Jay Leno to stay with NBC; New 10 PM show

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by Galaxy

Did he take a shot at Leno in his first joke?

I missed the first bit of the monologue - had on ESPN when I realized it was a bit past 11:35.

And yeah...this has actually gotten me to tune in where I probably wouldn't have before. I really haven't watched any of the late night talk shows in years.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Interesting spot for NBC. Ratings are going up for Conan but he's doing it by taking shots at NBC.

Because people love controversy. It's how Leno finally beat Letterman (Hugh Grant) and Letterman has done it constantly in the past year, though he hasn't needed it as much. Conan was never going to be that type of person to bring controversy to himself for ratings, but now since he is the victim of the controversy he is showing how relentless he can be.

Good for him.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

I missed the first bit of the monologue - had on ESPN when I realized it was a bit past 11:35.

And yeah...this has actually gotten me to tune in where I probably wouldn't have before. I really haven't watched any of the late night talk shows in years.

His first joke was Conan talking about how his dad always told him "Conan you can do anything in life, unless Jay Leno wants to do it also"

[DeToxRox]

Gervais is doing a number on NBC also.

[Galaxy]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Because people love controversy. It's how Leno finally beat Letterman (Hugh Grant) and Letterman has done it constantly in the past year, though he hasn't needed it as much. Conan was never going to be that type of person to bring controversy to himself for ratings, but now since he is the victim of the controversy he is showing how relentless he can be.

Good for him.

I remember when Conan, on his old show, threw himself in the Finnish elections. That was rather funny.

[Neon_Chaos]

Conan's coming out with guns at the ready. His entire monologue is tearing down Leno and NBC.

[DeToxRox]

Before Conan is done on the Tonight Show, Norm MacDonald needs to come back for one last go and just go crazy. I will be in heaven.

[Galaxy]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Before Conan is done on the Tonight Show, Norm MacDonald needs to come back for one last go and just go crazy. I will be in heaven.

+++++1

[Crapshoot]

Late Night Chaos: Conan Brings Obama Into Mix, Leno Lashes Out, Letterman Rips Zucker - TV - Gawker.TV

Conan kills it - "Kids, you can be anything you want to be.... "

[ISiddiqui]

I love Letterman taking about the "bungling machinations of the idiots at the NBC executive level" and calling NBC executives "pinheads, nitwits, twits, knuckledraggers, and mouthbreathers". LOL!

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Before Conan is done on the Tonight Show, Norm MacDonald needs to come back for one last go and just go crazy. I will be in heaven.

+ infinity

What's the deal with Norm? He's one of the funniest people I've ever seen and yet he doesn't seem to get much work. Does Hollywood hate him or is he just a kook?

[Butter]

So, it sounds like at this point the plan is to drag this drama out as long as possible so as to improve their ratings. Dunderheaded ignorance, or misguided brilliance?

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

+ infinity

What's the deal with Norm? He's one of the funniest people I've ever seen and yet he doesn't seem to get much work. Does Hollywood hate him or is he just a kook?

He does a lot of stand up these days. Saw him in October and it was sensational. I do think though Hollywood isn't high on him as a star for a movie because his humor isn't for everyone. Always does amazing cameo roles though. That said I still think Dirty Work is awesome.

[Fidatelo]

Norm is fantastic, as is Dirty Work. I love his appearances on Late Night shows, and even his sitcoms were pretty solid. I always can use a little more Norm in my life.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

So, it sounds like at this point the plan is to drag this drama out as long as possible so as to improve their ratings. Dunderheaded ignorance, or misguided brilliance?

Of course its only a matter of time before Conan goes off on Jeff Zucker (head of NBC's entertainment division) as Letterman so utterly and completely savaged him last night, and that may just end it.

[Eaglesfan27]

22 million divided by 210 just doesn't seem like that much money.

[larrymcg421]

Leno's "shot" was (not surprisingly) the lamest. Yeah, you only got 4 months on the show you didn't want in the first place, but you got two full years to turn things around when you first got The Tonight Show.

[timmynausea]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

+ infinity

What's the deal with Norm? He's one of the funniest people I've ever seen and yet he doesn't seem to get much work. Does Hollywood hate him or is he just a kook?

I was listening to Loveline a few years ago with Jim Breuer as the guest, and Carolla and Breuer were talking pretty openly about Norm having a drug problem.

