That is one of those things where Conan doesn't know what its like to be in the position Jay was in, not only does the human nature effect of wanting to be the guy come in. But Leno has had a lot of the same staff for over 10 years, and the 10pm show was being canceled no matter what.
So all of those people would be fired and never work together again. Its a lot more difficult decision than just 1 guy taking over for another, hundreds of people who have worked together for years would have lost their jobs
Huh? Conan doesn't know what Jay felt because Jay had lots of long time staff? This is exactly what Conan's concern was.
If a show is cancelled, all the staff don't go their seperate ways. They tend to stick together. This is apparent in Conans use of his previous staff for his road tour.
That is one of those things where Conan doesn't know what its like to be in the position Jay was in, not only does the human nature effect of wanting to be the guy come in. But Leno has had a lot of the same staff for over 10 years, and the 10pm show was being canceled no matter what.
So all of those people would be fired and never work together again. Its a lot more difficult decision than just 1 guy taking over for another, hundreds of people who have worked together for years would have lost their jobs
If Jay Leno left NBC, the big networks would have definitely came knocking. He could have easily displaced Jimmy Kimmel on ABC or got the FOX affiliates to make room for him. He could have kept his staff together for another show.
Huh? Conan doesn't know what Jay felt because Jay had lots of long time staff? This is exactly what Conan's concern was.
If a show is cancelled, all the staff don't go their seperate ways. They tend to stick together. This is apparent in Conans use of his previous staff for his road tour.
He didn't have the choice of whether to basically tell his staff they were all fired, Jay had to either take 11:30 or his staff were being fired
Conan is using his staff for the road tour is a complete one off situation, he needed to stay back in the public eye and he isn't allowed to go on TV until may 1st, for the upcoming 60 minutes piece CBS can't even show his face in the previews. And Conan's fan base skews young, if any of the other late night hosts had been fired they wouldn't have done the road tour.
It wasn't all Jay saying eff Conan I want the tonight show, it was probly a mix of not believing he should have been removed from it in the 1st place (which Conan put in to motion by demanding the Tonight show when he signed a new contract in 04 or he was going to leave NBC) and not wanting all his staff to be fired. Whether he would have gotten a new show at FOX or whatever no one knows, Conan didn't get one on FOX.
Conan who usually has a love in with the media is kinda getting ripped after 60 minutes last night, I thought he came off well
Hollywood Reporter
Quote:
"It's crucial to me that anyone ... take away anything from this, it's that I'm fine," Conan O'Brien says in his "60 Minutes" interview with Steve Kroft. "I'm doing great. I hope people still find me comedically absurd and ridiculous."
If there was one statement that encapsulated the awkward mishap that was O'Brien's post-contractual-TV-blackout coming-out party, it was this rather transparent attempt to contradict a portrait he probably didn't intend to offer on national TV. Because the O'Brien on display is clearly not "fine," but a deeply hurt individual licking his wounds for all to see......
But O'Brien is doing great, right? Displaying zero of the antic charm that makes him such a great comic in late night, O'Brien openly wallowed in misery at a time when he should have been turning the page. The empty praise he gave his upcoming opportunity at TBS -- half-heartedly spouting some corporate boilerplate about the power of cable -- came in stark contrast to the envy he displayed losing his beloved "Tonight Show" throne to Leno.
Even scenes from his comedy tour that should have shown O'Brien employing success as the best revenge had a sad quality to them. Listening to the comedian perform songs recounting his struggle, I was reminded of Jason Segel's pathetic character in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," singing silly ditties to deal with the pain of getting dumped.
Baltimore Sun
Quote:
O'Brien actually used such expressions as "but that's just me" and "I can sleep at night," to contrast his behavior with that of Leno's. I was surprised that he didn't also say he can "look in the mirror" and like what he sees -- as opposed to Leno. And yet, when asked pointblank to judge Leno, he invoked the clause.
Well look, it you are going to take $30 million to not say certain things, then don't weasel around the edges of it with whining, sniping comments about how you can sleep at night and others presumably can't. And don't put your wife on TV to say how your "heart was broken" by big, bad NBC -- the same big, bad company you and your wife took the big, fat check from.
CBS' "60 Minutes" is a storied and glorious news franchise. Sunday's interview with O'Brien was not one of its better moments. In fact, it was not even one of its better soft celebrity profiles. In fact, it wasn't even a profile -- just a quick-hit interview with a subject who got to have his way while CBS got to take a few shots at a competing network.
Variety
Quote:
Look, Conan O'Brien is a talented guy, and a likable guy. Which is why people have agents and managers -- and why his account of "The Tonight Show" history is narrow and self-serving.
O'Brien didn't personally deliver any ultimatums in 2004, when NBC promised him "The Tonight Show" in five years. But his manager/agents (a.k.a. Team Coco) made clear that O'Brien had plenty of options and would pursue one of them if NBC didn't signal that Jay Leno was on his way out and that their guy would be in....
By the time the show was to be officially his, it was equally clear that Leno was still the top dog in latenight -- and could easily scuttle NBC's best-laid plans of a smooth transition by opening up his own franchise on a competing network. A series of poor decisions, most of them badly handled, followed.
But the impetus behind all of this was that O'Brien and his posse were demanding a promotion, and NBC wanted to keep him badly enough that they promised it to him.
In other words, when Steve Kroft's softball interview asked O'Brien about whether Leno had "acted honorably," well, as evidenced by O'Brien's move to TBS pushing George Lopez to midnight, there's more honor among thieves than there is among talkshow hosts. And to paraphrase an old line about baseball, despite O'Brien's insistence that he's not holding a grudge (perhaps for contractual reasons, his wife actually did most of the complaining), there shouldn't be any crying among latenight millionaires, either.
Great show, though too many songs with Conan on the guitar. Monologue was great, with material especially made for Phoenix. He skewered the new immigration laws in AZ by suggesting La Bomba was going to be taken away. No surprise guest stars, though Shakira and Linda Ronstadt were in town the day before. No appearances by other locals like Alice Cooper, Stevie Nicks or Charles Barkley. The Dodge Theatre allows drinking in the seats, and there is a bar by the stage.
The opening act was awesome - watch for Reggie Watts:
His Max Weinberg Big Band is starting a national tour next month in New Jersey. But Weinberg remained coy about any career reincarnation in television, which he smilingly called "a tough business."
"As they say in television, you'll have to stay tuned," said the former bandleader for Conan O'Brien's late-night shows.
Andy Richter and Conan O'Brien's writers will take the spotlight in a TBS special to be taped during a Chicago comedy festival next month.
The one-hour special, with the working title "Team Coco presents Conan's Writers Live," is scheduled to air 10 p.m. EDT June 27. The show will be taped June 17 during the second annual Just for Laughs festival presented by TBS. The festival runs from June 15-19.
Tickets for the "Team Coco" show, which will also feature music by comedian Reggie Watts, go on sale Friday.
Watts is outstanding.
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This is good news, but I will wait for the time announcement.
Hopefully at 10 before the news. After that is Daily Show/Colbert and I can't see them putting Conan at 12 and moving them back an hour that would be brutal. CTV certainly doesn't have as good of programing as Global does and I think the shift of crappy shows would be easy to fight Conan in 4 days a week.
