Preview: Lorne Michaels
Monday, January 23, 2012
In the next episode of Here's the Thing, Alec goes to Rockefeller Center to visit Lorne Michaels in his office – the same office Michaels has had since 1975, when he created Saturday Night Live and from which he has launched the careers of some of the biggest names in comedy.
Listen to a preview of Lorne talking about what it's like to produce Saturday Night Live -- week after week.
Comments [8]
why............why Lorne would you put Lohan as a upcoming host on SNL...I think you must be hard up for "talent" or you are getting bribed.
Here's someone with talent and that would be fun - Jim Parsons of TBBT...
As I've felt from the time you interviewed Thomas Hampson on TV, you have a gift for both conversing with your subject as a peer with a warm, collegial manner. You're also able to avoid the flattened, artificial, over-scripted character of interviewing celebrities that often enshrouds such exchanges, slaking out all of the taste of event. That is quite an achievement. I think you're right up there with Studs Terkel.
All the best with your many projects.
If I had a wish list for future subjects I'd say, Kevin Spacey, Jonathan Pryce, Simon Callow, Helen Mirren, Charlize Theron, Fabio Luisi from the Met and George Soros.
I loved the way Alec jumped in and participated in the conversation. He didn't sit back and politely wait for Lorne to finish his answer. It reminds me of Jack Paar; intelligent people speaking spontaneously with no pretense. It would be interesting to see if Alec could maintain that quality on a television show. No doubt he could. But would the audience permit it? Are they so conditioned to brilliant "ad libs" that spontaneity would be boring?
I'd love to see Alec give it a shot.
For a description of Lorne's role as Fearless Leader in the early days of the original SNL, see the Facebook page for the book "Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live," (electronic version just published).
http://tinyurl.com/7v7omxp
I would love to hear some of these interviews, but, sorry, no iTunes. Any other way?
Please please please don't do this preview/teaser thing again. I was excited to see the next Here's The Thing downloading in my iTunes. I didn't notice the file size/length until I got in my car and started it up... only to find the entire interview I thought I'd downloaded is just 43 seconds long. This just pissed me off. The preview thing is a bad idea. Just put the whole episode up when it's ready. Thanks, and other than this blunder, keep up the great work.
Here's The Thing is my new favorite WNYC project. So great.
Just from listening to the preview of the interview with Lorne Michaels, it sounds like it will be very interesting. Can't wait to listen to the entire interview. Hope to be able to listen to the entire interview soon.
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