Even if you're not a J-Lo superfan, if you're like me, the cloying soundtrack of the "My World" Fiat 500 commercial is cemented in your short-term memory anyway. In the commercial, actress Jennifer Lopez (who I actually really liked in Soderbergh's Out of Sight) appears to drive a 500 Cabrio through storybook scenes from the Bronx, observing in a voiceover that "this place inspires me."
Now it seems there's not so much inspiration in the New York borough as she originally let on. This week, the website, The Smoking Gun, reported that the close-up, in-car footage of Lopez was shot in L.A., while a stunt double was used for the on-location stuff in the Bronx. And then it was woven altogether with some nifty CG work.
Jalopnik sought an official comment from Fiat USA, and reported that a spokesperson basically conceded the veracity of TSG's report, citing Lopez's busy schedule.
We're crushed by the news and might just have to kick our long-term Fiat 500 to the curb. Well, except Donna has it this week and she's on vacation... OK, but next week... that's it!
ed124c says:
07:12 AM, 11/23/11
Boy, I must be gullible. When I saw this video (a few weeks ago?) I gave no thought to who was really in the car. Now, looking at it with jaded eyes, it is obvious that we never see the "woman's"* face in the long shots. Even at the end, when she gets out of the car to greet the kids, there is a close up of her getting out of a car and then a long shot of HER SIDE and BACK when "she"* actually interacts with the kids.
*Could be a man with a wig, right? In the final scene with the kids, the lower body looks a bit bulky. Oh, wait, never mind. I guess that's just padding.
agnh says:
09:52 AM, 11/23/11
You mean she's not really still "just Jenny from the block"? I am utterly shocked. Have we been getting sold a bill of goods all this time by her agent, publicist, et al?
Perhaps if it was a Bentley ad and shot in the South of France, her schedule would have been a little more accomodating.
blueguydotcom says:
10:46 AM, 11/23/11
Um...it's marketing. Why would an actor have to be on-location to shoot something? You guys do get not everything is filmed on location? Why would it matter?
Odd world.
throwback says:
11:27 AM, 11/23/11
blueguydotcom, couldn't have said it better myself. Just an FYI- those commercials of cars doing performance driving stunts aren't done by the actors in the commercials, shoocking I know.
desmolicious says:
01:23 PM, 11/23/11
More fun is the fact the Fiat broke down during filming:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/jennifer-lopez-fiat-breakdown-875312
zimtheinvader says:
04:54 PM, 11/23/11
"Why would it matter?"
I know it isn't shocking that it is fake but the irony is in the fact that she talks about getting back to her roots but isn't willing to go back there to shoot the commercial.
Nobody expects commercials to be real, but when the star keeps talking about how important that place is to her and how great it is to be back it is funny that she wont actually go there.
And I do also realize that 'stars' are fake, I find the humor in them being caught being fake.
cr_driver says:
06:04 PM, 11/23/11
desmolicious says:
01:23 PM, 11/23/11
"More fun is the fact the Fiat broke down during filming:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/jennifer-lopez-fiat-breakdown-875312"
WOW
mrryte says:
07:29 PM, 11/23/11
So why go through all the trouble to pretend in the first place?
firstwagon says:
08:53 PM, 11/23/11
+1 zimtheinvader
It's what she says "while driving around the bronx" that is the problem.... although I don't know why anyone would care what she had to say anyhow.
blueguydotcom says:
10:04 PM, 11/23/11
"So why go through all the trouble to pretend in the first place?"
Because marketing is about selling an image or ideal. It's not about reality. You tell people there is a problem and then make them feel better that your widget will solve that problem. For most car ads it comes down to making people feel happy. Be it Eminem's Detroit ad, JLO dancing on a Fiat Punto , a yuppie experiencing joy in his BMW, a wannabe delighted kids aren't pelting him or his G35 with snowballs. Whatever, the goal is make the glazed-eye viewers think this thing will bring them some happiness and replace the void.
So no I don't get the why didn't she fly 12 hours roundtrip to film a dumb commercial when the entire exercise revolves around creating a fake problem and offering an even more vapid solution. It's cheaper and more sensible for everyone to put her near a greenscreen at a Fox lot and have her make faces for an hour. All told it wastes a few hours or her day, costs them far less and she can go on to sell more crap to more people.
It's already all an artifice, so why is her physical location important? It isn't. Except for people who want to believe. Sheesh, reminds me of people who griped "Exit Through the Gift Shop" wasn't an authentic documentary, as if ANY documentary ever is objective truth.