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Lopez the Conquerer
Encore exclusive interview with George Lopez
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George Lopez will mark his return to what made him a household name—standup comedy—when he performs a set at Radio City Music Hall on May 1. The performer who built a media empire on his standup roots has come a long way since his days of touring the country as, arguably, the nation’s most famous Latino comedian. Lately, he’s in the news daily; his late night talk show Lopez Tonight performs well—consistently above the one million mark—and will soon get an even bigger boost from new lead-in Conan O’Brian as he moves on from his bitter break with NBC to make a new home with Lopez at TBS. He’s also about to star in a slew of animated household names (Marmaduke, The Smurfs, a yet-to-be-titled Speedy Gonzalez film), a smart move that stands to make him even more popular.
So, what’s next for the writer-comedian-actor-producer? “I’m really excited about Conan coming on board. I told him, ‘I welcome you into my deep loving embrace.’” As has been widely reported, O’Brian wanted to be sure that Lopez was fine with moving his show back an hour. “What he was concerned with was that he wasn’t going to do to me what was done to him at NBC. His biggest concern was I’m not getting ’Lenoed’.I welcome Conan. Hey, going to work an hour later it’s a dream come true, and the pay’s the same.”
The deal marks one of the biggest in late night history, a move that has cemented Lopez’s name in the public consciousness, “It’s crazy. I’m just some kid from San Fernando.” But as huge as his name has gotten, Lopez enjoys coming back to the stage. “I love standup. It’s where I started and it’ll always be my home.”
The ability to still do live shows is impressive given Lopez’s roster of jobs. Among the most exciting is the live-action-animated hybrid The Smurfs, an update of the eighties cartoon that finds the world’s most beloved blue people making their way in Manhattan. “I’ve been doing voice-work in New York and have seen about ten minutes of the footage. It really does look and act like me.”
Lopez is also incredibly giving toward fans, maintaining contact through a rigorous schedule that has him giving interviews, taking a hands-on approach with Lopez Tonight and even Tweeting regularly. The latter has allowed Lopez to keep fans connected with everything from his quest to keep Kate Gosselin on Dancing With the Stars to breaking announcements about Team LoCo. And then there was that twitter feud with Lindsey Lohan. “I’ve met Lindsey; I love her. I’m still waiting to have her on the show. All of the jokes I make are for comedy, for satire and I never want to hurt anyone.
Between his Smurf counterpart taking over Manhattan, his standup taking over Radio City and his talk show taking over late night T.V., it looks like Lopez isn’t slowing down anytime soon. An amazing thing has happened: Hollywood’s hardest working man is also its nicest.
George Lopez will perform at Radio City Music Hall May 1 and June 25. Visit www.radiocity.com.