Late Night, Done Right: Reunited and It Feels So Good
February 28, 2009 by Chandra
You’ve heard the news, right? Late-night yakker Conan O’Brien and his former 1993–2000 Late Night sidekick Andy Richter are joining forces again.
The auspicious coupling will take place when O’Brien takes the helm of his new gig on NBC’s Tonight Show, which will thence be known as The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien. I get goosebumps just writing that since I’ve never been a fan of The Chin.
Richter will assume announcing duties, as well as an occasional part in comedy segments. His sidekick role won’t involve couch work, however, which is fine by me, as long as he gets adequate screen time elsewhere.
I never thought I’d say this during the last 17 years, but I just might have to start watching The Tonight Show again (sorry, Dave!).
O’Brien and Richter debut in their new, one-hour-earlier late-night home on Monday, June 1, at 11:30pm EST.
Two-Hour ‘Actors Studio’ for Conan O’Brien
January 25, 2009 by Chandra
Late-night talk-show superstar Conan O’Brien is so huge right now, he’s getting a double-length, two-hour block of time devoted all to him during his appearance on next week’s new edition of Bravo’s Inside the Actors Studio.
When the episode airs on Monday, January 26 at 8pm EST, host James Lipton will ask the NBC staple numerous questions about his showbiz career, ranging from his early days at the Harvard Lampoon to his current gig, and even his stint as a congressional intern. They also cover the stuff in between, such as O’Brien’s tenure writing for Fox’s never-ending cartoon The Simpsons and working with movie star Tom Hanks.
Follow the jump to preview the in-depth interview with a clip featuring O’Brien as he shares the significance of NBC’s long-running sketch-comedy series Saturday Night Live in his life.
Eddie Izzard Previews ‘Valkyrie’ on Conan
December 16, 2008 by Chandra
It was *so* good to catch funnyman Eddie Izzard, last seen on the small screen in the prematurely canceled FX dramedy The Riches, hanging out with Conan O’Brien on his chat show early this morning. If you didn’t already know, the British standup comedian and standout actor has a prime role in the upcoming Tom Cruise mega-buzz flick Valkyrie.
The movie is about Hitler and Nazis and assassination attempts and a whole bunch of other depressing whatnot, which is why I’ve been having a mighty hard time understanding why it will be released on Christmas Day. With Eddie in the cast, it can’t be all that dark, though, right?
Well, not necessarily. As the entertainer points out during the interview, this role is a very dramatic turn for him. He plays a man named General Erich Fellgiebel whose presence is integral to the film’s plot.
Check out the following video of the appearance to see an intriguing clip from the movie, featuring star Cruise. And, of course, Eddie and Conan get along fabulously while discussing other stuff, such as the international (non-)status of holidays like Christmas and Valentine’s Day, and also just how wonderful France is (you’ll never guess why).
A video of Conan’s interview with Eddie and the trailer for Valkyrie follow the jump.
Tina Fey Talks to Conan O’Brien
October 30, 2008 by Chandra
In preparation for tonight’s 30 Rock third-season premiere, Tina Fey dropped by Late Night with Conan O’Brien on Tuesday, October 28, to shoot a whole lotta breeze with the host about a whole lotta stuff.
Watch the two-part interview in the videos following the jump to get stoked for Liz Lemon’s imminent return. Can’t believe it’s almost time … or that NBC scheduled the premiere this far into the fall season.
Craig Ferguson Trumps Conan O’Brien Any Night [Guest Post by Jeffrey Cohen]
June 20, 2008 by Chandra
Anyone who’s not watching Craig Ferguson on the Late Late Show (CBS, 12:35 a.m., EDT) is missing out. You think just because you saw this guy on The Drew Carey Show for years you know him? Nonsense! A cranky Scottish man who invites us in by tapping on the camera every night and giving us a warm wave before announcing “it’s a great day for America”? That’s what you need at that time of night (or, if you’re like the rest of us, whenever TiVo makes it happen).
Does he do the same jokes every night? Yeah, well, pretty much. But here’s the really sick part: they’re still funny! Okay, so the Angela Lansbury/Paul McCartney thing is getting old, but I’d be happy with an hour of Craig reading emails and doing his dead-on Sean Connery impression. Some of the sketches need a little airing out (no more with the guy who pretends to be Craig Ferguson and insults him to death — it cracks up Craig, but we’re, um, the audience), but the monologue is always killer, and the man gets interesting guests and makes them laugh.
Conan O’Brien? Aside from truly freakish hair, what has he got over Craig? Nothing, I say! The day Craig Ferguson, after actually tearing up, took his oath as a citizen of the United States — THAT was a great day for America.
