Conan O’Brien Returns To TV On November 8, 2010

Conan O’Brien and George Lopez were among the stars of the TBS network to appear at a Turner Entertainment Network upfront event in NYC earlier today to promote their selling power to advertisers. Conan performed live on stage at the Hammerstein Ballroom as part of the pitch … and he also announced that his new late night talk show will debut on TBS on November 8. Here are a few photos from and some deets about today’s TEN event : In the end, Conan O’Brien will have been gone from the airwaves for 289 days: the time between his final “Tonight Show” episode and the launch of his TBS late-night program. O’Brien’s new show will debut Monday, November 8, according to multiple news reports. The announcement was made at the TBS upfront presentation Wednesday (May 19) at the Hammerstein Theatre in New York City. O’Brien himself was on hand for the event, cracking jokes and even breaking into song. “The plot to ‘Lost’ is more plausible than my last year at NBC,” he quipped at one point. “I really believe in cable television,” he continued. “I do not want to live in a country with less than five ESPN networks.” The floppy-haired comedian also busted into a revamped version of Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again,” changing the lyrics to croon, “I just want to be on my own show again.” Not for 173 more days, CoCo! That his new show will air on TBS, rather than Fox, came as a huge surprise to even media insiders when it was announced in April. O’Brien’s reps were deep in negotiations with Fox until the talk-show host made a stunning reversal and decided to take his talents to cable. The show will air Mondays through Thursdays at 11 p.m. ET/PT. “Lopez Tonight,” which currently airs at 11 p.m., will shift to midnight. “Conan has been the comedic voice for a generation,” Steve Koonin, president of Turner Entertainment Networks, said at the time. “TBS already has a huge audience of young comedy lovers, and Conan’s show will give these fans even more reasons to watch our network.” During Wednesday’s upfront, Conan joked to his new boss, “Steve, thanks for the blank creative check … you fool!” At last! We have a date to circle on our calendars for Conan ’s return to late night TV. Altho November 8 seems like a long time away, I know we’ll be talking about his TBS debut in no time. I have to hand it to TBS for pulling off this coup to snag Conan … I think he is going to do wonders for their network. Coupled with George Lopez , Conan is sure to make waves in the late night battle for ratings. I can’t wait to see how it all plays out. [Photo credit: Wireimage ; Source ]

Conan O’Brien Visits Google Headquarters

A couple of weeks ago, while on tour with his Legally Prohibited from being Funny on Television Tour , Conan O’Brien made a wee pit stop at Twitter headquarters to say hello and entertain the troops there. Today we learn that Coco made a similar stop at Google headquarters earlier today before his tour stop at San Jose State tonight … he even tweeted about it : I’m in San Jose and I’m going to visit Google. If you look up ‘Google’ on Google from Google, you see the face of God. Conan O’Brien is currently touring the country with his “Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour.” Today he ventures to Google for a joint Google/YouTube affair prior to his show at San Jose State later this evening. The comedian just tweeted about the visit, and tweets and TwitPics from excited Googlers are already circulating the Twitterverse as the Google (Google) auditorium fills up. In fact, given that the crowd seems to be outfitted with laptops and mobile devices galore (as evidenced in the photos below), we can expect a smattering of digital Conan memorabilia to emerge from today’s visit similar to what we saw when the comedian visited Twitter’s offices last month. It seems clear that Conan is a fan of internet technology and the folks who make it. Might we expect him to make similar visits to Yahoo! ? Apple ? Microsoft ? Adobe ? You Tube ? X-Tube ? One can only hope. Stay tuned. [ Source ]

