there was a market for this movie.
There arent strip-club movies that portrayed women in a way that I was excited about.
Why are we focused on these guys sitting at the table?
We were pointing the camera at the wrong place.
It didnt take long after meeting with STX to actually get it made.
I want to say less than a year.
We met with them in the fall.
Lorene did another pass on the script, and in December we turned it in.
Scafaria: I really do like to smash everything on the ground and start over.
So I did a page-one rewrite of the script at some point.
Then I did a third script with a million drafts in between.
Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas always joked on set, I think were actually making this movie?
Even the day we wrapped, she was like, Guys, I think were making this movie.
Hit the Pole
The problem: How to make it realistic but not exploitative?
We had an open call, and a couple of the girls were just so good.
Wu: I installed a pole in my living room.
I took pole classes; I took private coaching sessions.
And this was all stuff I paid for by myself before we even started the movie.
I became friends with a couple of strippers.
I went to a lot of strip clubs in San Francisco thats what I spent my Christmas Eve doing.
I went with two of my guy friends, and we went to five different clubs.
It was so fucking fun.
And nobody knew who I was.
Im not really that famous.
Also nobody expects this sitcom mother of three boys to be in a strip club.
Johanna Sapakie,choreographer:I asked Jennifer, Have you been to a strip club before?
She said no, and I said, Okay, well, thats something you should do.
I soaked up the atmosphere and wanted to learn how to do things authentically.
Sapakie: Of course, she got recognized.
She said some of the women were quite forward about trying to get 20 bucks.
But obviously they were very generous in the club.
Just trying to pay for school, provide for their children, provide for their families.
The anti-heroes and their behaviors portrayed inHustlersare not the norm.
It was No, no!
I am adancer,not an escort.
There is a strict line.
Scafaria: Jennifer is such an unbelievable dancer, but she trained so hard-core for this.
I know she had a pole in her house.
So we did treat it a little bit like a sports movie.
Lopez: And their moves arent easy.
They really are athletes.
For someone whos never pole-danced, thats a short window.
The very first thing we start with is always This is how you climb the pole.
Then you move on to spinning.
And then the last hurdle was anything inverted turning upside down and making sure she felt safe and comfortable.
Wu: Ive never been so sore in my life.
Jacq the Stripper: This is what I told the girls: When in doubt, touch yourself.
Wu: Go slow.
That was the best tip.
Sapakie: I also worked with Constance, Lili, and Keke.
Lili enjoyed it so much that she came back for an additional session with me, just to play.
Reinhart: Thats my party trick now.
Elbaum: People lose their minds when they see Jennifer Lopez.
Youre followed by paparazzi always.
But the paparazzi always figure it out.
Wu: That was quite distracting.
I was floored by her.
It was very surreal.
We spoke about the labels that were big back then and Juicy Jennifer made the Juicy suit famous herself!
I have a feeling shes going to bring it back.
We wanted things that made people go, Oh my God, I was wearing those in 2007.
Every earring is telling a story.
I have a feeling there are going to be a lot of bandage dresses coming back.
But I hope not.
Elbaum: Jennifers first dance was a holy shit moment.
What she does on that pole is insane.
Scafaria: We treated it like a stunt, with three cameras.
Shed go through it a few times, and then wed isolate certain things and pick out other shots.
Sapakie: We wanted it to feel really powerful.
It needed to really impress upon the viewer that this woman is the queen bee of this world.
And Fiona said yes.
Shes probably a fan of Jens.
Wu: Working with all girls, that was special because so often in movies, theres one girl.
That naturally creates a scarcity complex, which creates competition.
But there was zero competition.
Keller: Sometimes it can be intimidating to go into a room where its just a bunch of guys.
We get giddy; we talk a lot.
If I was having a bad day, someone would go, Gayle, everythings gonna be okay.
Dont you worry youre doing a great job.
Palmer: We all keep in touch, but no group chat.
I have too many goddamn group chats already.
Elbaum: Our last week we shot in the strip club.
Jacq the Stripper: It was like a utopian strip club from days gone by.
Its really important to have compassionate and authentic representation of sex workers in mainstream media.
People are constantly shitting on me all the time about strippers being dumb bitches.
Its so toxic and its violent.
It results in literal violence against sex workers.
I wrote this cameo into the script years ago, so the fact that it happened was remarkable.
To watch all of the actors reacting to him was so fun.
The girls were flipping out.
He was a crush for everybody at some point in their lives.
So that was the day we wanted to blow it out.
We had the most extras we could possibly fit in the room.
We had all of the women on stage together, dancing.
That was our crane day.
We brought out the green lasers.
Wu: I didnt want to do nudity.
I just wasnt into it.
Its not that I think theres anything wrong with it and I dont believe in it.
Its just a personal thing.
But Lizzo was like, Oh, the carpets match the drapes!
Hanging out with her and seeing her radiant, affirmative energy was really fucking cool.
Scafaria: I never wanted to have nudity be the reason that someone wasnt in the film.
I didnt realize Lizzo was game for it until she did an interview later!
So we were workshopping Jennifer fondling my tits.
I got girls grabbing my boobs all the time Im a stripper and pretty gay.
But I was like, This is cool.
Shes got soft hands, very consenting.
Scafaria: If were focused on someones body in these scenes, its because they want us to be.
Its a bit of a Trojan horse, that way, the movie.
It toys with the male gaze, the same way strippers might toy with it.
Emter: Exactly when you want more is when we cut out.
Just to keep you leaning forward and to control the gaze.
I heard it was hard to getOceans Eightmade.
That makes me crazy.
