John Kander may be 98 years old, but that doesn't mean he's not very busy. The legendary composer was seen earlier this week at the premiere of the newest movie musical adapted from his work: Kiss of the Spider Woman. And according to the film's director Bill Condon, Kander was, "participating on all fronts. He's a great lover of opera, and I think this score is particularly dear to his heart, because to me, it's the closest we have to a true John Kander opera." 

Watch Playbill's Jeffrey Vizcaíno interview with Condon, as well as with stars Jennifer Lopez and Tonatiuh, where they discussed working with Kander and the film's queer representation. 

Kiss of the Spider Woman will be released in movie theatres October 10. The film soundtrack is out now, which includes new songs that were not in the Broadway version of the stage show. Based on Manuel Puig's 1976 novel, Kiss of the Spider Woman centers on a pair of cellmates in an Argentine prison. Valentín (played by Diego Luna) is a political revolutionary, while Molina (Tonatiuh) is a queer window dresser who takes care of him by telling him the story of his favorite film, Kiss of the Spider Woman, starring his favorite movie star of all, Ingrid Luna (Jennifer Lopez).

In adapting the stage show for film, Condon also cut the songs between Valentín and Molina—mostly keeping the songs to the movie-within-a-movie scenes featuring Lopez's character. The director says that Kander didn't mind the cuts: "[He was] so open to the fact that about half the score we had to move away from, because it didn't fit into the conceit of this other medium, this more realistic medium."

The film is adapted from the 1992 John Kander-Fred Ebb-Terrence McNally musical. The cast also includes Broadway alum Josefina Scaglione (West Side Story), Bruno Bichir, and Aline Mayagoitia.

Barry Josephson, Tom Kirdahy, and Greg Yolen are producing with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon for Artists Equity, the film's studio and lead producer. Michael Joe, Danie Bernfeld, and Kevin Halloran are executive producing for Artists Equity along with Condon for 1000 Eyes, Lopez and Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas for Nuyorican Productions, and D. Matt Geller for Josephson Entertainment. Luna, Pamela Thur, Sam Weisman, Daniel Weisman, and Margaux Weisman are also executive producing.