I’ve been jeering on daytime and late-night talk shows a lot in these posts, when compared to the longer entertainment-industry Q&A interview series (like Mara Webster’s In Creative Company and Jenelle Riley’s SAG-AFTRA Conversations). But I do like the daytime and late-night format!
Whether it’s watching a television actor cook their favorite dish, a pop star singing competition the host, or still remembering when Oprah gave away cars to each of her audience members, they are indeed very amusing!
(Before you read any further, it should be mentioned that I haven’t had a television of my own for a long time. Instead, the daytime shows would usually play in my former office’s breakroom, so all of the below examples are from memory and YouTube clips (referenced but not linked). All rights reserved on my interpretations.)
The vast majority of today’s popular talk shows are on the broadcast networks. So everything must be compliant with the current Federal Communications Commission (aka the FCC) regulations. Per the government website, television channels for ABC, NBC, CBS, and (what shall not be further mentioned) FOX all distribute their content via television broadcast systems on interstate and international technologies of communication. It is against federal law to air obscene and indecent programming at any time. Not to get into the specifics of what is considered obscene and indecent, or how such has changed over time and the court cases that developed those definitions, I’ll just say that there is a differentiation between what children, teenagers, and adults are suggested/supposed to watch. To simplify, daytime is more family-friendly while late-night is more edgy – with the latter still never intending to go against the FCC rules and regulations. If there’s a violation, the FCC can issue a monetary penalty, and/or revoke a license.
Cable channels and The Internet however are not under the FCC’s jurisdiction so a lot of the more provocative and adult related content available can exhibit without worrying about FCC violations; this even includes broadcast programs’ non-broadcast aired content. (Whether content violates the Constitution is another story/study.)
A quick piece of media communication history is that before television there was radio. Radio became an increasingly popular technology in the 1920s and 1930s not just for the population’s entertainment but mainly for the advertising of products via commercials. For example, “Soap Operas” are called such because these were dramatic stories that paused for branded soap commercials that (female homemaker) listeners would keep in mind when grocery shopping.
Celebrity interviewing on radio and then later on television programs became an extension of the broadcast networks’ own advertising goals. Network companies that own the radio and television stations are hiring performers to be in their programs. So how do you best promote a show to an audience? Getting your in-house hired actors from those shows to go on your talk programs. This practice is done today on hyper-drive due to the mega-media conglomerates. (Warner Bros. HBO, and AT&T are now all under the same roof.)
For example, an upcoming and/or popular television series’
cast of actors on NBC will be guests on NBC talk show programs. Or the stars of
an upcoming movie backed by a studio will appear on that studio’s talk show
programs. There can be hundreds of performers appearing on the dozens of
programs under one media company’s umbrella. And because some movies or shows
are co-produced by one or more major studios, there is opportunity for
cross-network sharing.
I remember taking Understanding Mass Media as a summer course at Nassau Community College, and this kind of stuff blew my mind! I was so stunned and so thrilled to learn how it’s all connected!
The current talk show programs with celebrity interviews on network television is like a landscape of neighborhoods. You’ve got The Talk, The Drew Barrymore Show, Rachael Ray, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and The Late Late Show with James Corden on CBS. There’s The View, Live with Kelly & Ryan, Tamron Hall, and Jimmy Kimmel Live! on ABC. NBC has The Ellen DeGeneres Show (but only for another season), The Kelly Clarkson Show, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and Late Night with Seth Meyers. Additional options include: The Real on WB, The Wendy Williams Show is syndicated on various national stations, Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen airs on Bravo, Conan is on TBS (update: ending June 25, 2021), and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah is on Comedy Central.
(And, you’ve been living under a rock if you weren’t aware that ABC’s Good Morning America and NBC’s The Today Show are in a constant battle for top morning program ratings.)
So, what do the (majority of) above show hosts have in common? They’re professional performers if not professional journalists.
The Talk was developed by actress Sara Gilbert (from Roseanne and
The Conners.) Co-hosts include(d): Sharon Osbourne, Holly Robinson
Peete, Leah Remini, Aisha Tyler, Sheryl Underwood, Eve, Carrie Ann Inaba, Marie
Osmond, Amanda Kloots, and Elaine Welteroth.
