Ilene Chaiken defends L Word's Papi

OK, so L Word creator Ilene Chaiken mentioned to me a couple of weeks ago that she's considering throwing a season finale party in Miami and bringing some cast members with her.

I think this is something we as a community really should campaign for, if for no other reason, to introduce Ilene to some three-dimensional Latina lesbians. You can drop Ilene a note telling her to come have a little fun in the sun at OurChart.com. She has her own blog on the site.

Like, does she really think there are Latinas like Papi out there? Let's see: Papi is a limo-drivin', card-playin', b-ballin' Casanova who has bedded more than a 1,000 chicks and can "make a woman c-- just by kissing her.''

Por favor!

She'll tap a little Alice ass, then a little Helena ass, all on the same day. No shower, no hand sanitizer, no nada in between. Oh, and she eats Mexican food. How nice for her.

Does Ilene think Latinas like this really exist?

"Yes, I know they really do exist,'' Ilene said. "We had started to wonder if there was somebody out there who could out-Shane Shane. I'm not somebody who spends a lot of time in clubs, but some of my colleagues who are more hooked up invited me to some places to prove to me that there really are players who can walk up to a girl and say hey and wind up going home with her.''

OK, but doesn't she think Papi is just a tad, um, cartoonish?

"We were just having fun with the character. She's not the least over the top. She really does exist. She's an effective player. But she's not meant to represent all of Latina culture. The more subtle part of the story is about how nobody really understands Shane. Shane has this reputation when all she does is hold back and people come up to her.''

OK, Ilene. But trust me, if Papi is what you found hanging out in L.A.'s Latin lesbian world, you really should spend a little time in Miami. Not that I'm saying there aren't any Papis here. Just that you can be a player and still have some layers.

So, Ilene, come on down to Miami. We've got mad love for you and all -- but you and your girls obviously need all the help you can get when it comes to writing a Latina character.

Comments

[Carol Anne]

The Papi storyline isn't the only thing that stretches credibility on The L Word. I know it's LA and all, but aren't there any plain-looking lesbians out there? Or fat ones?

Of course we like to look at pretty people (and enjoy their travails) but a character that many more women could identify with seems like a good idea to me. It would make an interesting story arc anyway, taking her from plain (or ugly, even) through the magic of cosmetic surgery to conventionally beautiful. It would be a nice balance to the transgender storyline, too.

I'm a writer, so of course I want to rewrite/ edit almost everything I see and read (except for Salinger and Dideon).

[Lydia Martin]

Hey Carole Anne,

Maybe you should try your hand at L Word fan fiction. Check out www.l-word.com for endless takes on all of the characters. Why rely on Ilene Chaiken to decide where the storylines are going when you can have your way with the West Hollywood girls. You can get Bette and Tina back together. You can bring Dana back from the dead. You can have aliens abduct Jenny. You can get Helena her money back, or a roll in the hey with Bette, or both.

You can even give us some NC-17 stuff.

So, if you were to write your own fan fic, what story do you think you'd tell?

[Confidential Informant#1904]

Hi Lydia

First, I just wanted to say "congrats" on the great feature article you did for the Herald earlier in January on "The L Word Online, A Tangled Community."

I did clip that section and saved it (and yes,clipping it and saving did have a lot to do with the gorgeous color photo of Laurel Holloman at the top of the page ---yes I'm a "Tibette'r" and proud to say so.)

The other thing I wanted to bring to your attention is that I know you've taken a lot of sh** over the way you handled your meeting with Sarah Shahi at a party last summer. Looking back at some of the blog comments, some of the folks posting on line had completely unreasonable criticisms of you.

Shame on them.

I did think of a way you could make up for it though .

It just so happens that I am,like, a huge fan of actress Julie Andrews, the Sound of Music, etc, and I just found out (via Jose Lambiet's column in today's Palm Beach Post--that would be the January 17, 2007 issue of the Palm Beach Post, society section) that JULIE ANDREWS will be making a personal appearance at a Cancer Ball in Palm Beach, sponsored by her friend, socialite and former broadway actress Dame Celia Lipton Farris.

So, Lids, I was wondering if you couldn't think up some kind of excuse to crash this event and come up with a scoop or two on my idol, Julie Andrews.

It just so happens that I did actually meet Julie Andrews once, in the Summer of 1981 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington DC. She and the cast members of the then-just-released movie "S O B" were making a publicity tour paid for by her husband Blake Edwards.

