Jennifer Lopez has high hopes for her latest big-screen title, The Boy Next Door.
The producer and star noted while on Good Morning America on Monday that the Universal-distributed R-rated thriller — following a conflicted woman who gets romantically involved with her young neighbor — was her first microbudget movie, made for four million dollars and shot within 23 days.
"You know what, we put all four million dollars in front of the camera!" she laughed to Robin Roberts. "We all shared one trailer, we had no craft service, it wasn't that type of luxury movie set, let's say."
Lopez plays the role opposite Ryan Guzman, the Step Up franchise star who is also a fellow Latino actor.
"It's a mainstream movie, it's not 'a Latino movie,' but the truth is, as a producer, I'm very proud because in retrospect, I just picked the best actor for the role. But at the end of the day, if a big studio made this movie, I don't know that they would've cast the both of us in this because of that.
Read more 'The Boy Next Door' Trailer: Jennifer Lopez Regrets Sleeping With a Student
"And so, two Latinos opening in a mainstream movie, if it does well, that's gonna change things," she continued. "I would love for the Latino community to come out and support this movie because it would give us the freedom. ... That gives me a lot of freedom as an artist, it gives us a lot of freedom to make more movies in this way. Whatever kind of stories we want to tell — it's exciting."
The Boy Next Door, directed by Rob Cohen and also featuring Kristen Chenoweth and John Corbett, hits theaters Jan. 23. Watch the video below.