[Galaxy]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

Leno's "shot" was (not surprisingly) the lamest. Yeah, you only got 4 months on the show you didn't want in the first place, but you got two full years to turn things around when you first got The Tonight Show.

Leno acting like the victim is getting old.

[Dr. Sak]

My apologies if this was already posted.

ZUCKER THREATENS TO ICE CONAN! Says “I’ll Keep You Off The Air For 3 1/2 Years”; Conan Reps Counter: “This Will End Up In Front Of A Judge If NBC Doesn’t Wise Up” – Deadline.com

[Galaxy]

Looks like Fox is starting to push for Conan:

Fox Woos O’Brien, but Pact Is a Hurdle - NYTimes.com

[larrymcg421]

Zucker fail. They won't pay Conan that amount for 3 years. Conan's people know that.

[JPhillips]

Doesn't a buyout and say a six month wait until starting a Fox show seem inevitable?

[SirFozzie]

TMZ reporting that Leno has signed a deal to do a one hour show with NBC. Sounds like O'Brien's being iced out.

[ISiddiqui]

Yep, seems like Conan is done, but he gets the $60mil or whatever he was supposed to for NBC breaching his contract instead of nothing if he just left if he didn't want to do a 12:05 show.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

Zucker fail. They won't pay Conan that amount for 3 years. Conan's people know that.

This is a Comcast-led NBC, I wouldn't assume that anything is beyond the realm of possibility.

Otherwise, how about just ordering the guy to get his butt to work, don't pay him when he refuses? And when he comes back & isn't funny since he's not happy, nobody will notice the difference.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

He does a lot of stand up these days. Saw him in October and it was sensational. I do think though Hollywood isn't high on him as a star for a movie because his humor isn't for everyone. Always does amazing cameo roles though. That said I still think Dirty Work is awesome.

Yeah, his stand-up act is amazing. I think he would make a great co-host for a TV or radio show. Put him in the Andy Richter seat and I'd watch that show every night.

There is one time he appeared and was ripping on Carrot Top. It is classic and I remember Conan just losing it laughing at one point.

[Ronnie Dobbs2]

More like "Box Office Poison!"

[RainMaker]

Doesn't Conan win that in court though? Isn't it real tough to force someone not to work in their own field? I was under the impression it's the reason non-competes are so difficult to enforce when the employee literally has no other options available.

[ISiddiqui]

This is a great tweet:

http://twitter.com/daveweigel/status/7761765292

"Well, at least Brett Favre is no longer who we think of when a horrible human being refuses to leave the spotlight gracefully."

LOL!

[RainMaker]

Was reading that they are looking to book some huge guests next week since it might be Conan's final week. Imagine that a lot of stars would want to appear on it. Howard Stern was talking on his show this morning that he may do it which would be some amazing television.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

TMZ reporting that Leno has signed a deal to do a one hour show with NBC. Sounds like O'Brien's being iced out.

Yep. Leno comes back after the Olympics.

[jeff061]

NBC executives are expressing confidence that the network has not breached Mr. O’Brien’s contract. The reason? The contract, NBC is arguing, guaranteed Mr. O’Brien would be installed as host of “The Tonight Show” — and unlike many other deals for late-night stars, Mr. O’Brien’s contract contains no specific language about the time period the show would occupy, NBC executives said. NBC has said Mr. O’Brien’s relocated show would be called “The Tonight Show.”

Seriously, did they just overlook that minor detail? Or would something like that actually be a sticking point?

[RedKingGold]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Doesn't Conan win that in court though? Isn't it real tough to force someone not to work in their own field? I was under the impression it's the reason non-competes are so difficult to enforce when the employee literally has no other options available.

Depends on the state that the non-compete is being enforced in. Some states are rigid with non-competes; others are not.

I would be surprised, however, if whatever clause is in that contract is an actual non-compete. More than likely, it's a liquidated repayment or "poison pill" clause.

EDIT: Or a series of clauses. Either way, it'd be interesting to see what both parties signed because this result had to be a potential foreseeable consequence when NBC decided to lock Conan up several years ago.

[DeToxRox]

Well I think the history of the Tonight Show is on Conan's side. The Tonight Show is 11:35 - 12:05, not 12:05 - 1:05 and any judge will probably recgonize the difference between the two.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by RedKingGold

Depends on the state that the non-compete is being enforced in. Some states are rigid with non-competes; others are not.

