JLo wanted Constance Wu 'feel safe' with her on Hustler sets

Jennifer Lopez, whose upcoming film Hustler sheds light on tough yet vulnerable side of strip club employees, says she wanted an organic bond flowing among the women on sets.

Los Angeles: Jennifer Lopez says she "had to have that bond" with her Hustlers co-star Constance Wu in order for the new strip club crime drama to succeed.

Lopez and Wu play former exotic dancers who link up with New York Wall Street-type men, take them to strip clubs and charge tens of thousands of dollars to their credit cards -- drugging those who protested.

Lopez's character shows Wu's the ropes in the stripper community -- as Lopez did for Wu in real life on set. The pop diva revealed why bonding among the co-stars was so important to her.

"Those things were important to me. But -- even as two actresses I wanted her to feel that way. But that also translated into kind of the characters -- which was very -- like you said it's kind of natural and organic here. And so it showed up there," said JLo during Hustler promotional interview.

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The Fresh Off the Boat and Crazy Rich Asians star called the 50-year-old Lopez -- who also produced Hustlers -- "an icon to me."

The Hustlers cast includes musical artists Lizzo and Cardi B, plus Riverdale star Lili Reinhart and Keke Palmer, who said it was "inspiring" to see so many women together on set.

The movie is based on a real-life story, as detailed in a 2015 New York Magazine article called The Hustlers at Scores.

Writer-director Lorene Scafaria says she met with strippers and sex workers, including some friends who did the work to pay off student loans.

"I wanted to tell that story but also shed some light on this culture that I think people think they know a lot about because there's scenes in strip clubs in every TV show and movie ever. But so few that have really told the story from their perspective," Scafaria said.

Hustlers is set to premiere at the Toronto Film Festival this weekend.

With inputs from APTN