kib

There was been some odd image composition this evening. It really shows up on the "home base" shot (dead center of the stage). I think what is going on is that camera is one of those specialty cams with no operator that pops out of the edge of the stage and is using a lens that can go very wide or very tight. The 'two-shot' of the presenters is just on the very edge of how wide a shot it can get, almost to the point that any distance change between the lens and the talent is critical. Too close and you'll get a weird distortion when noses get very long and the background looks exaggerated like it is further away from the talent than reality. Also the long shots are really closer than they should be. When you don't have a human that can tremor behind the gear of course you get in close, but should you?

If Harry Styles and his dancers looked a little rattled at the beginning of the "As it Was" turntable production it's because they were. He and the dancers had been practicing for weeks on the number even up to showtime. They all took the stage and presumably one of IATSE's finest threw the switch to start the turntable rotating unfortunately in the wrong direction than rehearsed resulting in the all performers being forced to doing the number backwards/reversed immediately and without practice. It was all on the fly. That Harry and the cast were able to do the steps in the opposite direction having never ever done so really speaks to how talented and professional these folks are. Just mind boggling.

The awards folks didn't need to give participants alcohol, didn't you see Lizzo take that wee glass flask out of her purse and have a nip?

Very thoughtful and artistic approach Mick Fleetwood took with his percussion, performing it almost like a funeral dirge. Might be one of the few in memoriam segments I've ever watched that actually felt right.

Great to see Shaffer and the band gather for a gig even if it was for Fallon. Nobody does 'walk-on" music like they do (which is to say they are the only band that plays more than a bar of some song. Most of them just keep repeating the same riff over and over until told to stop by somebody in the broadcast booth) Only disappointment was Paul going off on one of his music insider stories. Only person I've determined that keeps him from prattling on was Letterman who ran a tight ship in that regard. Also, would it have killed anyone to introduce members of the band? Oh yeah, Paul wasted that time doing the lounge act. Great to see everyone there albeit a missing Sid McGinnis. IIRC near the end of the Late Show gig there was a little friction between him and someone with the show. I vaguely remember thinking he was let go, but he tours with a lot of acts so he might have just been on the road. They even got to play the NBC "Late Night with..." theme at the end of the show. Anton's solos in that piece are just the best.

You're probably right but not many are going to sting as badly or land so well as Eddie Murphy's drop.

A couple of thoughts: Garth Brooks really brought it on doing "Midnight Train...) I didn't know he had it in him. RE: Amy Grant's bona fides. If you ever get chance (let alone find the cut) she participated in a Carole King tribute album performing "It's Too Late". It might be the best cover I've ever listened to. It was flawless.

Wild ass guess... Batiste, his legal representation or his production company own the rights to the name "Stay Human". Because he's no longer working for CBS or Colbert's production company, he took the name with him. Batiste Inc. may have decided the name is more valuable for him than CBS et.al. if there were any discussions about selling or licensing the name. I vaguely remember something like this happening when Letterman & Shaffer jumped to CBS and NBC was getting pissy about what he could or he couldn't bring to the new show. What do we now name it? Late Show Band/CBS Orchestra/World's Most Dangerous Band? Probably more about IP rights than anything else.

I wonder if some of that comes from the departure of EP, Showrunner and all around wunderkind Chris Licht. IIRC Licht's contract with CBS ended in April so I suspect he's not even in the building anymore. Licht, BTW left "The Late Show" to take the position of president of CNN going back to his roots of being something of a news guy.

Not to dunk too hard on her but Martha Stewart is looking and sounding all of her age of 80. It may be time for her to stay put at her bucolic farm and call it a day. If I were one of the many businesses that pony up a fair amount of cash to be affiliated with her I'd more than a little concerned, but who knows, maybe she and her brand will just live on into perpetuity like Gianni Versace, Walt Disney or Jimmy Dean (of sausage fame).

Sadly Colbert treated Esper with a light touch. No squirming. Apatow, on the other hand, gave him both barrels much to the audience's approval. Really disappointed in Colbert. I don't think it's the host's job to be antagonist with a guest, but he treated Esper with kid gloves. I think it needlessly makes Colbert appear as something of a softball interviewer, and to what end? It's not like Esper was some exclusive "get" and it makes Colbert look like all hat no cattle in terms of talking a good game in the monologue then going all teddy bear at the desk.

