I made a typo that's so funny, I've decided to leave it up. I referred here to "John Woo" as the attorney who wrote the memos on which the Bush Adminstration hung most of their arguments that torture was legal. No, you idiot. That was John Yoo. John Woo is a noted film director. And I'll bet I'm not the first person to make that mistake.
I was in a recording studio today working when someone came in and said Conan O'Brien has declared war on NBC, releasing a statement saying that he would not under any circumstances do The Tonight Show at 12:05 following The Jay Leno Show. Most of the news stories are saying that, as well. But when I read the statement, I found it to be somewhat less harsh than the headlines are making it out to be. I know you've probably read it elsewhere but here it is again, just for convenience...
People of Earth:
In the last few days, I've been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I've been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I've been absurdly lucky. That said, I've been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.
Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over "The Tonight Show" in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004, I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future. It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.
But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my "Tonight Show" in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.
Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the "Tonight Show" to 12:05 to accommodate the "Jay Leno Show" at 11:35. For 60 years, the "Tonight Show" has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the "Tonight Show" into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The "Tonight Show" at 12:05 simply isn't the "Tonight Show." Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the "Late Night" show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.
So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard, and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of "The Tonight Show." But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet, a time slot doesn't matter. But with the "Tonight Show," I believe nothing could matter more.
There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work.
Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it's always been that way.
Yours,
Conan
The part about Jimmy Fallon strikes me as if not disingenuous then a bit off-mark. Fallon's show isn't doing all that well and a shake-up with regard to what comes before him might just be his best shot at survival. Even if NBC decided to leave Conan at 11:35, they could still decide to replace Fallon with something more promising.
But the rest of Conan's statement probably left NBC wondering how much is sincere and how much is an attempt to gain negotiating leverage. Meetings 'twixt NBC execs and Conan's reps are said to be going on at this very moment...and if Conan's folks walked in the door and said, "Conan either stays at 11:35 or he walks," well, that might be a very short meeting.
I'm still skeptical of how O'Brien would do at 11 PM on Fox, especially since that would put him up against The Daily Show and The Colbert Report in most markets. They wouldn't beat him since he'd have better clearances but they might shave off a lot of viewers in his favored demographic. I like Conan but I don't see another place on the schedule of any major network where I'd bet money on his success. One online article I read wondered if ABC would dump Nightline and move Jimmy Kimmel later to make room for O'Brien. Dump the number one show in that time slot in favor of the guy finishing in third place? Even with Conan's "younger viewer" advantage, that doesn't sound likely to me.
So there's a lot that's unknown here. But one thing I can say for sure: Tonight's monologues are going to be interesting. I think I'm most looking forward to Craig Ferguson's. He's the one guy in this whole job description who looks reasonably secure.
Above is a frame grab from the movie, Casablanca. It's 32 minutes and 9 seconds into the film and Joan Benny, daughter of Jack Benny, thinks that's her father. No, not the black guy. The waiter in the background.
You can click on the above image and see it larger but it probably won't help you decide. Ms. Benny is basing her identification on watching the video and she thinks that man in the waiter's outfit looks like her father and more importantly, has her father's walk. In the movie, there are a few other shots of that waiter in the background.
So is that him? Well, an i.d. from the guy's daughter is not to be dismissed lightly...and it does coincide with that article I quoted in this posting, which says that Jack Benny donned a white waiter's jacket and walked around in the background of a scene. Here's another shot of the same person. This one is from 31 minutes and 48 seconds into the film and it can also be enlarged...
So I'll ask again: Is that him? I don't have a copy of the movie here and am unable to study the walk. Therefore, I've decided not to have an opinion on this. Looking at the photo alone, I think my view would be, "I don't think that's him but it might be." When you add in that newspaper article and the fact that Joan Benny thinks it's her dad, I'm leaning a bit in that direction...but I dunno. If Jack Benny really was in Casablanca, don't you think he'd have mentioned it somewhere?
I've decided to pass the buck to you, the wise and informed visitors to newsfromme.com. Below is a poll and you don't have to rush to cast your ballot because I'm not going to cut off voting. You can vote next week or the week after if you want to wait 'til you have a chance to run your DVD of Casablanca. I think this thing is configured to only let you vote once from any given computer IP address so once you vote, you're stuck with your decision.
Thanks to my friend Anthony Tollin, who thought to take this question straight to Joan Benny. And thanks to Tom Roberts who produced these screen grabs.
Jon Stewart had a bizarre, frustrating interview last night with John Woo, the attorney who wrote the memos on which the Bush Adminstration hung most of their arguments that torture was legal. As is almost always the case with the most interesting Daily Show interviews, the chat ran long and they edited it for broadcast and said the whole interview would be on their website. It's not there now but may be by the time you read this.
Woo is out spinning his role as he sells his new book. I'm curious to see if he'll come across as clueless in the whole interview as he does in the edited one. I'm also curious to see if there's a moment when Jon Stewart reaches across the desk and slaps the guy upside the head.
You may have seen this before. It's a "blooper reel" for The Mary Tyler Moore Show and I thought I'd embed it here and tell you two things about it. One is that you'll get a glimpse of two fine comedy writers who died too young. You'll see David Lloyd introduce Stan Daniels for a stirring rendition of "Old Man River."
The other thing is that throughout the reel, you'll see them cut to Ted Knight, Gavin MacLeod and Ed Asner singing a song parody about Mary Tyler Moore. Want to know where that song came from? It came from MAD magazine. My favorite writer of funny verse and silly lyrics, Frank Jacobs, wrote it for an issue of MAD and several of the stars The Mary Tyler Moore Show decided to serenade her with it on the set. Have a look...
January 11, 2010
