How do you get stars like Beck and Janeane Garofalo to appear on a talk show hosted by a cartoon superhero?  Ask 26-year-old Isabel Gonzalez.  As the talent coordinator for the Cartoon Network's Space Ghost Coast to Coast, she does it every day.

So you're responsible for snagging the big-name stars that Space Ghost interviews?
Yep, I book all the talent.  I sit with the producer and help come up with a list of people we want on the show.  Then I work from that list.

And how do you get people to agree to appear?
I basically work with the stars' publicists and let them know that guests can come on and plug stuff and talk about themselves.  It's a non-paying gig.  So our philosophy is, You talk about whatever you want.

What are the publicists' reactions when you tell them that the host is, um, not real?
Some of them are like, What are you talking about?  But once I convince them that it's legitimate, they're into it.

I don't suppose it was very hard to persuade someone cool like Beck?
He knew the show, so it didn't take much.  He was here in Atlanta, spending the night at this run-down hotel.  We brought film crews to his room.  It was so surreal.   He just put a lamp shade on his head and started talking.

Does someone sit there pretending to be Space Ghost?
Kind of.  Usually the show's senior writer or producer asks the questions, and the guests act as if they're really talking to Space Ghost.  There's some acting involved.  I prep the guests to make sure they're not intimidated.

How do you do that?
I say, "You know, Space Ghost is a Wonder bread idiot who doesn't know that you're a celebrity.  Please keep in mind that Zorak, his sidekick, is a six-feet-tall creature who wants to kill you.  Then there is Moltar, the show's director." It's so absurd.  I just tell them to have a good time.  The best people are the really quick and witty ones.  They aren't pretending that they're on the Late Show With David Letterman.  It's really more like The Muppet Show.

Were you some sort of a TV junkie growing up?
I wasn't the most popular girl in school.  I didn't have the bod or blond hair to be a cheerleader.  I was this little Cuban skinny girl with glasses and braces.  I played with Barbie until I was like 16 or 17.  And I was in love with TV and film.   I had this appreciation for pop culture.  But I didn't think, One day I'm gonna work in television.  I thought it was such an unrespectable field.

When did you change your mind about television?
Well, I guess when I was applying to college.  Film wasn't offered at Tulane [a university in New Orleans], so I picked mass communications.  I did two internships—one at Ms. magazine and the other at the cable channel CNN Telemundo.

What was your first job out of college?
I worked at an ad agency for six weeks, which I hated.  I ended up as a an administrative assistant at Turner Interactive in Atlanta.  I was with a bunch of young, nerdy people who were all like me.  I loved it.  The department folded, but through networking I ended up with Space Ghost.

What does it take to be a good talent coordinator?
First, you have to have a knowledge of cool.  You have to know what's hot and what's lame.  And then once you figure out who you want on the show, you need a delicate balance of charm and persistence.

Is this job a dream come true?
Sometimes I feel like we're the luckiest kids in the whole world.  Like somebody just gave us money and a camera and said go out and do these interviews . . . and celebrities take us seriously.

And is the salary dreamy too?
A talent coordinator in Atlanta makes in the mid-twenties to low thirties, but in larger markets, like New York City or L.A., a talent booker can easily make forty thousand dollars.

Who is the guest you want to snag most?
Conan O'Brien.  I think Space Ghost has done a lot—and so has Conan—for the talk show wars.  He's really cool.  Or maybe Debbie Harry or Kurt Vonnegut.

Are there people who wouldn't do well chatting with Space Ghost?
The Courteney Coxes of the world are not for Space Ghost.  We like people who are a little more idiosyncratic, like Lucy Lawless.  That's not to say that if Courteney called, we wouldn't have her on.