The View was created by ‘the’ Barbara Walters. Of the 22 co-hosts, the following have been the most prominent: Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Whoopie Goldberg, Sherri Shepherd, and Meghan McCain. Other notable names for a season or two were: Jenny McCarthy, Rosie Perez, and Raven-Symone.
Drew Barrymore, Stephen Colbert, James Corden, Kelly Ripa, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Trevor Noah, and Seth Meyers are all actors and/or comedians. Kelly Clarkson is a singer. Ryan Seacrest, Andy Cohen, Wendy Williams, and Conan O’Brien, and Rachael Ray are professional media personalities.
All of them can naturally take center stage and get an audience’s attention (with a little help from their production crews of course, and in-house band)! For entertainment’s sake, who is better to interview a celebrity guest than a celebrity host? Maybe there’s not instant chemistry but there’s an instant understanding between professional peers.
When shows compete for audiences in the same timeslots, they need to differentiate themselves.
In November 2020, Carrie Wittmer published an article for The Ringer that hilariously compares daytime talk shows hosts on a four-point grid system of Wholesome, Desperate, Conventional, and Chaotic. By taking into consideration current June 2021 airing programs, here’s some quotes:
Live with Kelly and Ryan: “Ripa has been doing daytime television for so long that it’s a part of her muscle memory now – for her, interviewing celebrities about their children from a high-top chair is what turning on the blinker (when driving) is to other people.”
The View: “Most things that people say in the group chat should stay in the group chat. (This) is basically if a group chat was a television show…Whoopie Goldberg deserves better.”
The Talk: “(The show) is essentially the same concept as The View, except it’s watchable…Everyone respects each other.” (There has since been an incident with Sharon Osborne.)
Drew Barrymore: “(She) is obsessed with everyone and everything. Every single person who appears (on the show) is the greatest person who has ever lived.” And she, “keeps an American Girl doll under her desk and interviews it several times a week.”
Kelly Clarkson: “(The show) has allowed Kelly to fully be herself: a person who loves talking to anyone about anything.”
Rachael Ray: “You might learn something about cooking from (Rachel), but you probably won’t learn anything new about her guests. Ray has a relaxed, casual vibe to her food-centric show, which means interviews are relatively safe, no matter who the guest is.”
Wendy Williams: “(The show) is not wholesome in spirit, but (her) fervent passion for celebrity gossip is wholesome.” And, “(her) talking off the cuff about whatever the hell she wants to talk about…”.
Ellen: “It’s possible that Ellen DeGeneres was passionate about hosting a daytime talk show when the series first started in 2003…But through the years, Ellen has grown more bitter and desperate for celebrity friends and invites to their parties.” Carrie collects a lot of Ellen’s mishaps with Dakota Johnson, Lindsay Lohan, Hasan Minhaj (pronounced Huh-saan Muh-naazh), and Priyanka Chopra.
Some of my thoughts:
Kelly Clarkson’s show hands down crushes Drew Barrymore’s.
For comparing late night hosts, Jason Wiese published an article for CinemaBlend in June 2019:
Seth Meyers: “As the head writer for Saturday Night Live during some of its strongest years…He would later combat the struggle to transition from satirical news reading on SNL to juggling traditional hosting duties on Late Night.” (But eventually he got the hang of it and is now one to watch for an easy-going fun conversation without the other hosts' antics. Substance.)
Jimmy Fallon: “As for someone whose made the transition from Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update” (also) host to late night host more gracefully, Jimmy Fallon has been on fire for a while now…Instead of just being “with” the show, Fallon makes himself its bonafide star, participating in live bits with celebrity guests…”. And, “his interviewing skills still lack one important ingredient: authenticity.”
James Corden: “…in the era of the YouTube generation, James Corden has thrived with flying colors…James Corden is best known as a viral sensation. His most famous bit, “Carpool Karaoke”…is a consistent hit on YouTube…”. And, “his very collaborative approach to interviewing guests, by speaking to all of them together in one sitting in lieu of just one at a time.”