Sarah Jessica Parker Does ‘Marie Claire’ Magazine

Sarah Jessica Parker , who is lookin’ not herself in the latest poster for Sex and the City 2 , is looking absolutely flawless on the cover and in the pages of the new issue of Marie Claire magazine . Here is our first look at her new MC coverphoto and some excerpts from the accompanying article : Unless you’ve been on a Cosmo bender for the last few months, you know that Sex and the City 2 is headed to the multiplex, and with it, every red-blooded, Louboutin-loving woman in America. The buzz began last summer with the first location shoots, when mobs of fans followed the trailers around New York City like rock groupies gunning for a seat on the bus … Now, as opening night approaches, big questions loom: What will befall the now-midlife fab four? Will the sequel bust the $415 million worldwide chick-flick record set by its predecessor? And the other multimillion-dollar question: Do Sarah Jessica Parker and Cattrall really hate each other? Parker demurs on all counts, especially the last. The film’s star and producer — who says she’s seen to “every detail, every atom” of the movie since shooting wrapped in late 2009 — compares the behind-the-scenes tension to that of any busy office. “When you’re on set, you’re working 90-hour weeks, you’re never home, you’re exhausted,” she says. “There are times when all of us have been sensitive, and sometimes feelings get hurt. But I don’t have any regrets about how I’ve treated people.” Cattrall maintains that “the chemistry among the four of us is very strong.” So why have stories of enmity and infighting followed the cast since before the first movie came out, when Cattrall reportedly made a fuss about Parker’s salary being twice her own? “Because the press has to put women in these boxes, rather than show them as the movie portrays them: working together and being powerful,” says Cattrall. “Things just have to be explosive for no other reason than for people’s imaginations.” Kristin Davis, the resident cheerleader — who with Parker organized a Thanksgiving Day dinner of couscous and turkey for members of the cast and crew in Morocco — laughs off the idea of infighting. “There was a very strange piece in one of the tabloids that said Kim and I would eat in the restaurant of our hotel and not sit together, which cracks me up,” she says, actually cracking up. “When I would get back from the set, I would go to the gym and get room service. I’m not a put-on-decent-clothes-and-go-to-the-hotel-restaurant person, but Kim is. The story was that we don’t like each other. Ridiculous!” The group has had their disagreements, admits Cynthia Nixon. “It hasn’t always been smooth sailing,” she says. “But the idea that we’re somehow adversarial is ludicrous.” This Marie Claire article actually does talk about the movie some (rather than the perceived feud between the women) and the online version can be read at MC ’s official website HERE . After the jump check out some stunning photos of the Sex and the City ladies lookin’ hawt, hawt, hawt as featured in this new mag … Thank Jebus … everyone seems to have their own face attached in these beautiful photos. Hopefully the sight of these ladies in Marie Claire magazine looking as they should look will erase the painfully scary image of their Photoshopped likenesses in that terrible SaTC2 poster. [ Source ]

Watch: Conan O’Brien On ‘60 Minutes’

