George Lopez Talks New Show 'Lopez Tonight,' 'Valentine's Day' ... and Old Friend Taylor Lautner

George Lopez is having a busy year. Not only did he tour the country on his 'Tall, Dark and Chicano' stand-up tour, he had a hit HBO special, starred in 2010's 'Valentine's Day' opposite Ashton Kutcher, and has a late-night TBS talk show, 'Lopez Tonight,' premiering in November. Lopez laid relatively low last year, campaigning for President Obama in 2008 and as voice of the successful 'Beverly Hills Chihuahua,' which grossed almost $150 million worldwide. And weirdly, Lopez now finds himself working with some of Michael Jackson's creative people on 'Lopez Tonight.'

Stepping into the shoes of a late night host can be a tough gig, a path riddled with failed attempts by stars from Orlando Jones to David Alan Grier and, of course, Chevy Chase. Lopez says he relies on his bedrock experience as a stand-up comic to take him through any doubts.

The ongoing success of his sitcom 'The George Lopez Show' in syndication boosts his TV exposure, as well as no doubt providing extra financial security. Time will tell his success as a talk show host.

What's 2009 been like?
I campaigned with Barack Obama for a year. It really convinced me that change is a good idea, and the hopefulness that people had. In late night TV, it's not politics, but there is a lot of divisiveness in comedy and TV. Having a Mexican American host that welcomes everybody is a great way to have it look a little bit different than how TV usually looks. We are already rehearsing and doing test shows, we are ready to go. Michael Bearden, who was Michael Jackson's musical director in the movie ['This Is It'], is my guy. I inherited a couple guys from his band. We are ready to go. We are ready to destroy it from the first day on.

'Lopez Tonight' will have a big musical component?
Great music. Slash is booked to be on. Marc Anthony is a friend of mine. He is on the second night. I think he is performing that night. We're probably going to have Kiss, when Kiss is in LA. I think Kiss is too big to be on that stage, because they really are larger than life. I'm friends with the guys and kiss. It's like what Arsenio was doing 20 years ago, but on a larger scale. Times have changed in 20 years.

How will you avoid the late-night host Chevy Chase trap?
You know what, I am not Chevy Chase. I've been doing stand-up for 30 years. I have hosted a lot of shows. I did 85 minutes live on HBO, and have done arenas. It does give you a top and bottom on a stage like that with people that have already come to see me. The success of my sitcom in syndication gave me a fan base of two years old to 82 years old. We really keep this edgy. I think some people are going to be like, 'Oh my God.' But we are going to keep it funny every night.

What do you do in 'Valentine's Day'?
All my scenes are with Ashton Kutcher. But Julia Roberts was in it, Jessica Biel, Jessica Alba, Jennifer Garner, Anne Hathaway, Shirley McClaine, Hector Elizondo, Taylor Lautner and Taylor Swift. That's how they met. Everybody is in it. Taylor Lautner is on my [talk] show first. He was 12 years old when we did '[Adventures of] Shark Boy and Lava Girl,' you know. My daughter has a cut out – it's bigger than Taylor – in my house. When you come around the corner, you see that see that cut-out, it's man-size. She knew Taylor when he was 12, and now there is a man-size cutout of him in our house. It's very odd.

So, Taylor Lautner and Taylor Swift make a cute couple?
Yes, I give them my blessing.

Ashton Kutcher – what kind of guy was he?
Ashton is another person, with Demi, who is really into what's happening politically. I think I can say this confidently, and he would be okay with it. In 10 years, I see him being more involved in life, in real issues, than in acting. That's just where his head is.