| Report for Monday, February 8, 2010 |
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The Story Behind Leno and Letterman's Super Bowl Spot Past and future late night rivals teamed up in a Super Bowl ad Sunday when Jay Leno and David Letterman appeared in a commercial for "The Late Show". In the clip, the hosts appear morose while Oprah Winfrey sits between them on a couch. Relations between Leno and Letterman have been famously frosty since 1993, when NBC gave Leno the "Tonight Show" hosting gig over Letterman, who was former host Johnny Carson's pick. You'd think the odds of a spot like this seeing the light of day were worse than Leno throwing a "bon voyage" party for Conan O'Brien, so how exactly did the promo come about? "Late Show" Executive Producer Rob Burnett says Letterman was the brains behind the operation, claiming he came up with the idea and wrote the script after CBS told them they could have had 15 seconds during the Super Bowl. Then, about two weeks ago, Letterman's camp got Oprah -- whose similar surprise ad with Letterman aired during the 2007 Super Bowl -- and Leno to go along with the commercial. Burnett said security was a big issue when the ad was shot last Tuesday at the Ed Sullivan Theatre, where "The Late Show" is taped. He said Leno flew in from California early in the morning and entered the Ed Sullivan Theatre in a hooded sweatshirt, dark glasses and fake mustache to throw people off the trail. Burnett said the whole thing took less than an hour to shoot and added, "It was quick, it was easy. The attitude was professional and cordial. Dave and Jay were fine with each other." Letterman and Leno will lock horns in the late night wars once again when Leno returns as host of the "Tonight Show on March 1. |
 | Christopher Meloni Staying Put on "Law & Order: SVU", Says Producer You don't have to go undercover to find out if Christopher Meloni is planning to leave "Law & Order: SVU". Executive producer Neal Baer tweeted last Friday the actor will remain with the NBC drama. The news comes on the heels of a report in Australia's "Courier-Mail" that claimed Meloni would depart the long-running drama. Interestingly, the "Courier-Mail" pulled the story from its website on Saturday, then re-posted it again later yesterday. In the piece, Meloni is quoted as saying he'll leave the show at the end of the 12th season, which begins production later this year. "Access Hollywood" reports Baer did shed some light on some other stars who will come aboard "SVU" for guest spots in the near future. He said Jeri Ryan, "Blind Side" star Quinton Aaron, an unidentified star of "Tyler Perry films and a star from an HBO series will all appear, although he didn't specify when we can expect to see them. |
 | Kanye West Denies Airplane Hissy; Says New CD "Won't Let You Guys Down" As usual, Kanye West has taken to his blog to refute a story about himself which is untrue. This time, he's worked himself into a lather over a story in "The New York Post" that claimed he "threw a fit" on a cross-country flight last week when he and his assistant were seated in business class instead of first. In a post in all caps -- which is how he always types -- Kanye writes, "I really feel bad that people believe this kind of stuff because it's 'on the internet.'" He goes on to explain that on that particular flight, he had a business-class seat, and was offered a seat in first class. He asked if his friend, who was sitting in coach, could be bumped up to business instead. He writes, "There was absolutely no altercation of any kind. I could really care less about where I sit on the plane. I go right to sleep anyway." Kanye went on to say, "It's hard to deal with the rumors sometimes. As a good person with a warm heart, it does bother me." Defending the fact that he took time out to address the story, he added, "Have you ever been lied about? How does it make you feel? You wanna tell everybody it's not true, right?" Kanye finished by saying, "Thank you to all my fans who still love and support me, even though it's not the trend right now. I'm sleeping in the studio. I won't let you guys down!" |
 | Lady Gaga Denies She Snubbed "We Are the World" Remake, Will Tour Arenas This Summer Despite numerous reports that she was participating, Lady Gaga was not, in fact, one of the more than 80 artists who sang on the "We Are the World" remake -- but it's not because she didn't want to. Gaga told "Access Hollywood", "I've actually been in rehearsal for my new tour... I was never supposed to do 'We Are the World.' So that's a rumor. I believe that they may have asked, yes, about it, but I was unable to do it." Of course, just because Gaga didn't sing on the song doesn't mean that she doesn't support Haitian earthquake relief. As previously reported, she donated all the proceeds from her January 24 concert to the cause, as well as that day's merchandise sales both at the show and on her website, raising over half a million dollars. She announced via Twitter that all the money will be going to Project Mediashare, which she described as, "a Haitian organization that is non-celebrity-related group, where all monies donated go directly to the streets." Gaga also told "Access Hollywood" that she may travel to Haiti this year to perform a concert. In other Gaga news, "Billboard" reports that after she finishes her tour of the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, which starts February 18, she'll tour North American arenas this summer. "Billboard" reports that the move makes sense, since Gaga is all about elaborate staging and production values and needs a bigger stage on which to play. |
 | Toronto Woman Goes Into Labor During "Oprah Winfrey Show" Taping A Toronto woman got more than she bargained for at the "Oprah Winfrey Show" in Chicago on Thursday, reports "TV Guide". Lori McCrindle, who was 27 weeks pregnant, went into premature labor when her water broke in the bathroom at the show. Winfrey stopped taping briefly and left the set to go help McCrindle as she was taken into an ambulance. Baby Justin McCrindle, who weighed in at two pounds and thirteen ounces, entered the world less than an hour later at a Chicago hospital. Winfrey said the next day on her program, quote, “After all these years, it is not too often we have a first. But yesterday was a doozy.” McCrindle was a little upset that she missed the show, but Winfrey promised that she would pay to fly her back to another taping whenever she was ready. |
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