Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

George Lopez is premiering his new show, "Lopez Tonight," on TBS Monday night (11/9) — which will make him the first Hispanic late-night talk show host on mainstream U.S. television. If done right, he says, it could be a big step in the right direction for his community. "If it fails, it's not a milestone. But if it succeeds, then I think it will help Latinos and give us a higher profile, much like Sonia Sotomayor does being a Supreme Court Justice. We need it. We're still trying to find our place," says Lopez.

"It won't be just about the negative things that Latinos bring to the United States, which is what you see a lot on other shows — we're the butt of the joke. I'm too proud to always make us the butt of the joke, but I understand in comedy that sometimes we are."

In fact, when the show premieres Nov. 9, Lopez tells us audiences will notice a lot of differences. "It doesn't look like a traditional talk show. It looks kind of like a club. I'm not going to use a desk. I believe our studio audience will be the biggest one so far — I think it's 400 people," he says.

"I think what will really set my show apart is that I am very secure in my abilities as a performer. I have a 30-year track record of being a comedian. I want it to be an inclusive show and much like a disciple of 'The Arsenio Hall Show,' which I was very involved with 20 years ago. I saw it done that way and we want to pay homage to that and make it even bigger and better."

It certainly doesn't hurt having President Obama on his side. "I consider him a friend. He had my support early and I had his support early and it really means a lot," says Lopez, who had Obama do a promo for his show during the campaign. Now the trick is getting him on the show! "To get the president to come to the West Coast isn't easy. If his schedule permits, I would be honored if he would come by, obviously."

MAKING IT: When you're part of a $15,000 film that exceeds $85 million in box office grosses in its first month of release, big things happen. "I feel like my life right now wouldn't even recognize my life from before," says Ashley Palmer, who plays the supporting part of Diane in "Paranormal Activity." "It's strange. It doesn't feel real yet.

I'm still waitressing and things like that, but I'm getting scripts; I'm getting offers. I now have a fantastic agent. Managers and people who wouldn't have taken my calls before are now calling me."

In fact, by the time you read this, Palmer may be signed for a big horror flick that will shoot in Scotland, in a castle. "It's an exciting project, a good script. For me, it doesn't have to be horror. I have a theater background. I sing and dance," she notes. However, "Now, with the craze of 'Paranormal Activity,' people want to put me in their horror movies."

The beautiful strawberry blonde has already experienced being recognized. She reports she was met by a group of autograph seekers at a premiere earlier this week, "and paparazzi were waiting across the street. Other people didn't know quite why I was there," acknowledges the actress. For her, the breakthrough has been 20 years in the making. "I was 5 when I did my first play and I've always wanted to act. It's something that's been part of me my whole entire life, and all of it culminated over one weekend."

THE BIG SCREEN SCENE: Andrew Garfield, the last co-star of the late Heath Ledger, didn't even tell the Australian movie star that he'd auditioned for a role in his "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" — although they had a mutual friend. Even so, "He came to my (birthday) party, gave me this really big hug, and said, 'Welcome to the family,'" Garfield recalled. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly for its holiday movie preview edition that comes out tomorrow (11/6), Garfield recalled that although Ledger couldn't have been friendlier outside the film, once they were on the set, they competed — since they were playing rivals for the attentions of the fatherly mystic Parnassus and his comely daughter.

"We wanted to challenge each other, and Heath was so strong," says Garfield. "He made me fight harder than I ever had, and I'm so thankful to him for it." Ledger's death mid-shoot left a huge void, filled on screen by Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell. On the set, "it was like limping," recalls Garfield. "A limb had been severed from all of us."

BOY, OH, VOYEUR: A reality show centered on men and women in therapy for sexual promiscuity and addiction is on the way. Casting for therapists and experts in the field is underway, with those know-it-alls being offered $100 an episode, and, of course, the exposure.

With reports by Emily-Fortune Feimster

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2009 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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