Leno to Letterman: Thanks for Super Bowl Ad Invite

Jay Leno has a message for David Letterman: Thanks.

Leno says that “whatever happened in the last 18 years disappeared” when the two comics got together to film their surprise Super Bowl ad last week.

Leno jokes Letterman found him on Facebook, he made a friend request and Leno accepted.

On his prime-time show Monday, Leno said that it was good to see his old friend. He said Letterman was very gracious, and they talked about the old days and told some jokes.

Letterman’s bitterness at losing the “Tonight” show to Leno nearly two decades ago has been obvious, and proved the perfect set-up for a joke about a spoiled Super Bowl party.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

NBC: There Was Never a Conan O’Brien

Super Bowl TV Spot Brings Leno, Letterman Together

 

Super Bowl viewers were rubbing their eyes over a TV spot pairing CBS late-night host David Letterman with longtime NBC rival Jay Leno, plus Oprah Winfrey.

Aired early Sunday in the CBS-aired game, the ad depicted Letterman and Leno glumly sharing a couch watching the Super Bowl, with Winfrey between them trying to make peace.

The spot revisits a promo from the 2007 Super Bowl with Letterman and Winfrey watching the big game.

In the new spot, Letterman grumbles, “This is the worst Super Bowl party ever.”

Leno replies that Dave’s “just saying that because I’m here.”

The spot was secretly taped last week at New York City’s Ed Sullivan Theatre, home of Letterman’s “Late Show.”

Next month, Leno returns to “The Tonight Show” as Letterman’s rival.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Are you ready for some Puppy Bowl?

If you’re snowed in on Sunday or maybe if you need a prelude to the big game, don’t forget about Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl.

In its 6th year of frolicking fuzziness, the show is getting a lot of buzz and almost as many endorsements and product tie-ins as the actual Bowl.

In addition to the game itself, featuring 20 insanely adorable shelter pups, the P.B. will have aerial coverage provided by the Twizzler’s® blimp and its “rogue hamster crew.”  Bunny rabbit cheerleaders will be on the sidelines and the halftime show is all about kitties. Petfinder.com is everywhere.

They even have vets from the American Animal Hospital Association checking out the players, pre-game, and offering on-air tips. During the game, from 3 to 5 p.m., you can Tweet your puppy questions directly to the vets: @HealthyPet.

Blaze, at above right, has to be one of my favorite players. Look at those fuzzy paws! He (or she, I guess) is a 10-week old Australian Shepherd mix. Aw!

See the rest of the lineup here.

Baltimore Sun

Letterman Show Adds a Female Staff Writer

By BILL CARTER

Ending what had been a somewhat embarrassing drought at the big late-night comedy shows, CBS’s “Late Show with David Letterman” has added a female writer to its staff.

She is Jill Goodwin, a longtime staff member on the show who was most recently the writers’ assistant for the writing team, a job that often leads to a promotion to a full-time writing position.

The writers’ rooms on several late-night shows — including Mr. Letterman’s, Jay Leno’s and the one for Conan O’Brien’s “Tonight Show” — were described as male enclaves in recent reports about the male dominance among comedy writers. At the time, all the shows noted that they had had women on writing teams in the past and were always seeking to add them.

For some time, Ms. Goodwin has been considered to be next in line for a writing job at “Late Show” as soon as there was an opening, a spokesman for the show said. She has been on the staff since 2001, having previously worked as an assistant to the executive producers.

New York Times

Stars Gather to Cover ‘We Are the World’ for Haiti

Reuters

The 1985 charity anthem “We are the World” has new life and a new sound.

More than 75 mega-stars gathered Monday to re-record the song in the same Hollywood recording studio where the original was cut 25 years ago.

Pink, Celine Dion, Natalie Cole, the Jonas Brothers, Kanye West, Tony Bennett, Jennifer Hudson, Akon and other musical luminaries stood shoulder to shoulder on risers at Henson Recording studios.

At one point during the session, the musicians broke out into an a cappella version of the pop classic “Lean on Me.”

True to her diva reputation, Barbara Streisand recorded her solo over and over, completely absorbed in the recording process and stopping only to correct her pitch.

Quincy Jones announced last week that he planned to redo the song to benefit earthquake recovery in Haiti.

The original was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

‘Avatar,’ ‘The Hurt Locker’ lead Oscar nominations

Complete list of 82nd Annual Academy Award nominations announced Tuesday:

1. Best Picture: “Avatar,” “The Blind Side,” “District 9,” “An Education,” “The Hurt Locker,” “Inglourious Basterds,” “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” “A Serious Man,” “Up,” “Up in the Air.”

2. Actor: Jeff Bridges, “Crazy Heart”; George Clooney, “Up in the Air”; Colin Firth, “A Single Man”; Morgan Freeman, “Invictus”; Jeremy Renner, “The Hurt Locker.”

3. Actress: Sandra Bullock, “The Blind Side”; Helen Mirren, “The Last Station”; Carey Mulligan, “An Education”; Gabourey Sidibe, “Precious: Based on the Novel `Push’ by Sapphire”; Meryl Streep, “Julie & Julia.”

