Andy Garcia, George Lopez and Piolín yap about 'Beverly Hills Chihuahua'
A CONVERSATION
DOGFIGHTS and Mexican tough guys worked great together in the hard-boiled drama "Amores Perros" a few years ago. Now Disney is using those elements plus several more family-friendly ones in its new release, "Beverly Hills Chihuahua." Will the combination make viewers sit up and beg for more?
Andy Garcia, George Lopez and Eddie "Piolín" Sotelo sat down recently to talk about making the dramatic comedy, which opened Friday. The live-action film stars a variety of two- and four-legged talent in relating the story of Chloe, a snooty Beverly Hills lap Chihuahua (voice of Drew Barrymore) who goes on a Mexican odyssey with a German shepherd ex-police dog (voice of Garcia) and other anthropomorphized companions. Along the way, Chloe discovers her "true bark" and reconnects with her mythical ancestry as a descendant of the "tiny but mighty" Chihuahuas of Mexico.
Lopez, the comedian and former star of an eponymous ABC sitcom, supplies the woofs and macho wisecracks of Papi, the pet Chihuahua of a Latino gardener (Colombian actor Manolo Cardona), who, naturally, gets caught up in the antics, which include two romantic subplots (one canine, one human) and a posse of bad guys in hot pursuit of Chloe.
Sotelo, host of the popular "Piolín por la Mañana" radio program on KSCA-FM (101.9), has a small part, joining a cast that includes Jamie Lee Curtis, Eugenio Derbez, Piper Perabo and the voices of Edward James Olmos, Cheech Marin and Plácido Domingo, who lends his operatic tones to the character of Monte, the regal leader of a lost tribe of Chihuahuas inhabiting a ruined city. Plus, there's scores of trained dogs, a number of them rescued from animal shelters on both sides of the border.
The Times: So did you all meet your dogs before you started?
Garcia: I did!
Times: How was the encounter?
Garcia: He came to my office. I had him over for lunch. We shared oil and garlic and some Purina dog chow. And he was a very noble, very nice, easygoing guy.
Lopez: I heard that you did that. I thought that was really interesting. My dog was being saved during that whole process.
Times: How did you get on with them after you met them?
Lopez: Oh, man, I love him. How can you not? He's looking for another job. We'd like to do another one of these.
Times: What do you think made so many people sign onto this movie?
- Will 'Beverly Hills Chihuahua' be top dog at the box office? Sep 17, 2008
- 'Beverly Hills Chihuahua' review Oct 03, 2008
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