MUSEUM OF TELEVISION & RADIO, THE: WILLIAM S. PALEY TELEVISION FESTIVAL 2003: GEORGE LOPEZ {LONG VERSION}
Summary
One in a series of evenings and special screenings presented as part of The Museum of Television & Radio's twentieth annual William S. Paley Television Festival in Los Angeles. Held this year at the Directors Guild of America Theatre Complex, the festival celebrates the excellence and diversity of American television and is dedicated to television's creative community. This evening honors "George Lopez," a comedy series in which comedian George Lopez plays a family man.
Museum television curator Ron Simon begins by remarking on the universal appeal of this family comedy set in Southern California, the first successful Latino sitcom since "Chico and the Man." Next, he introduces the panelists: executive producer Deborah Oppenheimer; co-creator and executive producer Robert Borden; executive producer and occasional guest on the show, Sandra Bullock; co-creator and executive producer Bruce Helford; cast members Luis Armand Garcia, Masiela Lusha, Valente Rodriguez, Belita Moreno, and Constance Marie; and lastly, co-creator, writer, producer, and star George Lopez. Lopez introduces two episodes, "Love Bites" and "This Old Casa," that are, according to Lopez, "close to my dysfunctional past."
After both episodes are screened, Simon begins the panel discussion by asking Lopez if he ever expected his comedy routines would translate into a television series; Lopez says he has been surprised by the success and thinks it is wonderful that the show has built on the legacy of Freddie Prinze and "Chico and the Man." Prompted by Simon's question about the show's beginnings, Bullock talks about the original "bad idea" for a "Latino 'Beverly Hillbillies,'" "looking for Jethro," and her friend Jonathan Komack Martin, who first brought George Lopez to her attention. Lopez recognizes Martin who is in the audience and reminds the audience that it was Martin's father who created "Chico and the Man." Next, Lopez talks about how he works with Helford and Borden, drawing from all their childhoods; how he knew of Helford from "The Drew Carey Show"; the desire for the stories to be "funny" above all else; and the stories as "reenactments of actual events." Borden adds that Lopez's humor and point of view made the work easy; Helford, who had not done a family comedy since "Roseanne," says that he was looking for something that had not been done on television, and that he saw "a world" in Lopez's routines, not just jokes.
Next, Simon asks what the auditioning process was like, and each of the cast members responds, with additional commentary provided by Lopez: Rodriguez says the audition was "hell"; Garcia talks about his nervousness; Marie discusses auditioning seven times for the show and how happy she was to see that the show depicted "Latinos as normal-slash-dysfunctional people"; Moreno recounts her initial trepidation when she was pulled from retirement by a call from ABC; and Lusha discusses her initial approach to the role as a dramatic one before realizing that it was a comedy, taking much ribbing from Lopez at the implication. Lopez comments that each actor "just fit the part"; Helford admits that the casting process, which included multiple auditions and large audiences, was "brutal." Next, Simon asks about any challenges the show had in dealing with Latino experience. Helford responds that the Latino content comes into the show as it naturally comes into their lives; he also discusses the history of pilots for Latino shows that never made it on the air and the assurances that he sought from Stu Bloomberg that ABC would really commit to a Latino show. Lopez recounts an episode in which the network raised concerns that the kitchen on the set didn't have anything identifiably Latino in it; to which Lopez responded, "What about the Mexicans standing in it?" Next, Simon asks about the guest stars that have appeared on the show; Lopez discusses the appearances of Bullock, Cheech Marin, Lou Diamond Phillips, and Esai Morales, and his tendency to ask everyone he meets to be on the show.
A call for questions from the audience leads to many expressions of appreciation for bringing the show to television from Latinos and non-Latinos alike, and additional discussion of the following topics: Bullock's production career versus her acting career, why she was particularly interested in a Latino show, and whether she will pursue similar projects in the future; how the balance between serious and funny moments is achieved with an episode like "This Old Casa"; the challenges and advantages of portraying characters from Lopez's real life; the successful advertising campaign for the show that featured George in a dress and called him "G-Lo, the other Lopez" (referring to the popular Latina star Jennifer Lopez a.k.a. J-Lo); the use of story arcs based, for example, on continuing issues like George's search for his father; remembrances of Lopez's comedy acts and radio program; creating a family atmosphere on the show's set; and the universal appeal of the show to people from all ethnic groups.
(This tape includes the "George Lopez" episodes "Love Bites" and "This Old Casa," which are part of the Museum's collection and may also be viewed separately. See "George Lopez: Love Bites" (T:74837) and "George Lopez: This Old Casa" (T:75152) for summaries.)
Details
- NETWORK: Paley
- DATE: March 8, 2003 7:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 2:04:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:76018
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Ron Simon … Moderator
- Robert Borden … Panelist
- Sandra Bullock … Panelist
- Luis Armand Garcia … Panelist
- Bruce Helford … Panelist
- George Lopez … Panelist
- Masiela Lusha … Panelist
- Constance Marie … Panelist
- Belita Moreno … Panelist
- Deborah Oppenheimer … Panelist
- Valente Rodriguez … Panelist
- Stu Bloomberg
- Jennifer Lopez
- Cheech Marin
- Esai Morales
- Jonathan Komack Martin
- Lou Diamond Phillips
- Freddie Prinze