Jennifer Lopez's Family Values
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 13, 1996
Having it both ways is a sweet rarity for actresses, and it's a near impossibility for Latina actresses.
So Jennifer Lopez must be going into sugar shock. Not only is she Hollywood's highest-paid Latina -- at a reported $1 million for the movie biography of slain Tejano music star Selena, which starts filming in September -- but she's crossing the ethnic barrier to win roles that weren't originally conceived as Latin.
Lopez isn't working with bad people, either. Currently, she can be seen as Robin Williams' crush-provoking fifth-grade teacher in Francis Ford Coppola's "Jack,'' which topped the box office last weekend. Next, she'll appear in the film noir thriller "Blood and Wine'' opposite no less than Jack Nicholson. Lopez just finished shooting the Amazon action adventure "Anaconda'' with Jon Voight and has signed to play a femme fatale in Oliver Stone's upcoming "Stray Dogs.''
"On a roll. ... Yeah, I am,'' the 25-year-old New Yorker said, following with a can-you-believe-it? laugh and one of her camera-captivating grins. "Doing good. But it's funny; my career hasn't been like, all of a sudden it started happening. It's more like, all of a sudden I started getting press. I've been working steadily since high school.''
Indeed, Lopez trained in dance from an early age and began appearing professionally as a teen-ager. Her big break came when she joined "In Living Color's'' hip-hop troupe the Fly Girls. From that show, Lopez moved on to three other TV series -- "Second Chances,'' "Hotel Malibu'' and "South Central'' -- and then into the movies "My Family-Mi Familia'' (for "Selena'' director Gregory Nava) and "Money Train,'' opposite Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes.
"It's weird now that everybody's noticing,'' Lopez said of the celebrity that has kicked into high gear since she won the highly publicized competition to play Selena. "I was in Miami, running on the beach with big green glasses on, a ponytail and sweats -- my mother wouldn't have recognized me. But all these people, whole families, came running, yelling my name.
"There were a lot of them! But it was fine, they were very nice.''
Lopez hopes things remain that way when she hits the screen portraying the Mexican-American singer who has grown almost mythic since she was shot in 1995. Already, there have been media reports that some in the community resent the fact that Lopez, who is of Puerto Rican descent, landed the part.
The actress said that that has not been much of an issue.
"The press sometimes tends to focus on the negative because it's controversial,'' Lopez observed. "But in general, I think the Latin community is pretty happy that the project's being made, that it's a Latin director and writer and actress. The people who I've encountered, in the street and in the community, all seem to be really happy that I'm doing it.''
Besides, when it came down to show-biz practicalities, Lopez was on a short list of viable choices. Although Nava and Warner Bros. staged huge casting calls in Los Angeles and other cities while searching for the perfect screen Selena, few performers in the right age range had the combination of talents that the role required and the track record that producers prefer to gamble star salaries on.
"Unfortunately,'' Lopez acknowledged, shaking her head, "there are a lot of Latin actresses, and a lot of people came out for the auditions that looked a lot more like Selena than I do.
"But I think they were more looking for somebody who could capture who she was, what she was like inside and why she was such a special person,'' Lopez continued. "She was happy, she loved life, and she loved what she did. She worked with her family and she had great family values and she embraced her culture.''
All of which makes Selena much more than just another movie role. Lopez is well aware of that, though she's trying not to be daunted by all the expectations associated with the film.
"She's become even more popular after her death, almost an icon,'' Lopez acknowledged. "It's a very touchy subject. She didn't pass away very long ago, and she's so fresh in everybody's mind, and that makes it a huge challenge to play her. People are going to be looking at me with a critical eye and, definitely, I feel that.
"But it's a challenge. Actresses are always saying, `I want a challenging role. There are no good roles.' Well, this is one of those roles. I feel only honored to have the chance to try and do a good job, and that's what I'm going to do.''
"Jack'' was an altogether less pressurized experience. Coppola -- who has run some pretty intense sets in the past, on "Apocalypse Now'' and "The Godfather'' films -- gathered the "Jack'' cast and crew under a loose, improvisational familylike atmosphere at and around his Napa Valley home.
"He's like a big teddy bear, he's so sweet,'' she said of the virtuoso director. "I would just, like, sit by his feet in between takes and we would watch the monitor. He creates a very nurturing atmosphere.''
Playing the teacher of a 10-year-old boy in a 40-year-old body was, of course, nothing one could research. But Lopez had the basics down cold; both her mother and sister are professional educators.
"She was sweet, this character. So different from anything else I've done. It's nice to play somebody who's not tormented or tough. Like right now, I have bruises everywhere from crawling around with guns in `Anaconda.' `Money Train' was the same thing.''
Best of all: "She wasn't written as Miss Marquez,'' Lopez noted. "It was not race-specific in any way, and I got the part. If they wouldn't have changed the name, that would be fine with me, too. It didn't matter; I want to play any kind of role, any race. That's what being an actress is all about.''
It just happened again. Lopez's role in "Stray Dogs'' initially was tailored for Sharon Stone. Lopez hopes the trend continues, for herself and other Latino actors -- and that someday, ethnic casting no longer has to be an issue.
"The reason why it's such a problem right now is that there are not enough roles for Latin actresses,'' she explained. "When they give Latin roles to people who are not Latin, it then becomes a problem. Until it's all evened out ... OK, if you want to play a Latin, then let me play a German. Then it would be cool.''
Although it's all happening for Lopez, success does exact a price. She recently broke up with David Cruz, her boyfriend of 10 years, and admits that her career allows very little time for a social life or other interests.
And then there are all of those questions about what it feels like to earn $1 million for a movie.
"That's what they say ...'' she said, laughing, then declined to quote a different figure. "They say it's the highest salary a Latina actress has been paid, too.
"I just feel that Latinos have been underpaid in every way long enough. So if that is true, then I'm happy about it. Especially in show business, if I can help further the Latino community in any way, I just feel proud to have the opportunity.''

