In Contention

Tag: Jay Leno

  • Agree to the letter

    Although it’s important not to place too much weight or emphasis on a single television show, it was fairly shocking to see that Jay put so little effort in tonight into winning America back. Outside of a few potshots at NBC, he never took the time to address any of the issues that have been making headlines since early January. Nor did he do the classy thing and thank Conan O’Brien for his (admittedly brief and largely forgettable) contributions to the institution that is the Tonight Show. Nor did he make a spirited appeal to his audience, promising that he still has a passion for comedy and for the program and will work tirelessly to return the show to its past glories. Instead, he totally phoned it in this evening on every conceivable level, leaving media critics and audiences alike to wonder whether or not Leno has anything even resembling a competitive spirit left, or if the trials and tribulations of the last year have simply caused permanent and irreparable damage to his spirit and psyche.

    From Mark Graham’s postmortem at Vulture.

  • Gervais does Conan

    I haven’t offered any comment on the Conan/Leno/NBC situation because, well, I’m not privy to the particulars.  There’s always more nuance than the usual scapegoating that gets perpetuated by, say, geek media outlets who couldn’t have less of a clue.  I’m a Conan fan before I’m a Leno fan (I’ll be in the audience at The Tonight Show Tuesday), but I also understand something called “business.”

    Anyway, that having been said, I liked the playful joshing between Ricky Gervais and O’Brien regarding the situation throughout last night’s interview.  The Globes ought to be a hoot Sunday night with Gervais as emcee.  Parts 2-4 after the jump.

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  • Duelling Leno perspectives

    Jay Leno

    Most of the invective, notably, has been leveled not at [Jay] Leno specifically but rather at NBC for having “given up,” as writer-producer Peter Tolan put it, by abandoning scripted dramas in an hour where the Peacock once aired such acclaimed programs as “Hill Street Blues” and “ER.” Nevertheless, for the ire expressed toward NBC to be fulfilled, Leno’s new endeavor, logically, has to fail.

    From a Variety op-ed making the case for Leno as an enemy of creative Hollywood by moving to 10:00pm.

    This is just my gut, and people are bitching about it but I think it’s a good thing, but I think people like my mother, who’s 82, are going to love to watch Jay at ten o’clock because they want to go to bed. And they love Jay. That’s going to make programming at ten o’clock much cheaper for all the networks. They’re going to lean in that direction. It’s going to make the business that I’m in, the ten o’clock, hour-long drama, it’s going to force it more into cable, which is where it should be because you can take more chances. Everybody’s going to be happy. That’s what I think. It’s going to be beneficial to actors and writers and producers over the long haul.

    From my July interview with Peter Tolan’s “Rescue Me” partner, Denis Leary.

  • 6/2 Web Round-up

    Alien• With “The Hangover” on the way next weekend, Dave Itzkoff talks to director Todd Phillips. [New York Times]

    • Tom O’Neil remembers Jay Leno’s 12-year Emmy losing streak as the host exits “The Tonight Show.” [Gold Derby]

    • Hey, proper use of the word “exclusive” for a change (and a few days late linking).  Steve Weintraub talks to Tony Scott about the recently announced “Alien” prequel. [Collider]

    • Another late-to-link piece, but it seems Blockbuster Video will dip into the movie memorabilia racket to steer clear of fiscal life support. [Hollywood Reporter]

    • With “Revolutionary Road” making its way to DVD and Blu-ray, a quick Q&A with Oscar-nominated Michael Shannon. [Premiere]

    • 15 pages of silliness to jack up the traffic numbers: “Where are they now?” with the cast of “Friday.” [New York Daily News]

    • A list of…wait for it…the top 10 best movie punches.  Think that’s terribly specific?  Wait until tomorrow’s requisite arbitrary list link. [Rope of Silicon]

    • “Coraline” makes its way to Broadway, with analysis from the Financial District. [Wall Street Journal]

    • First look at James Cameron’s “Avatar”: screenshots from the accompanying video game?  Lame. [/Film]

    • Glenn Kenny writes up the DVD release of Michelangelo Antonioni’s “Zabriskie Point.” [Some Came Running]

  • 11 memories of Conan as he moves on up

    Conan O'Brien on Late Night with Conan O'BrienYou may have noticed our coverage of the late night transition from “Tonight Show” legend (what else can you call him now?) Jay Leno to former “Late Night” host Conan O’Brien last week.  It was a bittersweet moment.  I’ll miss the Leno days if only for reminiscence, but it is unquestionably the next generation’s turn.

    I did my Conan remembrance back in February but Entertainment Weekly has used the occasion of the pompadoured funny man’s taking of the “Tonight Show” helm to showcase a list of 11 (it’s the new 10) memorable moments from his 16-year stint as the king of 12:30.  Many of the classics are on the list, of course: The Year 2000, apple picking with Mr. T, and the biggest “Oh yeah!” moment for me, calling up scenes from “Walker, Texas Ranger” with a lever next to his desk.  But one of the all-time funniest moments concerned the 2002 release of “Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones,” and since it’s the only movie-related moment (and certainly the funniest), I’ll offer up the mag’s blurb:

    Conan himself wasn’t in this bit, but it is legendary. Triumph the Insult Comic Dog lived up to his name, ridiculing a collection of hapless geeks as they waited on line, days before Star Wars: Episode II opened. Pointing to a would-be Darth Vader’s array of buttons on his ”armor”: ”Which of these buttons calls your parents to pick you up?”

    The bit took place outside the famous Ziegfeld Theater in New York City and was dubbed “Attack of the Nerds.”  Here it is, shockingly available (considering NBC’s crack-down practices) via YouTube:

    O’Brien’s stint as host of “The Tonight Show” begins this evening. Guests include Will Ferrell and Pearl Jam.

