Family rules in Amazon's 'Jungle'

BEVERLY HILLS — Amazon's Jungle is a family affair.

Arriving in December, Mozart in the Jungle is a half-hour comedy set behind the scenes at a fictional New York Symphony that was created in part, by cousins Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman — who come to the subject naturally. Their grandfather, Carmine Coppola, was a musician and composer who played in the NBC Symphony Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini and composed the music for many of son Francis Ford Coppola's films, including The Godfather.

They're clearly tied to the material. But why bring the show, which stars Gael García Bernal and Malcolm McDowell as competing conductors, to Amazon?

"Our agent felt there was something exciting happening with Amazon." says Coppola. And once they got it there, "It was all about doing the work and making it happen, not a lot of discussion or trying to unravel it. Just about doing the work."

The work, Schwartzman, is also a way to introduce more people to classical music — or, at least, he hopes it is. "I'm learning so much and I love it so much and my hope is that we honor the music and get people interested in the music."