Jennifer Lopez Article - 1997
Not Just a One-Hit Wonder
She made a splash in the hit indie film, "Mi Familia," then took Hollywood in a big way as the lead in the biopic of the year, "Selena." But this is no lip-synching, one-hit wonder. Jennifer Lopez is quietly taking her place as one of Hollywood's new power players -- a striking talent, certainly a beauty, and as a Latina, blazing the trail as an A-list star in a town traditionally seen as inhospitable to people of color.
"I'm representing the Latin community," Jennifer told Hollywood Online in a recent interview. "I know how Selena felt in this country . . I know what it's like growing up Latina in this country."

Early Roles
Her role as Selena was only one of the groundbreaking hits Jennifer has enjoyed in the last two years. Following "Mi Familia," she appeared in a small part in "Money Train," with Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes, then a bigger role in "Jack," starring Robin Williams.
In 1996, she scored a major role in a film with intense star power but not big box office, "Blood and Wine." In that film, Jennifer served as the linchpin between Jack Nicholson and Stephen Dorff in a tale of jealousy and competition between father and son. "(Jack) has a huge presence," she says. "He's a lot of fun to work with."
In "Blood and Wine," Jennifer approached the role of a young Cuban woman with compassion: "Her motivation, her primary goal, was to bring her family over (from Cuba). That was what was most important .

"Selena" Fever
But despite the stellar cast and credentials of "Blood and Wine," nothing could have prepared her for the onslaught that was "Selena."
Based on the tragic, sensational life of the Tejano star who was murdered by her assistant, Selena was the role most watched and most in demand by all of Hollywood. Newcomer Lopez didn't let anyone down, and in fact, performed with aplomb the stage work and behind-the-scenes acting that brought out the true identity of the rising young singer.
In preparation for the role, Lopez did her homework. "I watched a lot of videotape of Selena, both onstage and behind the scenes," she told Hollywood Online. "I spent time with (Selena's) family in Texas, I spoke with her friends. . ." What was amazing about Lopez's performance was the acceptance that so many dyed-in-the-wool Selena fans showed for her. Lopez, in fact, started out in live musical theater, and the experience on this film convinced her she wanted to work in the live theater world again.

The Future . . .
So what's left for the dark-eyed beauty? Reviews were mixed for the snake-fest "Anaconda," although Jennifer was roundly praised. It's "U-Turn" that critics are now watching most carefully. Premiering in October, it's a new film by Oliver Stone about a drifter (Sean Penn) who gets stranded in the small Arizona town of Superior. Lopez, playing an Apache woman, entices Penn into staying, and film noir hijinks ensue.
On the "keep your eyes open" scale, Jennifer Lopez rates a 10: with talent, looks, and the smarts to pick quality roles, this is one young actress who is sure to be around for a long time.

Jennifer Lopez Interview 1997

Jennifer Lopez is an idealist and an actress--one of Puerto Rican descent--who is convinced she can transcend the stereotypes mainstream Hollywood tends to attach to her heritage.
Interestingly enough, Jennifer Lopez also is a realist and an actress who, through her idealism and hard work, actually has managed to transcend those very stereotypes to personify such diverse characters as an Apache Indian, a Cuban jewel thief and a Tejano singing sensation. Her credits range from being a "fly girl" on In Living Color to a transit cop in Money Train .
"You have to be able to change your voice," says Lopez, who steps into the pop music limelight this month with her starring role in Warner Bros' Selena. The musical biopic covers the short, but dynamic, life and career of the top-selling Tejano singer who was gunned down by an unstable member of her own entourage. "Selena was a Texas girl and a Mexican, but she had a strong Texas twang and didn't have a Spanish accent like some people think."
And though Selena's own voice is used in the movie's concert sequences--a condition on which the artist's father sold the rights to the film--Lopez was eager to speak in a cadence that would meld with Selena's singing tone. "I didn't have to sing in the movie, but I learned how to sing her songs her way, Selena's way. I lip synced to her songs but it appears I'm singing because I am singing. You just can't hear my voice."
But, despite the fact that Lopez is virtually a lock for the part--even when it comes to the physical resemblance--the role didn't come easily, Lopez reflects. She had to endure a grueling audition even though she had worked with Selena director Gregory Nava on the film My Family.
"Gregory knows me and knows I can act," the actress says with unabashed confidence. "But I auditoned and screen-tested for the role. It was an intense test and the hardest audition I ever went through. I had to do two songs as Selena and perform them as she did. And I had to perform five scenes. I got there at six in the morning and left at five in the afternoon."
And then Lopez, who was perfecting her Apache accent in Stray Dogs, nearly lost the part due to a scheduling conflict. "I was working until August and they wanted to begin filming in June," she says. "But they decided to wait for me, and that costs a lot of money. Plus, my fee at this time is a lot of money. So I was happy that in the end that they decided to go with me."
Once she began working on Selena, Lopez chose to disappear into the role and allow the memory of the singer to shine in the spotlight.
"I wasn't interested in putting my own stamp on the performance--not in this case," Lopez says. "Maybe if Selena had died 50 years ago. But being that she was so fresh in her public's mind, I knew that the movie had to be true to her, and that it wasn't about me trying to become a star in the role. It was important for me to really get the essence of why she was so wonderful, why she was so important in our community, and why she touched the hundreds of thousands of people who mourned her death."
Lopez hopes to touch her own audience with her forthcoming performance alongside Ice Cube in April'sAnaconda. Next up is Oliver Stone's film noir thriller Stray Dogs, and she recently appeared in Bob Rafelson's Blood & Wine opposite Jack Nicholson.