Jimmy Kimmel: “He is the kind of host you would love to be a guest for, even just grab a beer with.”
Trevor Noah: “The South African native has become one of the most refreshingly poignant voices in comedy since he took over… His aim is to provide an informative deconstruction of society from a two-dimensional perspective that keeps the laughter flowing and attempts to keep home alive.”
Stephen Colbert: “(He) is best when he is just being himself, having a blast talking with Hollywood’s greatest stars…”. (He's also more of the straight-forward kind, but once in a while he'll do something creative and outside his comfort zone.)
Conan: “(He) has rebranded his show and himself by shortening Conan to a half hour, getting rid of the desk separating him from his guests…a fearless comedy warrior whose constant need to reinvent himself keeps him fresh, exciting, and one of the hardest working entertainers in the business.”
Some of my thoughts:
Jimmy Fallon is the ‘King of Bits’ and has enough energy to power all of Rockefeller Plaza! His show has dozens of sketches, games, hashtag topic discussions, and singing competitions. For his “At Home” episodes of the series, he included a new segment called, “Ask The Fallons”. He is a showman to the highest level. He loves the crowds and celebrity guests with every fiber of his being! You will be entertained by whatever he has the guest do. But instead of just letting guests come to shine, he’s purposefully showing off his skills in comparison to theirs. With all of that hyperpower, it might not be the right show to watch right before going to sleep. Watching clips during your lunch break is a better time.
Imagine the late-night hosts at the local park. If Jimmy Fallon is on the monkey-bars saying, "Look what I can do!" then James Corden is in the sand-box saying, "Let's play together!" All the while Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers are being moms on the benches nearby, Jimmy Kimmel is the dad chillin' on his day off, and Trevor has just been promoted to director of the city's Recreation Department.
Trevor Noah is my favorite! He and his team of writers are intellectuals who puts the news into a comedic perspective and asks his guests the best questions. He brings people on to interview who actually have something to say and can have a real conversation with him. Not only did he take the helm from Jon Stewart with ease, but he gave it some fresh air! And if Trevor is the cake, his correspondents are the icing! (He is going on hiatus for the summer and totally deserves to wear a tee-shirt.)
As we’ve seen how celebrity guests may answer differently or similarly depending upon the moderator, let’s apply that here to daytime and late-night talk shows.
Because of the whole Dakota Johnson-Ellen fiasco (and because she’s a child of Hollywood who knows the drill) let’s start with Dakota. Because I want to compare how Michael B. Jordan spoke at length to Jenelle Riley about working on Ryan Coogler projects, what does he say to everyone else? And for an example of group-cast interviews that spans nearly a decade, how can we not examine The Avengers? (Avengers cast interviews didn't go back as far as I'd wanted to.) The following descriptions are ordered by daytime shows first and then late-night shows, each chronologically.
Dakota Johnson:
On Kelly (and Michael before Ryan) – February 2016 – Their conversation was like a speeding topics train. They discussed Dakota’s style of heels, her recent move to NYC, that she is close family friends with Kate Hudson and Goldie Hawn from growing up in Aspen, her choice to become an actress, and that she’ll be shooting the 50 Shades sequels starting in two weeks. Then they finally chatted about the movie she came to promote: How To Be Single. Dakota takes a moment to describe her character Alice, mentions co-star Rebel Wilson, and there are sexual phrases that can’t be said on television. Kelly started off their conversation but Michael took the reins later on. (Interestingly enough Michael would scandalously leave the show just a few months later.)
On Ellen – Dakota made three separate appearances. Whether their slight animosity was just for show or actually unfortunately real, all I can see here is a downhill mess of interview segments. They are the definition of frenemies trying to stay civil on national television.
September 2015 – Dakota was there to promote Black Mass co-starring Johnny Depp but Ellen keeps bringing up 50 Shades of Grey, and the sequels. Ellen even gives her ellen branded sex toy props. (That’s a highly questionable level of comfort.)