4. Supporting Actor: Matt Damon, “Invictus”; Woody Harrelson, “The Messenger”; Christopher Plummer, “The Last Station”; Stanley Tucci, “The Lovely Bones”; Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds.”

5. Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, “Nine”; Vera Farmiga, “Up in the Air”; Maggie Gyllenhaal, “Crazy Heart”; Anna Kendrick, “Up in the Air”; Mo’Nique, “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.”

6. Directing: James Cameron, “Avatar”; Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker”; Quentin Tarantino, “Inglourious Basterds”; Lee Daniels, “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”; Jason Reitman, “Up in the Air.”

7. Foreign Language Film: “Ajami,” Israel; “El Secreto de Sus Ojos,” Argentina; “The Milk of Sorrow,” Peru; “Un Prophete,” France; “The White Ribbon,” Germany.

8. Adapted Screenplay: Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, “District 9″; Nick Hornby, “An Education”; Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche, “In the Loop”; Geoffrey Fletcher, “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”; Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, “Up in the Air.”

9. Original Screenplay: Mark Boal, “The Hurt Locker”; Quentin Tarantino, “Inglourious Basterds”; Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman, “The Messenger”; Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, “A Serious Man”; Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Tom McCarthy, “Up.”

10. Animated Feature Film: “Coraline”; “Fantastic Mr. Fox”; “The Princess and the Frog”; “The Secret of Kells”; “Up.”

11. Art Direction: “Avatar,” “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,” “Nine,” “Sherlock Holmes,” “The Young Victoria.”

12. Cinematography: “Avatar,” “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” “The Hurt Locker,” “Inglourious Basterds,” “The White Ribbon.”

13. Sound Mixing: “Avatar,” “The Hurt Locker,” “Inglourious Basterds,” “Star Trek,” “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.”

14. Sound Editing: “Avatar,” “The Hurt Locker,” “Inglourious Basterds,” “Star Trek,” “Up.”

15. Original Score: “Avatar,” James Horner; “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” Alexandre Desplat; “The Hurt Locker,” Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders; “Sherlock Holmes,” Hans Zimmer; “Up,” Michael Giacchino.

16. Original Song: “Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog,” Randy Newman; “Down in New Orleans” from “The Princess and the Frog,” Randy Newman; “Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36,” Reinhardt Wagner and Frank Thomas; “Take It All” from “Nine,” Maury Yeston; “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart,” Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett.

17. Costume: “Bright Star,” “Coco Before Chanel,” “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,” “Nine,” “The Young Victoria.”

18. Documentary Feature: “Burma VJ,” “The Cove,” “Food, Inc.” “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers,” “Which Way Home.”

19. Documentary (short subject): “China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province,” “The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner,” “The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant,” “Music by Prudence,” “Rabbit a la Berlin.”

20. Film Editing: “Avatar,” “District 9,” “The Hurt Locker,” “Inglourious Basterds,” “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.”

21. Makeup: “Il Divo,” “Star Trek,” “The Young Victoria.”

22. Animated Short Film: “French Roast,” “Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty,” “The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte),” “Logorama,” “A Matter of Loaf and Death.”

23. Live Action Short Film: “The Door,” “Instead of Abracadabra,” “Kavi,” “Miracle Fish,” “The New Tenants.”

24. Visual Effects: “Avatar,” “District 9,” “Star Trek.”

Historic Pasadena Playhouse to Close in February

The head of the Pasadena Playhouse says the landmark is deep in debt and will close on Feb. 7.

Stephen Eich told the Los Angeles Times that company leaders are trying to salvage the theater that opened in 1917. He says they are considering filing for bankruptcy.

Eich says 37 employees will be out of work. He doesn’t know how the playhouse’s 8,000 subscribers will be reimbursed.

The playhouse has given actors such as Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, Raymond Burr and David Niven a place to perfect their skills.

It has gone dark and filed for bankruptcy several times through the years.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Spike TV Looking to Get Into Late-Night

The Spike cable network is looking to get into late-night television, but Conan O’Brien need not apply.

The network geared to young men says it is developing a new late-night talk and comedy show with Thom Beers, who helps make the network’s popular “1,000 Ways to Die” series. The new late-night show hopes to scour the country for talent and highlight ordinary people who have done extraordinary things.

Sharon Levy, head of programming for Spike, says the show will focus on providing “manformation for the true guy’s guy.”

The show has no air date, host or title. It will air weekly at first.

She says she loves O’Brien, who recently left NBC’s “Tonight” show, but says Spike wants to develop its own new talent.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Gone From ‘Tonight,’ Conan Still Produces for NBC

NBC says it has a deal with Conan O’Brien to produce a possible series, only days after his rancorous exit as host of the network’s “Tonight Show.”

NBC is picking up a pilot from O’Brien’s production company, Conaco. The drama, as yet untitled, focuses on a Supreme Court justice who leaves the bench to start his own practice.

Casting has yet to be announced for the pilot, which is bucking for a series slot on NBC’s fall schedule.

Despite O’Brien’s recent split from NBC as an on-camera star, he retains a development deal with the network.

Past series produced by Conaco include the comedy “Andy Barker, P.I.,” which featured O’Brien’s longtime talk-show sidekick Andy Richter.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)