So the cast of S O B, including Loretta Swit, William Holden, Robert Preston, and Richard Mulligan, were all there...at a very small gathering intended for the working press at the Four Seasons, in a small salon, with an open bar and great hors d'oeuvres (including mini-quiches and desserts)

(There is a long needless story about how I crashed this event but it involves my then-girlfriend who was at the time an intern for Cox Newspapers in the DC bureau of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution).

Because you are a working journalist with actual bona fide credentials, YOU COULD CRASH THIS EVENT ...or better yet, attend as an invited guest. Or perhaps get a "Lunch with Julie Andrews" interview for the Herald and make it part of your day job.

So anyway, a lot has happened since the summer of 1981 regarding the divine Ms Julie Andrews. For example, there are plenty of rumours (to use the British spelling) out there suggesting that JA is One of the Gals.

Some of the rumours mention her longterm friendship with actress Carol Burnett (my friend at the time was kinda/sorta a Carol Burnett lookalike... you know...quite attractive...slender, red-haired,and just 21 years old).

So anyway, at this event, the "reporters" were seated at about 10 or 12 tables of 8 each and Julie Andrews, Goddess of our World, actually sat down at each table for 5 or 10 minutes each and had a real world conversation with each of us. Yes, I asked a dumb question about "The Sound of Music," and if it "bothered her that people thought of her as Maria."

So Lydia, I know you're a real trooper and you would like to "take one for the team" on this.

So....maybe you could come up with an interview, crash the Society Ball in Palm Beach...........anything. Just please DO SOMETHING!!!

PS for research preparation there was a really long interview given by Playboy magazine featuring Julie Andrews and Blake Edwards. Also please see the movies "The Sound of Music, "SOB," "10" , Victor/Victoria also film clips or archival material regarding her Broadway appearances in "My Fair Lady," "Camelot," etc. There is plenty of homo-gossip out there; also JA is supposedly writing her Autobiography. What kind of dish will be in her book?

Also she was good friends with Rock Hudson and I also just happened (in 1974) to see a production of "Once Upon a Mattress" at the Kennedy Center in DC...starring Rock Hudson and Carol Burnett.

PS 2 -- The Movie SOB is most famous for the scene in which JA shows her T***s for a brief moment, and at the end of the movie she sings my favorite song, "O Promise Me."

Thanks.

[Gillian R]

This concerns Carol Anne's comments. So this year they have a transgender story line? That doesn't sound very good. Does that mean like a guy and they cut his thing off or like a girl getting a wiener (how do they do that?)
I don't think this sounds like a good show to watch after all.

[Lydia Martin]

Hey CF,

I flew to NY a few years back to see Julie Andrews in V/V on Broadway. At the last minute, she decided she needed the night off. Cold or something. I'm still pissed off at her. So, can't help you. Sorry.

[Lydia Martin]

Gillian,

Yeah, a girl who is transitioning into a boy. Hey, it's all the rage these days.

[Maddie]

Hey Lydia. Did you see the new blog Ilene posted on ourchart about Bette and Tina? It will make your head spin. Can't wait to see what you have to say about that.

[Lydia Martin]

Hey Maddie,

Good looking out. Makes you glad you don't have to date somebody like Ilene, no?

Anyway, come on over to my new post on this nonsense and tell me what you think. Were you a TiBetter? And can you remain a TiBetter after all of this?

Honestly, I don't think Marlee's gonna do it for most fans. But I also think it's time to drop the TiBette campaign. HelBette in 08!

[Terrie]

I like Papi, I think she is an interesting character on the show. Yes she is OTT, but I don't find that offensive.

Also, why does everyone think Papi "popped" Helena immediately after spending the night with Alice in the limo? They both had on different clothes in the park scene at the end of the episode, so I take it they agreed to meet up later that day/evening for a date.

[paula lovasco]

ya there is a lesbian who gets straight gay and married woman all over her here in boston linda hussey of beverly ma

[Stevi]

Hi my name is Stevi, and im looking for Pin strip suits like the ones that Papi hase on the show but ican find them anywhere can you help me....

[mexican papi]

latinas like papi exist, not equals but seemed....
i'm a cassanova lover like papi. i'm mexican, my age doesn't matter,i have the money, the body and some things that girls like. i'm not have a limo but other cars exist and are so much more confortables.
i know how to make a girl come really easy and they relly love the way i do..
i'm not the only one, in fact i meet some girls like me and i learn of them too.
i think that we exist just 4 all the pretty girls that make us easy to take this roll..
don't worry girls, papi girls exist without a doubt..
just find us.. i live in mexico.....

kisses girls, xoxo