October 2018 – Dakota comes on stage wearing a muscle-sleeve styled black blouse showing off an arm rose tattoo and a white skirt that Ellen makes clear to everyone is too short, and wants to help cover up her thighs with a linen napkin. (Really?! She’s wearing black pantyhose.) Their conversation starts off about the latest rumor-mill of whether or not Dakota is pregnant (by boyfriend Chris Martin) because at her birthday party the balloons happened to be blue and pink which are also color code for a gender reveal party. Ellen took offense that she wasn’t invited, but Dakota’s defense was that someone else planned it and sent the invites. Then they talk about the movies Dakota came to promote; Suspira and Bad Times At the El Royale (co-starring Chris Hemsworth’s washboard abs).
November 2019 – So after that last appearance’s party-downer conversation, her recent 30th birthday party became the day’s issue. Again, Ellen was upset she wasn’t invited but Dakota was ready to say that she had been invited yet didn’t show up. And then it’s shots fired! Dakota says Tig Notaro is her favorite comedian so Ellen says that Jennifer Aniston is her favorite actress, and that’s Dakota’s favorite actress too. Elle says that Dakota left her party before Tig’s performance but Dakota says Tig performed the same/similar set at her party to make up for it. Then Dakota is finally able to mention her latest movie, The Peanut Butter Falcon. Instead of talking about the story or experience making it, Ellen comments on how Shia LeBoeuf was arrested during filming it, and that experience inspired him to write Honey Boy. Then cut-to Shia’s recent appearance on the show saying he just lied about Dakota being his best on-screen kiss. (Insert me with facepalm emoji.)
On Drew Barrymore – January 2021 – The clips available don’t make it certain of how Dakota was introduced on the show. Instead, the ‘first’ clip had Drew recalling how when they’d go to same salon, Drew would use Dakota’s natural blonde hair as swatch examples for her own blonde hair color dye jobs. She then asks Dakota if it’s their shared bohemian growing up that helped make them both so “adaptable”? In the next few sentences, not only does Dakota confirm she has her high school diploma but during quarantine she took psychology courses for fun. Talking about her new movie, Our Friend, Drew describes the character but Dakota talks about filming in the same town as where the real people lived. On Zoom, Dakota played “Showrades” with a lucky audience fan, resulting in $20K prize money! Then Drew rolls off some quick "Fun Facts" to confirm with Dakota what her team's quote-on-quote researched (which could have been the team watching Dakota's other daytime and late-night interviews (as I have for this post) – Walter Benjamin would be proud).
On Stephen Colbert – May 2016 – Apparently, they met the night before at the Met Gala, (he holds up a picture of her on the red carpet) and they agreed to drink shots of tequila – so he served up two glasses. They had three shots each within 10 minutes. However, he thinks they met at 1:30am but she rejects the notion because she doesn’t stay out that late. They also talk about the Gala’s grand flowers décor being real given the technological/mechanical theme. Then they talk about her new movie A Bigger Splash with pictures of the cast, to which she blushes at a co-star’s handsomeness, then laughs at Stephen’s joke leading to her snort, and the audience erupts with laughter. She’s also describing the Italian island they filmed on, and what Tilda Swinton is really like (lovely, and not an alien). She then regrets the tequila because she has a 5:30am pick-up to start filming the 50 Shades sequels – in Vancouver!
On Seth Meyers – February 2018 – Dakota talks about 50 Shades Freed’s stunt driving, and Seth asks her if she’s a good driver. Their conversation leads to him having to joke that a race car driver says it was either that profession or florist – to which she retorts with, “You don’t know them.” And he apologized to the racing community. They discuss her grandfather’s pick-up truck she was bequeathed, and how she uses it for hauling things across town. Then they go back to talking about the 50 Shades movies, having to shoot the sex scenes at the same time, and calling out the audience for their strange reaction to what she just said - but I'd guess it was a prompter requesting laughs. They shot the movies in Sara McLaughlin’s home where she gave the crew a mini-concert that made Dakota laugh-cry for it being just an uncomfortable moment. As Seth tries to change subjects about her growing up in Aspen, she interrupts to clarify that she’s wasn’t laughing at Sara. (Did they get to his question about her growing up in Aspen? And did the question include talking about being friends with Kate Hudson (per her appearance on Kelly Ripa's show)?)
