Ugly Betty: Now It’s An International Incident
August 22, 2009 by Tom
Remember when we reported about an Ugly Betty casting call for a UN interpreter? I guessed at the time that the show would be filming outside the UN, and had several guesses what that might mean to the plot.
Well, it gets a little juicier with this news: Ugly Betty filmed inside the United Nations building this past week. Well, actually, in the basement, but still, it turns out to be quite a coup (pardon the pun).
According to the Inner City Press, about five dozen film crew members worked in the basement of the UN on August 19th and 20th. Apparently, it used to be near impossible to film at the UN – even Alfred Hitchcock was once turned down. But recently, both Law and Order and a panel about Battlestar Gallatica have filmed there – now Betty.
They can do this because the UN is in transition, there are renovations occurring all over and workers in various UN offices are being relocated (I think, temporarily).
We even know a bit a WHAT they were filming, which leads to a lot of speculation as to how it fits into the plot. It’s spoiler-ish, so I’ll include it after the jump.
The show is filming a segment around a fictional UN program “Nothing But Nets”, a malaria eradication program. They had a huge (fake) logo, and even a cute mascot mosquito .
I guess now the only question is: which Ugly Betty character is involved in this?
The best guess would be Cal (he negotiated Middle East peace, remember?). More intriguing would be Daniel, burying himself in humanitarianism in his grief and in the name of his departed wife.
Even MORE intriguing would be Wilhelmina, doing good as part of one of her evil plots. Perhaps she got word of Connor being in Africa, and used the program to try to find him?
Regardless, it should be fun, and a good reminder why it’s great that Ugly Betty is filming in NYC!
Image: Newscom
Nice!! I like the Wilhelmina idea you had, Tom!
I just wanted to let your readers know that Nothing But Nets is not a fake UN program. In fact, it is a very real initiative, created by the UN Foundation that works in partnership with key UN agencies including UNICEF, UNHCR and WHO, to provide life-saving anti-malaria bed nets to children and families in Africa. The campaign can be found at http://www.nothingbutnets.net. We are grateful to the producers of Ugly Betty, and their fans, for their support of this important campaign.
Katherine Miller, UN Foundation