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02 Feb 2010 20:38

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Culture: Jaws Jumbo Burger has the right idea about Jay Leno’s career

  • This commercial probably cost 10¢ to make, but we bet the dividends could be huge if Leno takes some of that money he’s been storing away from “The Tonight Show” to bring this burger joint to Burbank. In fact, he should just stop doing “The Tonight Show” altogether and work there as a manager, since he likes working so much. Nobody would miss his show. source

26 Jan 2010 10:28

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Culture: Tilda Swinton to Conan O’Brien: Come act with me, doppelganger!

  • What I really would love to do is get him to do some of the things I get to do. It would be nice if he were here at Sundance maybe, wearing this coat, talking about I Am Love. And why not? Every girl should have a doppelganger.
  • Tilda Swinton • Regarding the possibility of playing Conan O’Brien in a late-night-related movie. This is freaking awesome for a lot of reasons. Swinton looks just like a female Conan and she’s an Oscar-winning actress. And on his last episode, Conan suggested – jokingly – that Swinton would be the perfect actress to play him. Let this actually happen, gods of awesome. And could Bob Hoskins play Jay Leno please? source

23 Jan 2010 09:52

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Culture: How other late-show hosts sent off Conan O’Brien last night


  • Kimmel: Clever splicing Jimmy Kimmel has really come into his own during the whole late night saga, and this clip is no exception. It splices Jay Leno’s 1989 movie “Collision Course” into a Conan revenge fantasy. Sweet!

  • Fallon: Boyz II Men Probably due to the fact that he’s kind of the new kid on the block, Jimmy Fallon has kept his head low during the whole late night debacle. As a result, this clip is sweet, but fairly safe.

  • Letterman: A sequel?!Letterman has perhaps had the most fun with the saga, but tonight he was a bit off with the approach, which parodied the infamous 1996 HBO movie “The Late Shift,” and imagined who would play Dave.

21 Jan 2010 08:38

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Culture: Team Conan, rally ’round your leader. He just struck a deal.

  • In the end, Conan was appreciative of the steps NBC made to take care of his staff and crew, and decided to supplement the severance they were getting out of his own pocket. Now he just wants to get back on the air as quickly as possible.
  • Gavin Polone • Conan O’Brien’s manager, regarding the deal NBC reportedly struck with the comedian last night. Details are kinda sketchy at the moment, but they likely include $32 million for Conan, $12 million for his staff, a non-disparagement clause, and an agreement to stay off the air or other shows until the fall. Pretty much everything that was expected from the press. source

20 Jan 2010 21:28

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Culture: Conangate: NBC is run by a bunch of unsympathetic douchebags

  • NBC execs pinned the blame for the contract dispute directly on Conan. So, let’s say you’re a late-night host treated like crap by your network. They damage your trust and you are basically forced to walk. But you want to make sure all of your employees get a severance package that doesn’t suck, because, hey, it’s the recession. Would you pose the situation like this?: “It was Conan’s decision to leave NBC that resulted in nearly 200 of his staffers being out of work.” We sure wouldn’t. In case you were wondering: NBC is run by greedy douchebags. source

20 Jan 2010 12:00

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Culture: Updated: “Tonight Show” severance: Don’t let the big number fool you

  • Updated: Big money for Conan. Others, not so much. Conan’s reportedly close to a $40 million deal to get out of his contract, but he wants more than the $12 million in severance being offered for his employees (reportedly $600,000 more). Before you think that severance is a ton of money, we just did some math:

How many employees does he have?:

  • 200the number of employees Conan has, roughly source

The way that splits up:

  • $4.5
    million
    the amount that would go to executive producer Jeff Ross
  • $7.5
    million
    the amount that would go to everybody else. Jesus.

How this breaks down for Conan’s people:

  • split Based on the number given by MTV today, that’s exactly $37,500 a piece per employee. Not too huge at all, guys.
  • seniority Our number doesn’t account for salaries of sidekicks like Andy Richter and Max Weinberg, nor seniority.
  • taxes It’s also before the 40% or whatever they take out of severance before they give it to you. It’s kind of a raw deal. source

The silver lining:

  • In the end, Conan was appreciative of the steps NBC made to take care of his staff and crew, and decided to supplement the severance they were getting out of his own pocket. Now he just wants to get back on the air as quickly as possible.
  • Gavin Polone • Conan O’Brien’s manager, regarding the deal NBC reportedly struck with the comedian last night. Conan’s not only a rich man, but apparently he’s a prince, because he’s taking care of his workers when he doesn’t have to! Good show, old red-headed chap! source

19 Jan 2010 09:50

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Culture: Jay Leno’s side of the story, told straight-up and honestly

  • Jay’s side of the story: Pretty honest, not douchebaggy, not trashing on NBC, not trashing on Conan, respectful. Why do we hate him again? Oh, it’s because he’s not funny.
 

15 Jan 2010 21:40

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Culture: Conan has an offer to leave. Will he accept it or not?

  • $30 million in golden parachute money for the redhead source

10 Jan 2010 10:06

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Culture: If Conan loses his “Tonight Show” time slot, he gets paid big bucks

  • $80 million paycheck to Conan if he gets bumped source

31 Oct 2009 12:04

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Culture: Conan + A Giant Pumpkin + A Monster Truck = Awesome

  • It’s the coolest thing ever, Charlie Brown! Last night, Conan took his amazing ability to smash pumpkins on TV, creating one of the greatest pieces of Halloween television history.