12/23/10 ...so I just left the george lopez show ...haley hailee (?) steinfeld from "True Grit' was a live guest. Jack Black was listed as a guest but they actually taped his segment yesterday, so we didn't get to see him, nor did they show the taped segment, which was a disappointment.
I was in line @ 10am this morning..no ticket..but was told they give out tickets @ 11am. In fact, they actually didn't give tickets until 11;30 . I was either given the wrong info. or they were late. In fact, I was almost ready to leave @ 11:20 when the ticket gals arrived. I had actually tried to reserve a ticket online at 1iota.com but couldn't confirm nor print it.
By the way, the line for lopez tickets is in the same place as the line for conan tickets, in the parking structure across from warner bros on forest lawn. So I got my ticket & was told to come back @ 3:30 . I did a few errands and spent some time at burbank buena vista library on my laptop & then returned at 3;20 . I was expecting some gruff security guards as I had encountered at the conan show but these guys were friendly. They treated me well. I looked around and it was almost all Latinos in line, so I felt a little out of place, but after a while I felt more comfortable. Nobody was messsing with me, unlike a few times @ dodger stadium.
I didn't have my phone or watch so I lost track of time, but the guy next to me said it was 430 when we were walking toward the studio. I figured the show taped at 5 and we would be out by 6 but in fact we didn't get out until about 7 pm . I wasn't stressed b/c the time went quickly. I had never seen the Lopez How before nor been to this show so I was pleasantly surprised by the way it went and that I was authentically laughing periodically.
First, the warmup guy, Ron Pearson, who I had encountered as the warmup at "Rules of Engagement" was doing his thing right from the beginning. He told some of the same jokes (re jehovah witness, re 3-headed giant, re lady gaga & poker face) and a few new ones and also did some of his juggling tricks, including the chair & ladder on his chin. Sometimes he seems to intentionally over affectuate the "geeky white" act and doesn't need to do so . I also feel a little uncomfortable with his "gay act." He doesn't need to do that either, but I guess he's made it part of his act. He pissed some guy off at "Rules of Engagement" with that act, though. Anyways, I guess he'll keep doing it as long as he can get away with it. Some of his act is pretty good, pretty funny, but he can get a little "bold" sometimes , including a black joke in the beginning, but then everything is about race & skin color around hollywood, and george lopez did his racial jokes also.
After Ron warmed us up & got us ready to cheer & laugh, finally Lopez came in. He did several minutes of monologue but I didn't see any cue cards. Was he doing his own monologue without cues ? Later I noticed him reading prompts but not during the opening monologue (maybe I just couldn't see it). His joke about Jesus left me wondering if this was irreverent and blasphemous or something acceptable as a joke. He wondered how Jesus & the disciples could have dealt with everything they endured without smoking pot. He noted they all "wore sandals" ...and followed one person (Jesus, he was "the dealer" Lopez explained ). People laughed but I sensed some discomfort with it.
Then he did a twitter spoof..taking tweets from people and answering them ..and at one point pulled out a "snow maker" which actually shot white confetti all over the audience, including me, ha ha. I still have white dots on me an hour after the show.
Lopez is a funny looking guy. He's got a face that makes you laugh. He looks like the kid who was always the class clown and who wants to keep you laughing. He also broke into a little spanish now & then to the delight of the mostly Latino audience. & he moves around a lot, physically, including during the opening monologue.
During a break, the staff moved some people and I found out why a few moments later. Lopez made an italian pizza joke, something about the "cheese in the crust" and suddenly the guy in front of me popped out of his chair and ran up on stage ...playing the part of an "indignant Italian" re a stupid American mistake about Italian pizza..this went on for a little while ..kind of funny ..
Finally, Haley Steinfeld came on stage. She's the 14 year old actress in the new movie, True Grit, starring Jeff Bridges & Matt Damon. She was a lively, likeable personality and talked about getting chosen out of 15,000 persons for the part in the film. She talked about how she had to learn to shoot a gun & toll a cigarette . They showed a small clip from the movie. Looks interesting.
During the various breaks, a bunch of free t-shirts & a few lopez dvd's were given away ...pearson kept working the audience ..lopez came out into the audience...at one point he joked to a white staffer saying "What the F do you want?" as the guy was trying to indicate what Lopez should be doing (they're always whispering something...same thing on Leno & Conan).
Then they introduced the musical group "Filter." Hadn't heard them before, but they are an intense act ...couldn't fully understand the lyrics, but me being the "holy man" that I try to be..I was saying the Lord's Prayer by that time. I try to say it several times a day, usually at mass, but if not, then wherever I happen to be. And so I was really calling out God's name while they were screaming away. It was a beautiful experience...and only me & God knew what was happening at that moment. Thanks Filter for helping me praise Jesus two days before Christmas, unbeknownst to you.
By the way, there was a nice Christmas tree on the set with some fake presents under it. Ironically, I drove by George's house only a few days ago. He lives not far away in Toluka Lake. Nice house, but not a mansion. I heard his son is a good skateboarder.
Also, btw, I remember on Thanksgiving Day at the Laugh Factory a Latino lady in line saying she didn't like Lopez anymore b/c he apparently had been unfaithful to his wife even after she had donated a kidney to him. I didn't hear about that, but Lopez did make a kidney joke..about people giving him alcohol for Christmas despite having only one kidney. Hope the marriage issues have worked out for the better.
After Filter finished playing the show was over. I only wished they had inserted the Jack Black pre-taped segment for us to watch. We walked back out to our cars, no rain , and now I'm at a Christmas concert ...
The HW (hollywood) BLOGGER
PRAYING for HOLLYWOOD