On Saturday we got to watch a minute and half clip of Conan O’Brien ’s interview on 60 Minutes , which was his first televised interview allowed by law since NBC fired him from hosting The Tonight Show , and last night CBS finally aired the interview in full . I absolutely thought Conan ’s appearance on 60 minutes was the perfect way for him to get his side of the story across to the audience without laboring the issue. He was insistent that the audience be aware that he is “fine” in the wake of all of this drama with NBC and I think, at long last, this matter can — for the most part — be put to rest: And on the seventh day, Coco spoke. Yes, we’d been waiting months-that-felt-like-years to hear from Conan O’Brien about his unplanned, unpleasant exit from NBC and The Tonight Show. Legally prohibited from criticizing the network — and from giving interviews until May 1 — he was left with little choice but to amuse himself (and us) on Twitter and on the stage with his “Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour.” Tonight’s 60 Minutes interview was his first real chance to share what was on his mind. At least as much as he legally could. (Non-disparagement agreements, what lurks behind you?) So, how’d he do? He came across as likable and funny, yet didn’t rely on humor as deflection. He came across as sad, yet didn’t wallow in it. He came across as honest, but also tactful. He showed vulnerability at times — and, yes, hints of defensiveness — but did not resort to turning Jay Leno or NBC into a punching bag. He was also self-aware enough to share his predicament, but to also keep it in perspective. (After all, in the land of $32 million exit packages, is anyone truly getting screwed?) I liked and respected how O’Brien ended his last Tonight Show broadcast on a classy, gracious note — thanking the network for the times that were good and urging his fans not to give into cynicism — and I think he worked hard here to answer Steve Kroft’s to-the-point questions while seeking to uphold that philosophy … After O’Brien insisted that he wishes NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker well — Zucker has also not reached out to O’Brien — Kroft reminded O’Brien that Zucker said that the viewers had essentially rejected him as host of The Tonight Show. “Can I take back what I just said?” quipped O’Brien, who objected to the idea that his show was a money-losing failure, and that six months was enough time to judge his chances for success. But if O’Brien carried an agenda into this interview, what he (smartly) wanted to drive home was the fact that he is alive and well: “It’s crucial to me that anyone seeing this take — they take anything away from this it’s I’m fine. I’m doing great… I don’t regret anything. I do believe, and this might be my Catholic upbringing, or Irish magical thinking, but I think things happen for a reason.” Told by Kroft that the Lutherans believed that, O’Brien whipped up a nice story-capping retort: “Okay, I believe that if I experience any joy in life, I’ll go to hell.” In the end, Conan O’Brien has the right attitude about life. Sure, he got “screwed” by NBC and Jay Leno but in the grand scheme of life, he is a very lucky and very wealthy man. While it does “suck” that he got so poorly treated by his employers publicly, O’Brien does live a charmed life and honestly has no real cause for complaint about anything. I’m glad he got his chance to tell his side of the story … but he is doing just fine, he will continue to do just fine and yes I, too, believe that “things happen for a reason”. In case you missed it or just want to watch Conan O’Brien ’s interview on 60 Minutes in full, you can do so after the jump As long as Conan O’Brien stays classy (and funny, let’s not forget about that), he will continue to be just fine. I honestly believe he is a good man … and is proof positive that Nice Guys do NOT always finish last. What did y’all think of Conan ’s interview last night? Was there a sense of closure for you? [ Source , Source ]

Conan O’Brien Opens Up On ‘60 Minutes’

