Silvio Horta Talks To Variety Readers

Variety’s Season Pass blog recently gave readers an opportunity to ask Ugly Betty writer/producer Silvio Horta questions.  His answers were not quite spoiler-ish, but he did provide some new insight into a couple of things.  The MOST interesting, to me:

Q. What did Daniel give Betty for her birthday in “24 Candles?” Kind of random, but we didn’t get to see her open it and I’m curious. — Cali
A. I was disappointed we didn’t get to show this scene because it turned out to be such a great moment. We had to cut it due to time — the show was too long.  After an excruciating day at work, which happened to be her birthday, Betty unwinds with Ignacio, who remembers to give Betty a gift from Daniel—he dropped it off a couple of weeks ago because, “He just wanted to make sure he didn’t forget.” Betty opens the gift to find a Shakespeare anthology. Inside there’s an inscription: “Looks like you share a birthday with another great writer…  Happy Birthday, Betty. Love, Daniel.” The gift worked on many levels because Betty was writing an article for Mode at the time and it showed how much Daniel really cares about her. But we simply didn’t have the time in the episode to keep the scene.

Excellent.  This should have been included in the episode; it would have been a great moment.  This is why it was a good idea for the show to pare things down.  Great moments were missed because the show was going in too many directions.

A little telling question and answer for Getty fans, after the jump:

Q. Did you expect Freddy Rodriguez to have such chemistry with America Ferrera, and did the relationship grow as a result? Or was their relationship always the plan? — Kay
A. I’ve always known Freddy Rodriguez to be an outstanding actor, but even so, I never expected the chemistry that he brought — it was simply incredible. Obviously, we saw this chemistry immediately and that did affect certain details of Betty and Gio’s relationship. In other words, we utilized the chemistry America and Freddy brought to the show by writing scenes with that same chemistry in mind.

OK, this was kind of a politician’s answer, but it seems to me, from reading this, that Freddy’s character wasn’t really meant to be a love interest for Betty in the beginning, but the chemistry between the two was so obvious, they had to run with it.  I guess that’s a writer’s version of “The moon was bright, the music sweet, it just kind of happened”.

One more excerpt:

Q. It’s been said that Betty’s wardrobe in Season 3 would be adapting to show that she’s starting to pick up fashion ideas from having worked at Mode. Why go that way since she’s always so worried about becoming a “Mode girl”? Or do you see her developing a fashion sense separate from her becoming a Mode girl? — Sarah
A. Betty’s new wardrobe illustrates the changes Betty is making in her life — not the changes Mode is making in Betty’s life. That is to say, Betty is evolving — she’s growing up according to her own ideals, but she’s changing nevertheless. Betty has strong morals and a strong character, thus her evolution is not a compromise. It represents her own personal growth as a person.

I mention this because it’s a very good question.  Many have been upset with what they see as the idea of Betty throwing away her principles and becoming a “Mode Girl”.  I like Silvio’s answer, though.  She’s not selling out, she’s changing on her own terms.  Obviously, she’s not letting Justin help her with her wardrobe, so I’d say that’s true.

It really is a great Q&A.  Check out the whole thing!

Image: Newscom