The Tonight Show

Max Weinberg Officially Parts Ways with Conan O’Brien

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: September 27th, 2010 at 1:19 pm

Sadly, one of the great host-bandleader unions of all time has come to an end.  Max Weinberg will not be a part of Conan O’Brien’s new TBS late night show, Conan.  Both Weinberg and O’Brien issued statements cordially wishing the other well and saying that Weinberg may drop by the show in the future.

Weinberg probably sealed his fate when swam into the bad blood between O’Brien and Jay Leno and tried to replace Kevin Eubanks on The Tonight Show this past April.  Movieline also reported that Weinberg would “send interns to do gardening work at his house” and “involve staffers in his pay disputes with the network.”  He was also notably absent during Conan’s Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour.  Still, the guy was hilarious and his deadpan face was amazing.  He’ll be missed.  Hit the jump for the press release.

Conan O’Brien’s Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour Review

by Scott Wampler    Posted: May 17th, 2010 at 1:02 pm

Conan O’Brien got the short end of the stick back in January when NBC decided to pull the biggest “Indian Give” of all time, effectively forcing him out of his spot as host of The Tonight Show and giving it back to Jay Leno after the former Tonight Show host took a dive in primetime.  This sucked for the fans that have been following O’Brien’s work in late night through the years, but a recently-announced new show on TBS in November and a nationwide, 32-city live tour soothed some of their pain.  Recently, I had the chance to see one of the shows on Conan’s Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour, and I’m happy to report that Conan seems to be doing better than ever.  My review after the jump.

New Late-Night Wars Miniseries in Development but It’s About Johnny Carson, not Conan O’Brien

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 29th, 2010 at 2:28 pm

Battles over The Tonight Show have been going on for longer than you think.  Most people are aware of the drama that occurred between Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, David Letterman, which Bill Carter chronicled in his book, The Late Shift.  And we’re all well aware of the more-recent dust-up between NBC, Leno, and Conan O’Brien.  But Deadline reports that producers Kevin J. Cleary and Basil Iwanyk are currently working on a mini-series called The King of Late Night, which centers on “the behind-the-scenes drama surrounding the development of the show and its first three hosts, Steve Allen, Jack Paar and Johnny Carson.” Cleary says the project is “The Rat Pack version of The Late Shift,” and “will draw inspiration from other films made about the 1950s and 1960s TV industry like Quiz Show and Good Night, and Good Luck.”

While I know there are plenty of folks (myself included) who want a Late Shift-style expose about the drama between Conan O’Brien, I think this project could be very cool.  I’m sure we’ll see a chronicle of the Conan-Tonight Show drama, but let’s at least give that story some time to simmer and be properly researched before we’re jumping all the way to a mini-series.

Conan O’Brien to Somewhat Break Silence on 60 MINUTES on May 2nd

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 27th, 2010 at 5:51 pm

Slowly, the pale, red-headed onion that is the Conan O’Brien severance package is peeling away and next week the former Tonight Show host can finally give his side of the story.  On Sunday, May 2^nd, O’Brien will sit down with 60 Minutes in an interview with Steve Kroft.  O’Brien’s deal with NBC had him prohibited from giving interviews until May 1^st.   While some may hope for Conan to rag on his former network, his deal with NBC also prevents him from disparaging the network on television (he’s allowed to do it in his stage show and he has).  But it will be a good opportunity for him to give his side of the story, his feelings about Leno’s role, what his upcoming show on TBS (set to debut in November) will be like, and so forth (although I have no idea what questions Kroft will ask).  Despite the restrictions, I’m confident that Conan will provide a humorous and thoughtful interview. [The Live Feed]

Conan O’Brien May Be Coming to a Stage Near You!

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 19th, 2010 at 11:54 am

Team Coco, get ready to re-raise your orange-and-white banners because The Wrap is reporting that Conan O’Brien is planning to hit the road and perform at venues across the country.  It’s a clever little work-around his NBC contract that prohibited him from appearing on television again until September.  And as Family Guy and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia have shown, there’s a market for television shows to hit the road and play to live audiences.

Finally, Team Coco energy hasn’t subsided as fans are anxious to see if Conan will return to late night by signing a deal with Fox (TheWrap says face-to-face meeting are expected to begin by next month).  The insidious Tonight Show promos playing during the Winter Olympics aren’t helping as they’re using The Beatles’ “Get Back” to promote Jay Leno’s return.  The Beatles should not be used for evil.

NBC Pays Conan O’Brien and His Staff $45 million to Leave THE TONIGHT SHOW

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 21st, 2010 at 8:48 am

The final settlement between Conan O’Brien and NBC over the Tonight Show fiasco comes to a whopping $44 million to the network.  $33 million comes from paying off CoCo and another $12 million to pay off Coco’s staff.  Additionally, Conan won’t be able to launch a new show until September 1st, which isn’t a big deal since that’s how long it would take to put together a new show anyway.  Conan’s last episode as host of The Tonight Show will be this Friday with Will Ferrell and Tom Hanks as the confirmed guests.

But just because they’ve asked Conan to go away, it doesn’t mean he’s not going to use up the show’s budget before he goes.  Last night he spent $1.5 million dollars to put mouse ears and whiskers on a Bugatti Veyron, the most expensive car in the world.  He then played the “sketch” to The Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” which costs NBC crazy money in royalties.  He then remarked that it would cost NBC to re-air the clip online.  NBC took heed of this warning and the clip has not appeared on either Hulu or NBC.com.  That’s why we’ve found an embed from someone else who uploaded it and included the video after the jump!