I would be surprised, however, if whatever clause is in that contract is an actual non-compete. More than likely, it's a liquidated repayment or "poison pill" clause.

EDIT: Or a series of clauses. Either way, it'd be interesting to see what both parties signed because this result had to be a potential foreseeable consequence when NBC decided to lock Conan up several years ago.

In CA, Non-competes are non-enforceable; trust me on this one. If (and a big if) that's the case, NBC is going to lose big.

[RedKingGold]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

In CA, Non-competes are non-enforceable; trust me on this one. If (and a big if) that's the case, NBC is going to lose big.

Yes, the Anderson decision. I'm quite aware of it. I used to work at a labor/employment firm where one of my more significant projects was a chart outlining noncompete and trade secret laws of all fifty states and other U.S. territories.

That's part of the reason any clause in Conan's contract might not techncally be a noncompete, but some other kind of contractual restriction.

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by jeff061

Seriously, did they just overlook that minor detail? Or would something like that actually be a sticking point?

They probably didn't foresee it, which was pretty dumb. When Letterman was moving to CBS, NBC still had matching rights on him, but Ovitz was smart enough to put in a clause in the CBS contract saying Letterman was owed a massive penalty if he did not get an 11:30 show, making it much harder for NBc to match the contract to keep Letterman at 12:30.

Still, I don't think it'll be hard to find a judge who is sympathetic to the argument that The Tonight Show has an implied guaranteed time slot, since it has occupied that slot for several decades. I certainly don't think NBC would be allowed to force Conan to go on at 3AM. Now that's an extreme example, so we'll see how this one plays out.

[Tigercat]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Well I think the history of the Tonight Show is on Conan's side. The Tonight Show is 11:35 - 12:05, not 12:05 - 1:05 and any judge will probably recgonize the difference between the two.

Yea, there is the title of the position and the parameters of the position. Since "The Tonight Show" is one of many talk shows, one of even many on NBC itself, the one aspect besides title that truly distinguishes from other talk shows is the time slot.

Why not just move a waitress in a restaurant to dishwasher, where she will still make her +tips wages only without wages. Hell, we are still calling her a waitress... I use the analogy because as a public entertainer, if you change the main parameters of the host's job, it affects other aspects of his professional career/income.

[Galaxy]

Originally Posted by Ronnie Dobbs2

More like "Box Office Poison!"

hxxp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoLm-vD89SQ

[Galaxy]

If Leno is getting an one-hour slot, wouldn't that make his show 11:30-12:30?

Would he be doing the "Jay Leno Show" then? TMZ is showing he is taking over the Tonight Show and that would breach the contract with Conan.

[Galaxy]

At least Conan can fall back on porn...

hxxp://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2010/01/14/2010-01-14_conan_obrien_still_has_a_job_but_is_already_receiving_offers_from_porn_company_a.html

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Ronnie Dobbs2

More like "Box Office Poison!"

Chairman of the Bored.

I challenge anyone to show me a better talk show appearance ever.

[Crapshoot]

Jimmy Kimmel on Leno.. .wow. Just kills. watch it.

Late Night Wars: Jay Leno Turns the Tables and Bashes Conan O'Brien, is Then Bashed Harder by Jimmy Kimmel - TV - Gawker.TV

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

Jimmy Kimmel on Leno.. .wow. Just kills. watch it.

Late Night Wars: Jay Leno Turns the Tables and Bashes Conan O'Brien, is Then Bashed Harder by Jimmy Kimmel - TV - Gawker.TV

Kimmel is awesome. Great stuff.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Logan

Chairman of the Bored.

I challenge anyone to show me a better talk show appearance ever.

I can't remember. Was that the same appearance where he told the "but if you have sex with one sheep" joke?

Norm is one of my all time favorites.

[sterlingice]

Conan does have a bit of a mean streak in him and that's starting to come out. That said, I can't say I'd be able to take the highest of roads if I were in his situation.

SI

[sterlingice]

Oh, and clearly Conan knows he's not long for this show. He just went through the possible names for his possible porno

SI

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Kimmel is awesome. Great stuff.

That clip was just awkward to watch. Kimmel just comes off as an ass.

This whole thing is just showing how petty all of them are.

SI

[molson]

If NBC wasn't so dopey and incompetent I might accuse this being part of some orchestrated plan to bring interest back to late night. I mean, people are really into it, and everyone's putting on better shows than usual.