On Jimmy Kimmel – October 2018 – Aside from Drew, it seems she’s closest to Jimmy, literally because they are actual neighbors. They “share bushes” and talk about “what happened Saturday night” at an event they and some of their other neighbors were at. Chatting at the bar, Dakota flat-out asked them if they (tried to have) towed her (grandfather’s) truck, and their reaction was very clearly yes. She tells him the same story she told Seth about how she got the truck. Instead, the focus was on their neighbors’ relationships and what happened. She then can finally talk about her movie, Bad Times at the El Royal, to which she joked it showcased all the “different ways I can say, 'what do you want?” She can’t give too much detail about the plot so the topic changes to discus her birthday party that had piñatas. (This is the first party Ellen was so upset she didn’t get an invite to.)
On Jimmy Fallon – August 2019 – Dakota was quite flabbergasted that people were upset the gap between her teeth closed. She had to explain that due to neck pain, her orthodontist suggested not using her retainer anymore. But Jimmy either lost concentration or didn’t understand how neck pain and teeth movement could be connected, so Dakota needed to explain. Then Jimmy says a few of his teeth are veneers, not real. And they proceed to test the sounds that teeth make. Furthermore, Dakota is feeling grief for her gap-loss so she asks the people for “privacy during this difficult time”. Somehow the topic turns to Jimmy confirming if Dakota used to call restaurants pretending George Clooney would be needing a reservation – and that when she actually did meet George, he knew the whole time and didn’t mind. Then they talked about her movie The Peanut Butter Falcon, to which Jimmy asks about her working with the gossip surrounding Shia.
On James Corden – January 2021 – He compliments her extravagantly designed dress on stage, what she saw of President Biden’s inauguration earlier in the day, and then when asking what music she grew up listening to, they joked about her meeting the Spice Girls at a concert backstage. She talks about her tattoos and belly-button piercing. She then describes her working on and the story of Our Friend. (This is probably the most normal conversation out of all these examples.)
Some of my thoughts:
Hosts greatly underestimate Dakota’s intelligence. Looking at her imdb.com page, you can see she has a versatile career with character range. Yet all they seem to discuss is her role in the 50 Shades trilogy despite being on their show to promote her other (way better) movies! Furthermore, how rude to purposefully ask and treat her embarrassingly. Like, focusing on Shia’s mishaps instead of The Peanut Butter Falcon’s attributes. But thankfully she’s handling them with witty responses and walks away in stride!
Michael B. Jordan
On Ellen – December 2017 (playing Christmas holiday music, but uploaded February 2018) – While his Instagram pictures are projected behind them, she compliments his good looks and how fit he is, his exercise regimen for playing Adonis in Creed and then Killmonger for Black Panther. While he was training, he didn’t have much of a social life, because drinking gallons of water causes frequent trips to the bathroom. She suggests he take a role that doesn’t require any such training. Then she shows him standing with other celebrity performers on the cover of Vanity Fair, photographed by Annie Leibovitz; albeit with Ellen having photoshopped herself at the bottom. He’s been living with his parents for the time being. And then they finally talk about his role in Black Panther, for which he says there’s a method to the madness and then Ellen brings out his action figure. Ellen had a game planned with the audience that if Michael says the ‘secret word’ the audience gets a prize. She leads him down that road, he says “hamster” and the audience erupts for getting their prize.