It will be interesting to see who CBS can scrape up to host the LLS. My opinion is they hit the bottom of the barrel with Corden, particularly after the one and only Craigie Fergie skedaddled out of there. I suspect it will be someone not particularly well known (gotta keep those talent fees low) and more like Jimmy Fallon (a man-puppy hybrid who hosts a children's birthday party at 11:35p) than Seth Meyers, who has the late night smart and sassy well covered. In any event, the only thing I'll miss about the program is Reggie Watts.

"It's nice being remembered" - Bruce Vilanch

A lot of it goes to studio ownership. Huge corporations aren't really known to have much of a sense of humor. In Letterman's case the "GE Handshake" told you everything you need to know about his future at NBC. Excellent post, helps explain a lot of things.

Letterman just made a comment that even though he blames himself for the terrible performance and show when he hosted the Oscars, "at least NOBODY GOT HIT."

Too bad he couldn't have done it while 15 million people were watching on ABC and several millions of others in international markets. I just learned Rock and JPS have something of history. From an AP report: Rock has also previously joked about her. Rock hosted the 2016 Oscars, when some were boycotting the ceremony over the #OscarsSoWhite group of nominees, including the Smiths. Said Rock: “Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited.” The burn that keeps on giving...

Ali was made more than 20 years ago so it's not like Smith is in anything close to ring shape, but I suspect there's still some muscle memory from training that would kick in.

As far as broaching the idea that Smith's award should be withheld and previous winners who have a checkered past should relinquish their awards, it might be useful to examine the Baseball Hall of Fame. There are literally dozens of perfectly horrible and disgusting humans whose plaques are on the wall celebrating their performance on the field. (A notable exception being Pete Rose whose gambling issues now seem a little tame now that every sports league has a business partnership deal with online wagering) Point being, like the Hall of Fame, the Oscars are presented for achievement and performance on the screen. In both cases you're asking for a well considered policy, separating the art from the artist for example, from folks in their respective businesses that aren't particularly known to be deep thinkers. If you don't like their moral stance I would suggest taking the pragmatic approach to showing your displeasure. If you don't approve of the policies of the Baseball Hall of Fame, don't visit. If you don't approve of the policies of the academy, don't watch the show or visit their new museum. Might not seem much but the only way they'll change is when it starts to hit them in the wallet.

There might be some folks that are still butt hurt over something Rock may have said when he hosted the event in 2005 and 2016. The town is big on grudges.

You need to catch it on an international feed. ABC was throwing every "bail-out" switch, button or dead chicken over a broadcast console to mitigate the damage. I will say, the guy that directed the show (Glenn Weiss, he of taking the directing job for the Democratic convention during Covid and did so at his LA home wearing shorts, a t-shirt and no shoes with the assistance of having about a zillion dollars of remote truck gear set up in his backyard) didn't miss a shot. The international feeds confirm that. It went wonky for US viewers because ABC made it go wonky.

Has Gaga been deemed the official attendant of our senior citizen performers? Bennett, now Minnelli. Apparently there's a message if Gaga shows up to help you get through the show, it might be time to get a checkup.

Unless I'm mistaken, that video of the Japanese feed came to us by Timothy Burke. Who is Burke? He's the guy that has an amazing video capture setup that apparently allows him to grab any television feed, anytime and anywhere on the planet. First became aware of him when he was working for Deadspin. He does his job exceedly well. I have to believe the way it played out on the Japanese clip is how it went down. No acting involved. I really wasn't paying all that much to the comment that set him off.

...and Al Roker, havin' some fun like the old days before he became a serious weatherman.

If we want to go down the rabbit hole even further, I noticed there was a commercial in the broadcast for the new film "Licorice Pizza". The film was directed by Ernie's son, Paul Thomas Anderson.

Nice Easter Egg ABC tossed in with a couple of the 3:4 aspect ratio promo's voiced by none other than the late, great voice of the American Broadcasting Company, Mr. Ernie Anderson. They were for Kimmel's show, which Anderson would have still been alive to do the actual voiceover.