Conan O’Brien will appear on tomorrow night’s episode of 60 Minutes on CBS in an interview where he is finally able to talk publicly on TV about the way NBC treated him when they fired him from hosting The Tonight Show . Because of legal restrictions from NBC , O’Brien was not allowed to appear on TV at all until after May 1. CBS jumped at the chance to score the first interview with O’Brien for air on the first day legally possible. In this candid interview, Conan opens up about how his firing has affected him and he honestly expresses his feelings towards both NBC and Jay Leno (who happily took back The Tonight Show after his own TV show failed miserably). Here are a few excerpts from Conan ’s interview with 60 Minutes : In his first interview since walking away from NBC’s “Tonight Show,” a funny but pointed Conan O’Brien tells “60 Minutes” on Sunday night that he believes that he was not given a fair chance to prove that he could succeed and that money may have been the reason NBC decided to bring Jay Leno back to late-night television. The CBS correspondent Steve Kroft spent most of a day at Mr. O’Brien’s home in Los Angeles exploring the turbulent — and, for Mr. O’Brien, traumatic — events that led up to his exit in January from the network he had worked for during his entire 17-year career as a television performer. Mr. O’Brien’s wife, Liza, is also interviewed in a segment that Mr. Kroft said was likely to run several minutes beyond the usual 12-minute limit for its reports. “We just got so much from Conan,” Mr. Kroft said in a telephone interview. He added that the report, which will also include highlights from Mr. O’Brien’s current live tour, contains some “lighthearted moments,” though Mr. O’Brien speaks directly about the sting of losing a show that he had dreamed of hosting. Mr. O’Brien granted the interview under the provision that it could not be broadcast until after May 1, because in his departure agreement with NBC he was prohibited from appearing on television or any other form of media until after that date. In the interview Mr. Kroft presses Mr. O’Brien about his view of Mr. Leno’s move to return to late-night television, and Mr. O’Brien implicitly criticizes his former NBC colleague for reversing his previous position that he was giving up “The Tonight Show.” “If I had surrendered ‘The Tonight Show’ and handed it over to somebody publicly and wished them well,” Mr. O’Brien says, referring to Mr. Leno’s on-the-air hand-off to Mr. O’Brien last May, “and then, six months later …” Mr. O’Brien adds, referring to Mr. Leno’s willingness to return to the series. “But that’s me, you know,” Mr. O’Brien says. “Everyone’s got their own, you know, way of doing things.” At times Mr. O’Brien seems to hold back, acknowledging that he signed an agreement that he not disparage either Mr. Leno or network executives. When asked if he believed that Mr. Leno might have lobbied to regain the show, Mr. O’Brien says simply, “I don’t know,” but adds: “We’re all adults. We don’t take orders from the government.” More tellingly, he says of Mr. Leno’s decision to come back to the show: “He went and took that show back, and I think, in a similar situation, if roles had been reversed, I know — I know me, I wouldn’t have done that.” Later in the interview, Mr. O’Brien notes, “I sleep well at night.” When Mr. Kroft suggests that he got a raw deal, Mr. O’Brien says: “No, I didn’t. I’m fine. It just didn’t work out.” But when Mr. Kroft points out that Mr. Leno has said that they both got a raw deal through NBC’s maneuverings, Mr. O’Brien questions that and notes that Mr. Leno wound up back on “The Tonight Show” … When Mr. Kroft asks if he believes that Mr. Leno did something less than honorable, Mr. O’Brien hesitates and then says, “I can’t answer that.” That nonanswer seems to be rooted in the nondisparagement agreement, as Mr. Kroft notes. Jokingly, Mr. O’Brien says he has to be aware of that agreement and, indeed, “I have one in my wallet.” Neither Mr. Leno nor the NBC chief executive, Jeff Zucker, has called him since the upheaval, Mr. O’Brien says. Not that he is surprised, he adds, because he would not expect them to sit around and “sing old Irish fight songs — I don’t think they know any.” But he does try to counter one point NBC has made since his departure: that his “Tonight Show” was in line to lose money. Not only does he not believe that, Mr. O’Brien states, but also, “It’s really not possible.” As funny and sweet as Conan O’Brien is, it’s clear that this interview is his chance to finally open up and be honest about how the shitty treatment he got from NBC and Jay Leno really made him feel. It’s insane to me that Conan cannot legally disparage the people who treated him so unfairly, so terribly. But, then again, Conan O’Brien is a very classy man and he would prolly refrain from stooping to the level of disparagement even if he wasn’t legally constrained. This is one interview I can’t wait to see. After the jump, check out a preview video clip of Conan on 60 Minutes for a taste of what’s in store in tomorrow’s televised interview … Team Coco all the way. It’s just so crappy the way he was treated … I’m happy he is finally getting some bit of closure by opening up to 60 Minutes . He prolly has a lot more to say, and hopefully one day he’ll get the chance to be completely honest, but for now … this seems like a good thing for him. [ Source , Source ]

Conan O’Brien Visits Twitter Headquarters

Funnyman Conan O’Brien , currently on a comedy tour around the country, just tweeted the following message on his official Twitter profile : I’m sending a tweet from inside Twitter HQ. I’ll bet those hot girls in high school wish they had slept with me now. And, lo and behold, it turns out that he was — in fact — tweeting from Twitter HQ : It hasn’t even been two months since Conan O’Brien joined Twitter, but now the former Tonight Show show host is dropping in on Twitter HQ like he’s part of the family. Twitter employees are now tweeting en-masse about the funnyman’s visit to Twitter’s San Francisco offices this morning — he’s even doing a bit of stand-up. His recent embrace of social media has been working out pretty well, and likely helped him land a new late night show on TBS. We’re not surprised he’s at Twitter HQ. Conan is in town this week for his “Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour” tour. Love this!! Now, Conan hasn’t been on Twitter long … he joined the ranks of the Twitterverse shortly after he lost his gig hosting The Tonight Show on NBC . But since he’s joined, he’s already tweeted 67 times … becoming quite the connoisseur. I think it’s safe to say that Conan is as big a fan of Twitter as they seem to be of him. How cool would it be if Conan O’Brien showed up at YOUR workplace? [ Source ]

