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Laughter ...... Latin-style

Salma Hayek is an executive producer of Ugly Betty, a comedy series based on a Colombian telenovela that debuts in September.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published July 20, 2006

PASADENA, Calif. - Salma Hayek started her acting career appearing in telenovelas. Now the Oscar-nominated actor from Mexico is bringing her comedic take on one to network TV.

Hayek is one of six executive producers on Ugly Betty, debuting Sept. 22 on ABC. America Ferrera (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) plays Betty Suarez, a plump, decidedly unhip girl from New York City's borough of Queens who works as an assistant to a male fashion magazine publisher.

Asked whether the show's title might offend viewers, Hayek said, "It's sarcastic. Anybody who isn't super skinny and really tall, some people think they're really ugly. We're making fun of it. We're not really calling her ugly."

The show is based on Yo Soy Betty La Fea, a Colombian telenovela. Telenovelas have been hugely successful in the United States on Spanish-language networks such as Univision and Telemundo, and big and small English-language networks have begun picking up the format.

"I'm sure that the American audience is very thirsty for something like this and they're just going to love it," Hayek said Tuesday at the Television Critics Association's summer meeting.

"It's causing a lot of excitement in the Latin community. They will definitely not be able to get enough of this Betty."

Ferrera, 22, who gained notice as a plump girl in the 2002 independent movie Real Women Have Curves, sees Betty as representative of real women.

"I didn't even know how fat I was until I started acting. I don't feel that way inside," she said. "It seems like the roles that mean something are roles that are flawed and no one else wants."

[Last modified July 20, 2006, 01:48:38]