Jennifer Lopez, Cast of NUVOtv's "Los Jets" Talks About Filming and Purpose of New Soccer Reality Show
Actress, singer and entrepreneur Jennifer Lopez spoke about her latest business venture as executive producer of NUVOtv's new reality show, "Los Jets."
While attending a special screening for "Los Jets" at the League of United Latin American Citizens' (LULAC) annual national conference, Lopez, an executive producer for the show, described the importance of NUVOtv's new program, especially in the current political climate. "Los Jets" depicts the story of a North Carolina soccer team consisting of mainly young Latino men led by coach Paul Cuadros, some of whom are undocumented immigrants
"I'm such an emotional person anyway, so anything that brings a tear to the eye, I'm like, 'I love this, oh my god this needs to be told,'" said Lopez, when asked what drew her to the story of "Los Jets."
"[The] truth is, for NUVO and for Nu America series, we're trying to tell stories that are really relevant to Latinos in this time, things that they'll relate to and that everybody can relate to because it is about the American dream, it is about social-political issues but also just wanting to belong. It's so many levels, whether you're a teenager or a grown up, you can relate to this story in some way," Lopez added.
The development of NUVOtv's reality show "just happened," according to Lopez, "We've been developing this for a while and it's just ready now."
Motherhood has also helped Lopez develop the story. "You have a whole different perspective when you become a mom anyway."
Following a screening of the first two episodes of "Los Jets," executive producer Lynda Lopez, director Mark Landsman, Los Jets coach Cuadros and teammates Daniel Estrada and Martin Carrillo spoke about the reality television experience.
Asked about the filming experience, "It was crazy," Cuadros told Latin Post. "I think after a while, I sort of forgot about [the cameras], and those are probably the best moments."
According to Carrillo, it was "weird" having the cameras follow him in the classroom, "so you can't do anything bad, or you're going to be caught later." The microphones also proved a bit problematic, particularly while playing on the field and trying not to damage the equipment.
For Estrada, the cameras following him around were "stalkerish," present around the school and even the kitchen at his home.
Estrada added, "It was weird, but you got used to that after a while. Just from the parts I have seen so far, it's turned out to be very wonderful and I'm glad of the opportunity came."
According to Lynda Lopez, Landsman deserves credit for the handling of production during filming and making sure people involved with production were not interfering with shooting.
"He wanted to make sure that there wasn't a sense of TV was happening around them," Lopez said, adding that Landsman wanted to only capture what was happening and not create a story — letting the cast be themselves.
"Los Jets" premieres on NUVOtv July 16 at 10 p.m. EST.
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