Sun˚y Mirror 130703
Jennifer Lopez in "Money Train"
J Lo fails to derail the “Money Train” over nude scene By MARK SEROWITZ
Jennifer Lopez looks set to lose her legal challenge over the DVD reissue of her first feature film, 1995’s buddy action comedy “Money Train”. The Jenny From The Block singer had been attempting to block the release by Sony Pictures, unless they cut out her nude scene from the film. The film, which starred Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson as two NYC transit cops who also happen to be foster brothers, was Jennifer’s first major role in Hollywood after first appearing as a Fly Girl on the television series “In Living Color”.
She played the role of Grace Santiago a sexy fellow transit cop newly assigned to the brothers team who they inevitably both have the hots for, leading to tension between them. The role required Lopez to strip off for a hot lovemaking scene with Snipes. Despite voicing her misgivings about the scene, the inexperienced actress felt she had no option but to comply with the script. However in numerous interviews over the years, Lopez who became the highest paid Latina actress in Hollywood for her role in “Selena” has expressed her regret at agreeing to disrobe for the scene. And with the film slated for an October reissue on DVD, she instructed her lawyers to put a halt to the release if the scene isn’t cut from the film. With a new cover for the DVD featuring the platinum-selling singer alongside the film’s two male stars, and a new trailer doing the rounds highlighting her role in the film as
a starring one, lawyers have argued that she is entitled to approve a product her name and image is being used to promote. They also argue that removing the scene would see the films MPAA classification reduced from its previous R rating, allowing a wider audience to enjoy the film. A representative of Ms Lopez told The Mirror “Jennifer is very proud of the film and happy to see it getting a new release on DVD for fans to enjoy, but there is a scene that we’ve asked to be removed.” “It’s pretty steamy stuff and she’s not really trying to promote that image.” "If they take the scene out, then they can release the film however and wherever they like - but if they don’t remove it, then that could be a problem.” However, we now understand that having taken legal advice Sony Pictures look set to release the film unedited in October as planned.