Jennifer Lopez Carmen Movie to Be Dumped  1/4/06

A planned Jennifer Lopez version of the classic tale Carmen is reportedly being canned - because Hollywood investors don't want to see the actress / singer die at the end of the film.

RAY director Taylor Hackford is convinced the film industry is refusing to risk $50 million  because it wants to keep J.Lo in her usual lighthearted 'girl-next-door' roles.

The venture, inspired by Georges Bizet's enduring opera, would instead turn Lopez into a sultry Spanish temptress who ends up being slain by her jealous lover.

Hackford tells the New York Daily News, "Studios are so frightened at the moment that they are looking for outside money.

"There is a great deal of fear in Hollywood. Many of the films are not working (at the box office).

"(Carmen) is not a sweet, nice girl. This is a piece about a criminal.

"We want to do a tough, hard version, but Hollywood thinks the audience (for Jennifer Lopez) is 13-year-old girls.

"It has an ending that Hollywood does not like to make."