On The View – February 2018 – Whoopie got to ask Michael the first question but Joy tries to ‘get in there’. They ask him about reading the Black Panther comics and working with Ryan Coogler since Fruitvale Station. He jokes that it was a $900K picture with duct tape and one camera. Meghan talks about his time on The Wire. When he talks about playing Killmonger he pauses, and says it was “liberating in a way…fun to express a frustration a lot of people may feel…it’ll make sense when you see the movie.” (This is similar but still not as deeply described as with Jenelle Riley.) Again he uses the phrase “method to his madness” and required a different way of preparing to playing the villain. They talk about how audiences in South Korea were loving the film, giving hope of how a film makes different people relate to the same thing; “it’s making people proud of where they come from…”. Then they discuss his time promoting the film in South Korea, taking part in nightlife and karaoke, showing a clip from his Instagram. The ladies compliment how good his body looks and what it was like to deal with the prosthetic scars – which Michael says there was a sauna built for their removal. They then apologize for objectifying him and Whoopie introduces the Funko line of his character.
On Seth Meyers – August 2015 – Seth mentions his work on Friday Night Lights and The Wire, asking what shows fans approach him about. He usually gets a “where’s Wallace” or what Vance's football career may have led. The topic changes to how he was told his character would be killed off on The Wire, especially because he was a young actor at the time. He says no one was safe, they were “dropping like flies”, but figured his time came when the character started taking drugs. The showrunner(s) tried to assure him his career would keep moving forward though. They start talking about his new movie and role in The Fantastic Four and what his first time at Comic Con was like.
On Stephen Colbert – May 2018 – They had both attended the Met Gala the previous night, and were talking about the table Michael sat at with: including Jonah Hill, Chadwick Boseman, and Tiffany Haddish. The Black Panther movie had already been out for a few months, and he asks if he’d been a comic book fan beforehand as well as how he got involved. Ryan Coogler called him up to play the villain, and said, “Cool, let’s do it”. He said in prep, he kept a journal of his character’s backstory for a better ‘memory’ to turn to – “dark and sad”. They talk about his role in the Fahrenheit 451 adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s book and how the author did appreciate technology and smart cinema but didn’t like images that were dumb and numbing. Another quickly discussed topic was Michael’s street racing high school days.
On Jimmy Kimmel – November 2018 – Jimmy was not happy that a scene they filmed with Michael in-character as Adonis for Creed 2 had been cut. They had a lot of material so some things needed to get cut. But Jimmy would be okay as a DVD extra. They discuss his recent GQ magazine cover standing with a real wolf; and Michael’s personal videographer capturing his life for personal memory with everything going so fast he wants something to look back on. They discussed upcoming plans for Thanksgiving, his family’s catering business, and how to do a fight stunt without hurting someone (like when Michelle Yeoh showed Jenelle Riley how to pull a punch), but for effect, Jimmy needed to spit out some water.
On James Corden – November 2018 – Next to Michael, and thus James’ other guest for the evening, was Linda Cardellini. (She didn’t say much but seemed to enjoy watching their conversation.) They discuss how Adonis’ character has grown, the relationships he’s been building, and getting in shape for the movie. To test how fast Michael’s hand reflexes are, they get up so Michael can do some jabs, but it quickly becomes a game of slaps.
On Jimmy Fallon – April 2021 – Michael’s latest movie is Without Remorse, and he’s just been named as “People’s Sexiest Man Alive”. Friends have been roasting him for the latter. There's more pictures of his exercise regimen, getting back in shape. Michael talks about getting to direct Creed 3 and playing Adonis for the third time. He’s also proud to be hosting/participating in his Newark hometown’s Hoop Dreams Classic for HBCUs. Jimmy asks Michael why he wanted to do Without Remorse, and if he was a fan of the video games. They got to modernize the story and cast as more a reflection of today. Jimmy shows a clip of a having a conversation inside of a car that’s on fire – a stunt he had done himself. They then play a game called “Word Sneak” (similar to Ellen’s secret word but also like Jimmy’s singing competition) that means they need to have a conversation and have to say their given words. It’s completely improvisational and makes no sense.
