I don't know why you think Conan is whining about it. All he has said (joking aside) is that no one should feel sorry for him and that he has decided that he is just not interested in going along with the changes proposed because he feels that it's a big mistake for "The Tonight Show" franchise and if that means NBC goes on without him then so be it.>> ^MaxWilder:

If you can get some good jokes out of it, fine. But don't whine.

^ How exactly does anyone know (or care) who spent which on what? Is Leno's salary all going into a blind trust of some sort? Or did he stop collecting cars when he started the Tonight Show?

Personally, I don't have any problem with Leno getting rich and spending his money however he wants. He earned it. I don't even care if he wants his old show back. I would only call him stupid for going to ten o'clock in the first place, but all the other stuff... whatever. Nothing is ever guaranteed in television. It would be just as likely that Conan would simply get fired for not increasing ratings as expected (even if it wasn't expected). TV execs are complete dicks, and every entertainer should have about a dozen backup plans if the big score doesn't work out. Complaining about it just makes you look weak.

If you can get some good jokes out of it, fine. But don't whine.

Dupe of http://www.videosift.com/video/The-Tonight-Show-with-Conan-O-Brien-Conan-s-Options ? Can't watch them(blocked) so I can't tell, but both link to the same Hulu page.

>> ^EDD:
How Leno could go home and polish his 300 Ferraris after that without a debilitating sense of shame is beyond me.


He hasn't used any of his Tonight Show earnings on his cars. He hasn't spent it at all as I understand. It seems likely he'll use it for some charities or humanitarian causes in the future, when he's got free time to make sure it gets used correctly (ala Bill Gates). Kimmel is painting Leno as a self-indulgent maniacal millionaire and I don't think there's proof to back that up.

Jay asked for it. The first few questions were definitely geared toward putting Kimmel on the spot.

I personally have nothing against Jay Leno but if I had to make a choice, I'd go with Conan. Jay had his turn at the Tonight Show; time to give up the reigns.

>> ^BicycleRepairMan:
Does anyone have a short summary of what happened for us non-US citizens? did Leno steal back his original (tonight show) airtime from Conan?


Here's gawker for you, hope it's not region blocked. Watch the second video, it's 95% the same thing, plus, they have some of the best quotes written down.

Does anyone have a short summary of what happened for us non-US citizens? did Leno steal back his original (tonight show) airtime from Conan?

The Tonight Show traditionally has an older audience and they really don't like Conan's style. But you know what? They can go fuck themselves because it's about TIME we get some new blood in that show and Conan is 'it'. How was Jay Leno doing 7 months in? He was bombing hard in the ratings but NBC backed him up and eventually he came out on top. I think Conan O'Brien would do the same.

But I do agree he's been toning down his 'goofy' act, which was fantastic in his old show, so he's been loosing some of that old audience. NBC needs to let him do his thing, which will attract a younger (and much more broad) audience and they'll be on top once again in Late Night.

If they force him to move the Tonight Show back (which has been in that time slot for 60+ years now) he should leave the network, go over to FOX (though I 'hate' fox) or better yet, Comedy Central at midnight, and kick both Leno and Letterman's asses!

Frankly I don't think Leno is very fun, and Letterman certainly isn't funny. I don't know why they have done so good. Perhaps it's the old comedy style they use. But that older audience will slowly disappear over the next 10 or 20 years. Then what? Both channels will be up shit creek and Conan will be 'killing'.

On the one hand...

Conan is not really a good fit for the Tonight Show. He's a bit more 'out there' than the show's traditional audience. He has been toning it down so as to not to freak out TTS's audience, and as a result he's sort of losing the viewers he used to have. But at the same time the old viewers aren't entirely keen on him yet either, so it's the worst of both worlds. It isn't his fault really, but he has a tough row to hoe and maybe TTS isn't the best fit for his style.

But on the other hand...

Conan signed the contract for this years ago. He signed up for a time slot, and it isn't his fault that NBC is getting cold feet because they made a stupid move with the Jay Leno show experiment. If anything, NBC should just cancel Leno's show. Period. Moving Leno to a later slot, and then TTS to an even LATER slot is just stupid and I don't blame O'Brien for getting upset over this. It's bait & switch. Conan isn't dumb and hopefully he socks it to NBC in the contract.

That's what this will all come down to in the end... What NBC can get away with in the contract is the end game of this mess.

IN THE YEAR THREE THOUSAND:

NBC will move the "tonight" show to 12:05AM and call it the "tomorrow" show.



Conan is Out. Quits the Network.

I don't really like the idea, and I doubt that Conan would go for it. He was promised the show, not half of the show.

Then again, I'm not exactly a highly concerned or informed party; I haven't seen a full episode of The Tonight Show since I moved to Thailand about 2.5 years ago.

Some explanation:

Conan O'Brien signed a contract with NBC several years ago that he will get the Tonight Show. He got it in 2009, Jay Leno was supposed to retire. However NBC wants to bump the Tonight Show down in the time slot and as Jay Leno wants to get 30min comedy show.

Essentially Conan's show will be bumped down in the timing premiering at 12:00 instead of 11:30 after the late night news. Conan O'Brien feels snubbed so he is planning to leave NBC entirely this is the statement he released - http://thesuperficial.com/2010/01/breaking_conan_obrien_turns_do.php

>> ^davidraine:
>> ^HollywoodBob:
And if Jay wants to have a show, let him do something where he'd be genuinely interesting and let him host an American Top Gear.

Yes! Awesome. So who would be Richard Hammond and who would be James May?


Oh, there's so many American "celebrity" petrol heads, we could make a list a mile long!

To go the same route as the UK TG, we'd want to find people with a passion for cars, a minor amount of fame dealing with cars, and a career in which becoming the co-host of a TV series won't conflict.

It's too hard to pick people as stand-ins for the Top Gear boys, the three of them work so well together, that chemistry would be hard to match.

My suggestions: Jay Leno, Paul Walker (his career is mediocre) or Frankie Muniz (stopped acting several years ago to become a pro race driver), and Jalopnik's Ray Wert.

>> ^davidraine:
>> ^HollywoodBob:
And if Jay wants to have a show, let him do something where he'd be genuinely interesting and let him host an American Top Gear.

Yes! Awesome. So who would be Richard Hammond and who would be James May?


Here! Me! Take me! Here! Ding ding ding! Heeeeelloooooooo! I volunteer!

...as Hammond that is. Seriously, who would want to be May?

>> ^HollywoodBob:
And if Jay wants to have a show, let him do something where he'd be genuinely interesting and let him host an American Top Gear.


Yes! Awesome. So who would be Richard Hammond and who would be James May?