  • Jay Leno’s closes a chapter on ‘The Tonight Show’

    Jay LenoI’ve been pretty hard on Jay Leno over the years. In the late night wars, he’s had neither the comedic inventiveness nor (certainly) the journalistic capacity to become must-watch TV like David Letterman and, to a lesser extent, Conan O’Brien. Even the sober Tom Snyder proved a more intriguing watch for me when he was still on CBS so many years ago.

    All of that said, I’m a bit saddened that Leno’s final episode as host of “The Tonight Show” is being recorded right now for telecast later this evening. As much as I may have preferred other late night personalities over the years, the fact remains Leno’s regular guy brand of humor carried the torch magnificently for the past 17 years. The circumstances surrounding how he landed the gig will always be suspect, but Letterman went off and became his own man, paving the way for O’Brien to make a name for himself at 12:30 and, as of Monday night, finally take up the reigns on “The Tonight Show” himself.  I wrote briefly about O’Brien’s final “Late Night” show back in February.

    O’Brien’s transition to the show was covered in-depth in an insightful New York Times Magazine piece last weekend by staffer Lynn Hirschberg. Early passages have me worried, such as writing staff ideas centered around O’Brien as an outsider in Los Angeles (his new show will be taped daily on the Universal lot). Those will only go so far, perhaps better suited to a guest host than the new face of NBC late night, and the show will need to settle into a more purposeful position sooner rather than later.

    Of course, the subtext of Hirschberg’s article is that O’Brien, like his soon-to-be time-slot competition Letterman, doesn’t have the chummy, next-door neighbor demeanor that Leno has. Therefore, the 50-year-old enterprise could be in jeopardy of losing viewership. His brand of self-deprecation struck a chord with his dorm room demographic, to be sure, but the higher brow isn’t what Leno aimed for and might not be what the “Tonight Show” audience wants. The ratings will ultimately tell the tale, but in recent years, I have found myself out-growing O’Brien’s antics. I wish him the best as he takes up the reins on Monday, but I wonder if a network desire to stay fresh will put a flagship built on it’s heritage in slight peril.

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  • Oscar showmen Billy Crystal, Marc Shaiman bid Leno adieu

    I don’t know if anyone’s been watching the last week of Jay Leno’s “The Tonight Show,” but it’s been a solid final slate of guests, culminating with Conan O’Brien’s appearance and a passing of the baton later tonight.  I’ve got a longer piece about all of this I’m working on and will post it later this afternoon, but I thought this was worth mentioning separately, in case you missed it.

    Billy Crystal was Leno’s first guest on “The Tonight Show” back in 1992 and the exiting host wanted to bring Crystal back as his final proper guest last night.  To mark the occasion, Crystal got together with Marc Shaiman and put together a little sing-song number, much like the numerous similar numbers the duo has cranked out for the Oscars over the years.  Sadly, the NBC website being as stingy as it is, I can’t find an embed of the performance (they just have a 90 second exchange mid-interview about Crystal’s recent surgery).  But you can, however, watch the entire episode, which includes, of course, the full number, plus a glimpse of Crystal’s first appearance on the show 17 years ago when he belted out another tune.  Always the showman.

    Click the image below to watch the full episode, and stay tuned for that remembrance piece later today.

    Billy Crystal on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

  • Is this a new strategy?

    I’ve been flipping back and forth between Leno and Letterman and so far I’ve seen four Oscar TV spots: two for “The Reader,” one for “Slumdog Millionaire” and one for “The Wrestler.”  Instead of the usual 30 second trailers, there is interview footage edited in.  Rourke from “The Wrestler,” Boyle from “Slumdog” and besting the lot, Daldry, Winslet AND Hare (dropping the names of Pollack and Minghella) for “The Reader.”

    Is this a new strategy?  I can’t seem to recall late night television buys in recent Oscar past, but I certainly don’t recall commercials such as this, bringing the talent out in the open so formally.  It’s kind of brilliant, really.  Now instead of watching Amy Adams giggle about how unprepared she is for her wedding, you’ll be treated to other interviews during the advertising break that you weren’t expecting at all.

    Adams is a good call for this moment, especially being in a race some perceive as wide open and others say is ripe for her taking.  But all things considered, Rourke could have brought it all home with an appearance here instead of in late December for the film’s release.

    Or does it all…really not matter?

  • Citizen Dave

    David LettermanWe don’t get into television much around these parts.  I don’t have the heart, really, what with “24” sucking the life out of me, “Heroes” spiraling out of control and “Friday Night Lights” and “Entourage” gone for the moment.  “Lost” helps soothe the irritation, but we certainly don’t talk late night very much.

    But for a long while now, it seems David Letterman has been the only late night destination worth a damn.  I lost my patience for Conan O’Brien years ago (seriously, it’s painful to watch him struggle to keep up when he has, say, Jim Carrey on…and the old shtick doesn’t cut it anymore), while Jay Leno is and always has been the worst interviewer in the racket.  Why 10pm?  Just retire?

    Anyway, with that in mind, I thoroughly enjoyed this Chicago Tribune piece from Steve Johnson, spotlighting Letterman’s “remarkable transformation” from a goofy laugh hound to a meaningful figment of America’s social conscience.  Here’s a taste:

    Since his 2000 heart surgery, he has taken on President Bush and candidate John McCain, global warming and Bill O’Reilly, Rush Limbaugh and the lack of national leadership. His first broadcast after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks was an almost oracular expression of what a nation was feeling and the best thing any broadcaster found to say in that dark period.

    He even turned a post-jail visit by Paris Hilton political, in a sense, using her appearance as cultural critique, a riotous dismantling of the notion of unearned celebrity and blind adherence to promotional agendas.

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