PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA PUBLIC PROGRAMS SERIES, THE: MEDIA AS LENS: RAISING CANE: BEHIND THE SCENES {LONG VERSION}
Summary
One in a series of evenings and special screenings presented as part of The Paley Center for Media’s Media as Lens series. Held at The Paley Center for Media in Los Angeles, this evening honors “Cane,” a drama series about a Cuban-American family running a rum and sugar cane business in Florida. Host Rebecca Faez (director of administration, The Paley Center for Media) offers opening remarks before bringing moderator Laura Diaz (TV anchor, KCBS) to the stage, who then introduces executive producer Cynthia Cidre. Cidre provides background on the show and then introduces the episode “A New Legacy,” which is screened in its entirety. (For synopsis and credits, see ACCNUM B:91774.)
After the episode, Diaz introduces the panelists: Lina Esco (Katie Vega); Michael Trevino (Jaime Vega); Eddie Matos (Henry Duque); Paola Turbay (Isabel Vega); Nestor Carbonell (Frank Duque); Rita Moreno (Amalia Duque); Hector Elizando (Pancho Duque); Jimmy Smits (Alex Vega); executive producer Jonathan Prince; and Cidre.
The discussion touches on such topics as: how the show is “breaking new ground” by being the first television drama focusing on a Latino family, and whether is has a specific statement; Moreno’s contentment with not playing a caricatured character; the balance of pleasing a Latino audience as well as all other races; the use of subtitles for the Spanish dialogue and whether that “alienates” an English-speaking audience; combining Cuban culture and Americana and giving “a true voice to both cultures”; a tense scene involving a scorpion and how it was done; the show’s focus on “flawed people” and how most TV is afraid of showing flawed minorities in case it is deemed offensive; how political correctness can “doom a show”; the cast’s family-like relationship and how they learn from one another; developing a pattern for the show’s long-term structure and tone; Moreno and Elizando’s long-time friendship and the “sexual chemistry” between their married characters; the difficulty of deciding whether the Duque family has servants, and of what race; and how most media has become overly sanitized and less genuine in the interest of not being offensive.
Questions from the audience then lead to a discussion of the following topics: Cidre’s history in other Latino-related television projects; how to avoid making the conflicted character of Alex a “common thug”; the audience’s vested interest in television heroes defending their family by any means necessary; the show’s desire to be “brave and dangerous” rather than safe and predictable; Carbonell’s preference for playing a character who commits “justified evils” rather than a “nice guy”; the importance of avoiding stereotypes; Elizando’s and Smits’ beginnings in New York theatre; the process of attaining the all-star cast, starting with Smits; how the casting of the actors altered the original writing of the characters; actors Polly Walker and Ken Howard as excellent villains and rivals of the Duque family; Smits’ challenging role as co-executive producer and Carbonell’s assertion that Smits “sets the bar”; whether non-Latinos are “allowed” to write for Hispanic characters; the varying Latino heritages of the actors; the cast’s comparisons of the Duque/Vega family to their own families; choosing many kinds of food for the family to eat at their dinner, not just Cuban dishes; Moreno’s “sad and comical” past playing stereotypical Latina characters, and how the door is now “ajar but not yet open” for minority actors to have fuller roles; the show’s struggle for ratings and approval from Leslie Moonves, president of CBS; the process of selling the show to the network and Cidre’s involvement; inspiration from the novelist Honoré Balzac's quote “behind every great fortune lies a great crime”; Moreno’s favorite role of opera singer Maria Callas; whether the show will incorporate real-life Cuban history and politics; finding a specific Cuban accent; and how the process of good acting always involves learning. (NOTE: around the one-hour mark, several minutes of footage repeat.)
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: October 29, 2007 7:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:51:58
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:91898
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Rebecca Faez … Host
- Laura Diaz … Moderator
- Lina Esco … Panelist
- Michael Trevino … Panelist
- Eddie Matos … Panelist
- Paola Turbay … Panelist
- Nestor Carbonell … Panelist
- Rita Moreno … Panelist
- Hector Elizando … Panelist
- Jimmy Smits … Panelist
- Jonathan Prince … Panelist
- Cynthia Cidre … Panelist
- Honoré Balzac
- Maria Callas
- Ken Howard
- Leslie Moonves
- Polly Walker