Guest author Jeffrey Cohen is the author of IT HAPPENED ONE KNIFE and SOME LIKE IT HOT-BUTTERED in the Double Feature Mystery series, which takes place in a movie theatre that shows only comedies. He’s a fan of the Marx Brothers, Monty Python, Jon Stewart, and 30 Rock, among a host of others. You can find him at www.jeffcohenbooks.com.
NBC Announcement on the Horizon: Jimmy Fallon to Replace Conan O’Brien
April 25, 2008 by Chandra
The big news on Thursday — aside from Wesley Snipes getting sentenced to three years in the slammer, although that’s not technically comedy — is how NBC is definitely going to make good on all the rumors circulating since last year and announce soon that former Saturday Night Live player Jimmy Fallon will replace Conan O’Brien if O’Brien should leave his Late Night show to replace Jay Leno on The Tonight Show.
Fallon as a replacement for Conan? Uh! I’m bored already.
Comedy Talk: ‘Office’ Star John Krasinski Has a ‘Late Night’
April 10, 2008 by Chandra
If you’ve been hiding in your closet or visiting a faraway planet the last couple of weeks, you might not know that much-adored Office star John Krasinski has been making waves in a new feature film, alongside Academy Award winners George Clooney and Renée Zellweger.
The movie in question is called Leatherheads, and although it hasn’t performed as well as expected at the box office, there’s a good chance it will do well on DVD — just from all the women rushing to buy it because of Clooney and Krasinski’s presence.
Krasinski showed up — always a good thing — for a very entertaining and relaxed interview with his fellow Bay State native Conan O’Brien (the host is from Brookline, Massachusetts, and the actor from Newton) on Late Night last Friday. You can get a look at the entire exchange now in the videos following the jump.
Comedy Talk: Christina Applegate and Conan Shoot the Breeze
April 8, 2008 by Chandra
Samantha Who? star Christina Applegate stopped by Late Night with Conan O’Brien last Friday to chat and promote Monday’s return of her hit ABC sitcom.
To the delight of fans watching, the Married with Children veteran talked a little about her old days on the hallmark comedy, particularly what it’s like to watch it now, after all these years, and to see international versions of it. Apparently, the show was remade in Germany with an entirely new cast but using the same scripts translated. I can’t even begin to imagine how weird that must be.
Check out the two-part interview after the jump and learn just how successful Samantha Who? is around the world, too. Applegate mentions one place the show is broadcast that seems almost as unusual as Germany.
Comedy Talk: Rashida Jones Charms Conan
March 16, 2008 by Chandra
…and a shorts-wearing Will Ferrell — get a look at those legs!
Former Office worker Rashida Jones took some time out of her busy schedule a few weeks ago to promote her new Farrelly Brothers sitcom Unhitched on Late Night with Conan O’Brien.
After O’Brien got over his pleasant surprise that Jones is one quarter Irish — thanks to her mother Peggy Lipton’s mother — she and the host discussed lots of things.
O’Brien is well aware of the Farrelly style of outlandish comedy, although he’s never met the siblings. But, even he recognizes a lawsuit just waiting to happen when Jones describes Peter Farrelly’s extremely unique and moronic manner of greeting the actress. Lucky for him Jones apparently has a tolerant sense of humor.
Jones also tells about her painful encounter with Michael Jackson’s chimpanzee Bubbles when she was just ten years old. I guess those are the kinds of memories you get to have when your dad is the music biz’s legendary Quincy Jones.
Check out the video of the interview after the jump, and remember that Unhitched airs Sundays on Fox at 9:30pm EST.
Comedy Talk: Flavor Flav Does Conan O’Brien
February 26, 2008 by Chandra
Right after Will Arnett finished yakking it up with Conan O’Brien on Monday’s Late Night, none other than rapper and reality-TV star Flavor Flav himself stepped out to entertain the audience with his unique presence.
If you’ve been reading Comedy Centric, you know Flav has a new half-hour comedy series coming called Under One Roof, which will be netlet MyNeworkTV’s first original sitcom ever.
Flav was making the rounds on the late-night chat circuit to promote his current bread and butter, however, VH1’s hit Flavor of Love. The show is currently in its third and final season and doing so well in the ratings that Flav joked (or maybe not) at one point that VH1 will soon become Flav-H-1.
Yet, my favorite segment is when Flav describes his idea of a romantic date at Conan’s request. Any woman lucky enough to win the reality star’s heart will get lots of seafood at Benihana, accompanied by Flav blowing in her “ear hole” and then taking her to “knock down some pins.” In case you can’t decipher the lingo, the last part is referring to bowling.
Check out the very entertaining interview after the jump.