On Trevor Noah – May 2021 – From go they talk about Without Remorse. Trevor asks Michael “how much muscle are you planning to create?” He says he played the video game and modernized it. He goes more into detail about how he prepared for the role with navy seal training, with divers, stunts practiced with a specialist all so he can have the proper perspective of a character who is truly military but finds out the pretense for his life’s purpose has been false. He further describes (yes people, there’s more than just one sentence here!) how the character has been dedicated to service/country, taken an oath and upholds those values, but when he comes home and feels betrayed and lied to on many levels, how far will he go for those answers. It is about one person taking power back and making a difference. They discuss co-star Jodi Turner-Smith playing a Black female commander who can neutralize a situation which Michael says will inspire young girls!
Some of my thoughts:
In the same way hosts couldn’t stop talking about Dakota’s
role in 50 Shades, the hosts couldn’t stop talking about Michael’s
exercise regimen and muscled body. Except for his interviews with Trevor, Stephen, and Seth, hosts
failed to discuss the intricacies of the characters Michael played, only their
physicality. At least The View apologized but the others (even though
coming from a place of being impressed) had no shame. Thus, from comparing
these talk show clips to the extended Jenelle Riley conversation, you can’t
help but have greater appreciation for Michael B. Jordan getting to show more
of the well-rounded (instead of just highly-angled) human he is!
The Avengers
The first Avengers film was released in 2012. I can’t easily find clips from that era. The earliest clip was from April 2015 when the original six appeared on Jimmy Kimmel: Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., and Scarlett Johansson. It was the night before the film’s premiere – but I can’t be sure if it’s the first Avengers or for Age of Ultron. Either way, their conversation didn’t have (m)any interesting moments. Robert sat on the couch closest to Jimmy’s desk, with Scarlett next to him, and Mark on the end. Chris, Chris, and Jeremy were on high-top chairs behind the couch. Jimmy asks which of them leads the pack off-screen and then after a commercial break they play a game of "Family Feud". Jeremy, Mark, and Chris Evans against Robert, Scarlett, and Chris Hemsworth. The latter team won. There were plenty of funny questions and answers.
With Marvel Entertainment under Disney’s umbrella since 2009, and with Jimmy Kimmel on ABC which is also owned by Disney, it seems he always got first dibs on interviewing the cast as a group. They have overwhelmingly paid more visits to Kimmel than elsewhere. Instead, mostly when an avenger has a separate project that’s when they’ll go on other late-night shows individually, like on Jimmy Fallon.
With Avengers: Infinity War in 2018 and Avengers: Endgame in 2019, there was an abundance of late-night clips available. Many of which I’d already seen back-in-the-day. (I’m not including daytime shows here because, well, I’m just choosing not to. You can deal.) And because the MCU expanded well beyond the original six, there were plenty more cast members promoting the films in mix-and-match groups.
It seems that from watching Avengers’ interviews, Scarlett is the group’s commentator or reactor. Her facial expressions and answers seem to equate to “Seriously?”, “Really?”, “What?” In an April 2018 group interview with Conan O’Brien, she and Danai are trying to politely deal as Anthony Mackie, Chris Hemsworth, and Chris Pratt answer more with a masculine jest than performer seriousness – especially in one clip literally titled, “The Men of Avengers: Infinity War Compare Themselves to Different Meats”. One moment in particular “wasn’t going to air” even on non-FCC cable channel TBS, featuring Scarlett saying she used to be the only woman on set, “All beef all the time.” Anthony says “she’s the sweet potato” and describes why. Another clip from their interview featured how the cast “Would Catch Up Someone Who’s Been in a Coma”. They got “bogged down” with how the coma patient needed to first know updates to their own personal life before getting to The Avengers’ films. But luckily, they can watch all of them “from the hospital bed”.
One of the best group Avengers’ promotional late night events was with James Corden in April 2018. This was a pre-recorded skit featuring James having invested in a Star Tours of Los Angeles, but only for stars to take the tours. With each Avenger getting on the bus’ top-deck, James had a comedic line. For Tom Hiddleston, James got lost in his eyes. James needing more info to determine which Chris that Chris Pratt is. Benedict Cumberbatch being “the hardest name to pronounce in Marvel”, but then Pom Klementieff comes aboard and James says, “scratch that”. Etc. James says that flash photography is allowed as long as they tag him, and Don snaps his one-use-camera (that will need to be developed). As they pass by a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, James tells the stars that when they yell for a coffee, this is where the lowly intern goes for it. They sing a really good original theme song. And then they pass a long line of people waiting for Brunch at a popular restaurant, to which Chris Pratt needs to know what “waiting in line” means. Then, when they stop at a comic bookstore, the Avengers come into the store and sign fans’ merchandise. Just at the end, Chris Hemsworth appears to start the tour and waits for the second round.