Jimmy Kimmel Brings the Pain on The Jay Leno Show; “I’m with Coco” Holds Rally for Conan O’Brien

by Matt Currie    Posted: January 15th, 2010 at 10:11 pm

Jay Leno has taken A LOT of flack from the late-night community for muscling his way back into The Tonight Show and thereby thoroughly screwing Conan O’Brien.  Pretty much the only place he hasn’t been lambasted is The Jay Leno Show…until last night, that is. On Thursday, Leno ill-advisedly decided to interview his ABC counterpart Jimmy Kimmel (who recently did a biting show-long impersonation of him on Jimmy Kimmel Live!) in his “10 at 10″ segment. As you might expect, things got ugly. Armed with nothing but his standard list of softball questions, the once and future Tonight Show host was effectively KO’ed on his feet.

I can understand Leno’s reasons for doing it; he wanted to show that he wasn’t hiding from his critics, maybe exact some modicum of revenge (but, you know, in a safe way that wouldn’t offend anybody). And he thought he’d have the advantage, or at least that things couldn’t get too out-of-hand, given that it was his show and Kimmel would be on the hotseat. Unfortunately for Jay, that really wasn’t the case. Kimmel came to throw down and he unquestionably got the best of every exchange, consistently landing comedic blows on his clearly uncomfortable inquisitor even when the line of questioning turned away from the late-night debacle. At the beginning, it’s satisfying to see him squirm. But, by the end, after watching Jay awkwardly try to deflect the barbs for 5 minutes, you’ll probably just want it to end.

Hit the jump to see Leno get his ass handed to him and to hear what the newly minted Conan cult “I’m with Coco” is doing to voice their displeasure.

Conan O’Brien Will Not Do THE TONIGHT SHOW At 12:05am

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: January 12th, 2010 at 12:52 pm

While Conan O’Brien has made plenty of jokes about the late night situation at NBC on The Tonight Show the past two days, he finally got serious.  Just a little while ago, the comedian released a statement about what’s really going on behind the scenes and how he was given the news that NBC wanted to move him to 12:05am, after The Jay Leno Show.

The big news is he doesn’t want to do The Tonight Show at 12:05am and he thinks moving it to the later time would, according to O’Brien, “seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting.”  Read his entire statement after the jump:

Jay Leno Is Heading Back to 11:30, But Where Will Conan Go?

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: January 10th, 2010 at 10:57 pm

There has been much hearsay and speculation in the past couple days once TMZ reported  that The Jay Leno Show would be removed from the 10 PM hour after the Olympics.  Today, NBC held a press conference  for the Television Critics Association, and as expected discussed their plans for the coming months in detail.

In NBC’s ideal world, Jay Leno will host a nightly half-hour show at 11:30 PM, while Conan O’Brien’s The Tonight Show will move back to 12:05 AM, and Late Night With Jimmy Fallon will be pushed to 1:05 AM.  Leno, O’Brien, and Fallon all have the weekend to consider the offer.

Look for explanation from NBC Universal TV Entertainment chairman Jeff Gaspin, as transcribed by The Live Feed, after the jump.

Jay Leno Going Back to 11:30 Time Slot? Conan’s Future Still Unknown

by Ramses Flores    Posted: January 7th, 2010 at 2:27 pm

TMZ is reporting some news which is sure to anger and break the hearts of all Conan O’Brien fans out there. According to their sources, NBC plans to move Jay Leno back to his 11:30 PM time slot after the show takes a hiatus during the Olympics. This now leaves The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien in an undecided future. As of right now, it’s still not clear if The Jay Leno Show will air right before a later showing of The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien, or if NBC is just going to drop Conan all together and give Jay his old time and show back. Either way, this is definitely not good news for Conan.

To read what NBC has to say about all of this along with my feelings on the subject, hit the jump.

A New BETWEEN TWO FERNS WITH ZACH GALFIANAKIS Featuring Andy Richter and Conan O’Brien

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: November 17th, 2009 at 9:49 am

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifainakis is great.  We already knew that.  But up until now, he’s mainly interviewed actors known for their dramatic work or at least not known primarily for comedy (the exception being the first episode with Michael Cera).  But in this new episode he sits down with two gentlemen who have been making folks laugh for their entire professional careers: The Tonight Show host Conan O’Brien and announcer Andy Richter.  However, Conan soon finds that his cute string dance and self-deprecating remarks will not save him.  On the contrary, they are his hilarious demise and the stone-faced Galifianakis makes this new “interview” his best one yet.  I’m still coughing from a joke that made me literally fall out of my chair laughing.

Hit the jump and check out the latest episode. NOW.

Bradley Cooper Talks A-TEAM and His GREEN LANTERN Audition on The Tonight Show

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: August 27th, 2009 at 12:38 pm

For most of last spring, if one actor’s name was linked to the feature adaptation of “Green Lantern” more than any other it was probably Bradley Cooper.  We all now know the result of the infamous three-way battle to play the Lantern between Cooper, Justin Timberlake and Ryan Reynolds – Reynolds won.  But what we didn’t know until last night was why Bradley Cooper was at such a distinct disadvantage when it came to securing the role of Hal Jordan.  Cooper confessed to Conan O’Brien that he had a really, really bad audition.  Find out just how bad after the jump.

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