Mercedes Ruehl | Entertainment News, Photos, and Videos

Lorene Scafaria did not mess around on the set of Hustlers.

The 42-year-old director fired “a number” of extras on the set of her hit Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu-starring hit 2019 movie, actress Mercedes Ruehl revealed in a recent interview with News On Media.

PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Jennifer Lopez

Mercedes discussed her experience shooting the movie.

“My agent tells me that Jennifer Lopez just wanted me. I don’t know if that’s true because people pump you a lot of sunshine,” she explained.

“It was five days’ work and fairly good money, et cetera, et cetera. I was very impressed by the young writer/director [Lorene Scafaria]. She knew her stuff. It was interesting to me to see a young woman. I mean, she looked like an undergraduate from Smith or Wellesley. Very attractive, very open, friendly. Obviously it was a lot of strippers and a lot of T and A and everything, and boy, did she rule with an iron hand,” she went on to say.

“There was nobody on that set who was anything but entirely respectful of all the women. In fact, the more they came out with less clothing on, the less the guys on set would look at them. They didn’t even want to get caught ogling because there were a number of extras who were fired, whether it was remarks that they made or just ogling the girls. It was my first post-Harvey [Weinstein] experience, and it was really interesting because this young woman kept a tight grasp on respect for the actresses.”

One of Jennifer Lopez‘s famous exes also recently praised her work in the film…

Cardi B is hitting the big screen for the first time!

The “Bodak Yellow” rapper will join Lili Reinhart, Constance Wu and Jennifer Lopez in the upcoming Hustlers movie, Deadline revealed on Tuesday (March 19).

Julia Stiles, Keke Palmer and Mercedes Ruehl will also be in the cast, while Mette Towley and Trace Lysette are in negotiations.

The movie is inspired by a 2016 New York Magazine article, and follows a crew of savvy former strip club employees who band together to turn the tables on their Wall Street clients.

Filming begins on March 22 in New York City.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson snaps a photo with Torch Song star Michael Urie backstage after a performance of the play on Friday (November 23) at the Helen Hayes Theatre in New York City.

The 43-year-old actor also met other cast members, including Mercedes Ruehl, after attending the show.

Jesse‘s husband Justin Mikita is one of the producers who helped bring the classic play back to Broadway in this critically acclaimed new production.

“Here’s @justinmikita hailing a cab while wearing a hat that says ‘producer’ after I saw the production of @torchsongbway that he happened to produce,” Jesse posted on Instagram after the show with the below video.

Neil Patrick Harris is all smiles as he hits the red carpet with his husband David Burtka at the opening night party for the revival of Torch Song held at the Helen Hayes Theatre on Thursday (November 1) in New York City.

The happy couple stepped out to show their support alongside Vanessa Williams and her husband Jim Skrip, Becki Newton, Justin Mikita, Cody Simpson, Matthew Broderick, Anna Wintour and Bernadette Peters.

Also in attendance were the stars of the play Michael Urie, Mercedes Ruehl, Ward Horton, Roxanna Hope Radja, Michael Hsu Rosen, Jack DiFalco, playwright Harvey Fierstein and the show’s producer Eric Kuhn.

Harvey first played the lead role of Arnold Beckoff, a gay drag performer in a tempestuous relationship with his bisexual, closeted lover. The play won Harvey two Tony Awards — both as playwright (for Best Play) and for Best Actor. It was produced throughout the country and also turned into a film in 1988 starring Harvey, Matthew and Anne Bancroft.

Phillipa Soo shows off her “Believe Women” t-shirt while attending the opening night performance of the Broadway comedy The Nap on Thursday (September 27) at the Friedman Theatre in New York City.

The 28-year-old former Hamilton actress took a stand on the day of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford‘s senate hearing.

“I believe you Dr. Ford. You are a hero to people everywhere who are victims of sexual assault. Thank you for making your voice heard at the expense of you and your family’s peace, in order to perform your civic duty,” Phillipa tweeted.

More Broadway stars at the opening night included Torch Song‘s Michael Urie and Mercedes Ruehl, siblings Celia and Andrew Keenan-Bolger, SpongeBob SquarePants‘ Ethan Slater, American Psycho‘s Helene Yorke, and School of Rock‘s Jenn Gambatese.

Michael Urie hits the red carpet with his longtime friend Vanessa Williams at the opening night party for his Off-Broadway play Torch Song on Thursday (October 19) in New York City.

The two actors starred together in the beloved series Ugly Betty for many years!

Michael was joined at the event by his co-star Mercedes Ruehl and the show’s writer Harvey Fierstein.

Other stars who attended the opening included Matthew Broderick, Fisher Stevens, and Kate Mulgrew.

Torch Song is currently playing at Second Stage in New York until December 3.