Also in April 2018, on Jimmy Fallon, the Avengers sing a version of the Brady Bunch theme song, called “The Marvel Bunch”, with Tom Hiddleston as Loki appearing in Alice’s center-box. A year later in 2019, they sing new lyrics to the tune of “We Didn’t Start the Fire” with Jimmy Fallon dressed like Billy Joel. Then at the very end, all of the pictures become like pixels creating the image of the recently passed Stan Lee.
On Jimmy Kimmel in April 2019, the full 17 minute interview was in one YouTube video where the cast came together for their final film’s promotional appearance. Robert Downey Jr., sitting again closest to the desk with Scarlett next to him, and then in the chairs behind, Chris Hemsworth and instead of Chris Evans was Paul Rudd. Robert said he’d be hosting a screening for friends and family on Easter Sunday. That it was a 3 hour 2 minute running time, Jimmy wanted to know when the best time to use the bathroom would be but they all suggested you wear a diaper or pee into an (empty, right?) popcorn tub. They discuss the Avengers tattoo they all got (except for Mark), and for which Paul said he got a Dinner for Schmucks tramp-stamp. (Ha!) For the lines they remember, Scarlett was able to recall a deleted scene from Iron Man 2 (like how Jake Gyllenhaal could recall a line from Nightcrawler years later), that had a lot of techie-action jargon. She looked right into the camera as she recited it. Then Chris told how on Ragnarök’s set while shooting the arena scene, a kid said he should say the “He’s a friend from work!” line. There’s a movie clip shown of them gathered with Captain Marvel, talking about going to space to kill Thanos. The next topic was how they all went to Disneyland and rode some of the rides. But on a prior visit, Chris had taken his daughter and tricked the attendant to go on the Tower of Terror ride. They learned the hard way there’s height minimums for a reason. Scarlett: “Ya think?!” But he acted out the memory like a game of charades. Then the interview takes a slight dive into birthday presents. But comes back up when Jimmy announces the studio audience will each receive Endgame IMAX tickets. Cheers and a standing ovation!
IN CONCLUSION:
Perhaps I could have made this post longer by incorporating talk-show history of hosts like Johnny Carson, more Oprah, Sally Jessy Raphael, Arsenio Hall, David Letterman, and even Rosie O’Donnell’s shows. But CNN did a much better job with this summary article of their 2021 docuseries, The Story of Late Night.
So I’ll boil it down:
Women host the daytime talk shows. Men host the late-night talk shows. Joan Rivers briefly had her own late show. For a few years each during the 2010s, men had their own daytime shows and women had late-night shows, until getting cancelled. (Samantha Bee doesn't interview celebrities on her show so I couldn't include her in this post. But she's great at political commentary!)
I could have also said something like Robin Leach’s Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous only aired in 1984 but made such a lasting impression it inspired (the Good Charlotte punk-emo song and) the next several decades worth of celebrity obsession talk show topics and hosts, like Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, Extra, and MTV's Cribs.
(MTV's TRL was not a talk show. It defies genre. But Carson Daly did transition to talk-show host and co-host.)
Instead, I wanted this post to dive into the more current landscape of talk shows, celebrity hosts, and their certain attributes when bringing on celebrity guests to interview. As you can see, it’s all pretty tightly structured in order to cover a number of topics in a short time with simple questions that may lead to a funny story or a strange situation. But a guest rarely has the opportunity to talk in-depth about the project they came on to promote.
Updated Thought: Talk shows are made for the audiences' entertainment and the celebrity guests are willing/contractual participants but I can't help feeling sympathetic for the range of slight to extreme humiliating questions and antics they have to subject themselves to.
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