Exclusive

Michelle Buteau Reveals What It's Like Filming a Rom-Com With Jennifer Lopez

On Wednesday's Just the Sip, comedienne, actress and author Michelle Buteau opened up about working with Jennifer Lopez.

By Alyssa Ray Dec 02, 2020 11:06 PMTags
Watch: Jennifer Lopez Admits People's Icon Is Her "Greatest Award"

Jennifer Lopez is just as fierce as she appears.

Comedienne, actress and author Michelle Buteau made this very point on Wednesday, Dec. 2's all-new Just the Sip. While discussing her career, which includes her upcoming book of essays, Survival of the Thickest, Michelle sounded off on working with J.Lo on a new rom-com, Marry Me.

"Look, Jen is a f--king badass, perfectionist, athlete," the stand-up comedian shared. "I don't understand how she does it."

As Michelle continued, she revealed that the Hustlers actress would know all the lines of the script.

"Because I'm dyslexic, I just memorize things in a different way," she continued. "And so, there was a lot of times I would f--k up my mark or whatever and she's like, 'No, baby. It's that.'"

The Happiest Season actress went on to credit Jennifer's "dancer" brain for her ability to memorize things "quite quickly."

The 2021 Universal Pictures romantic-comedy also stars Owen Wilson, Sarah Silverman, Maluma and more.

photos
Jennifer Lopez's Best Roles

The film follows a Latin popstar (Lopez), who marries a stranger (Wilson) after she learns her partner (Maluma) has been unfaithful.

What E! readers may not know, E!'s Justin Sylvester is also a part of the Marry Me cast.

"I didn't know you were in the movie because, the day I shot my scenes, you weren't in my scenes," Justin relayed to Michelle. "Being on a movie set…it's so scary."

When Michelle reminded Justin that he's on live TV daily—shout out to Daily Pop—he responded, "Live TV is easy compared to that."

Emma McIntyre /AMA2020/Getty Images for dcp/Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Although Michelle could empathize, she found writing her book to be more daunting than acting.

"I think that's why it took me so long to figure out how to shape it," Michelle relayed. "At a dinner party telling a story, one thing. Story-telling show, another thing. Stand-up, whatever. Even acting, whatever. But to put it in print? It's so finite."

Since writing "doesn't come across the same way," Michelle said she didn't necessarily love her first draft of Survival of the Thickest.

She quipped, "The first draft, I was like, 'Am I an asshole?'"

Through the revision process, Michelle went on to "pick and choose places where you need to give information, flesh out what's happening, make it funny."

For more of Michelle's candid interview with Justin, including details on her IVF journey, marriage and career, listen to the full episode above.

Survival of the Thickest will be released on Tuesday, Dec. 8.

(E! and Universal Pictures are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)

Latest News