Andrés Velencoso Does ‘Vanity Fair España’ Magazine

This past Tuesday, Kylie Minogue announced the release of a new single and a new album — greatly improving the lives of her legion of fans the world over. Today, we get to see that Kylie ’s model/boyfriend Andrés Velencoso is featured on the cover and in the pages of the new issue of Vanity Fair España magazine … nekkid! It’s not enough that Kylie has to gift the world with her music but she also generously shares her boyfriend as well: KYLIE Minogue is lucky, lucky, lucky all right! The sexy Spaniard she has been seeing for 18 months has stripped off completely for a sweaty, steamy shoot with Spanish Vanity Fair that will have women – and plenty of men – in a spin. Spinning Around , in fact. After the jump, check out a few of Andrés ’s nekkid (and semi-NSFW) VF photos … Kylie Minogue is a lucky lady … she deserves a man who truly loves and respects her like Andrés does. The fact that he is scorching hot is just the icing on the cake. He’s superhot, right? [ Source via Source ]

The Beckham Bunch Loves Pinkberry

The entire Beckham family — David , Victoria , Brooklyn Joseph , Romeo James and Cruz David — made their way en mass to a Pinkberry frozen yogurt shop in Hollywood, CA today on a happy family field trip together … behold: Despite the fact that Becks is still lugging around his foot cast so that his ankle can heal, he and the kiddies have been popping up all over town together. Family outings like this are the norm for Les Beckhams and I’m certain his children appreciate the attention. Had Becks not been injured earlier this year, he surely would NOT be here in SoCal spending time with his kids. It’s still really sucky that he has to miss out on playing in the World Cup (the last one of his career) but at least his children are reaping the benefits of his untimely injury. I’m guessing they aren’t too upset that their daddy gets to spend more time at home with them. [Photo credit: X17 ]

‘The Twilight Saga: Eclipse’ Releases A Final Movie Trailer

The second and final trailer for the upcoming sequel film The Twilight Saga: Eclipse had its world-wide debut on The Oprah Winfrey Show earlier today … here are a few screencaps from this, much-anticipated, new movie trailer: For the 2 people out there who have not yet read the book, this trailer does a really good job of explaining what the crux of the story is in this third installment of The Twilight Saga (and is much more exciting, IMHO, than the first trailer we saw back in March ). After the jump, check out this minute and a half new trailer in full … Not bad. There is enough action featured in this new trailer to satisfy even the most casual Twilight fan … the hardcore Twihards , on the other hand, are probably bouncing off the walls with excitement. What do y’all think of this trailer … is it enough to sate your thirsts until June 30? [ Source ]

Hole-ly Disappointed

Last night my friend Josh and I made our way to the Henry Fonda Theater in Hollywood, CA to attend the first Hole concert performed here in the US. With a new album on the way and a few tiny European shows under her belt, Courtney Love ’s new incarnation of Hole was the main event here in SoCal last night: While I must admit that last night’s concert wasn’t the worst I’d ever seen, it was also far (very far) from the best. The entire Hole performance took place in under an hour — which upset pretty much everyone in attendance. After the jump, check out some of the photos I snapped last night and hear what I thought of Hole ’s first US concert in years … As I mentioned above … the show wasn’t terrible … it was more lackluster and meh . Courtney Love sounded pretty strong for the first couple of songs but then she started to sound winded … leaving out every 5th word so the crowd could sing while she caught her breath. Honestly, I wasn’t surprised or upset at all … she has been away from the concert stage for some time now. I figured she was just trying to catch her wind so that she could turn up the energy. Yeah, that never happened. At about the 45 minute mark, Courtney told the crowd “fuck you very much” in a playful way, the curtain came down and the show was over. A band that has 4 albums of material could easily play a 2 hour show … this one was not even half that. Many folks were upset, as was I, but — again — I wasn’t really expecting all that much. Hole plays another show tonight and if she is smart, C. Love will make sure to play a longer set. The folks who shelled out $45 bucks last night for a 45 minute show may have gotten screwed but if she pulls that same mess 2 nights in a row, she’s likely to start a riot. Tonight, Darion and I have a date with Jennifer Lopez . Don’t judge me

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