Mel Brooks’ ‘The 99 Year Old Man!’ with Adam Sandler, Judd Apatow
Legendary Mel Brooks stars in Judd Apatow’s two-part HBO doc “The 99 Year Old Man!” (Jan. 22, 23) with Conan O’Brien, Adam Sandler, Dave Chappelle.
Conan O’Brien has no issue with comedians criticizing President Donald Trump, just the way they are doing it.
During an interview at Oxford Union uploaded Tuesday, Jan. 6, the former talk show host cautioned his fellow comics who lose their humor while condemning the Trump administration. The union is a student debating society at the University of Oxford in England. Since 1823, it has welcomed comedians, celebrities, politicians and world leaders to publicly engage in debate and public speaking.
“Some comics go the route of, ‘I’m gonna just say F Trump all the time,’ or that’s their comedy. But now I think, you’re being co-opted. Because’ you’re so angry you’ve been lulled,” O’Brien said. “It’s like a siren leading you into the rocks.”
The Emmy-winner said he’s had conversations with comedians who said the world is too serious for purely comedic sets, which he argued means they should prioritize making audiences laugh.
“You’ve been lulled into just saying ‘F Trump. F Trump. F Trump. Screw this guy,’ and I think you’ve now put down your best weapon, which is being funny, and you’ve exchanged it for anger,” he said. “You just have to find a way to channel that anger, because good art will always be a perfect weapon against power, but if you’re just screaming and you’re just angry, you’ve lost your best tool in the toolbox.”
O’Brien’s remarks come after he accepted the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the newly renamed Trump Kennedy Center last year.
Conan O’Brien said he fears for future of late-night TV
At the Television Academy Hall of Fame ceremony on Aug. 16, O’Brien said he expected the current late-night television format to go away but emphasized he is confident the hosts will make successful career pivots.
“Late-night television, as we have known it since around 1950, is going to disappear,” he said in his speech. “But those voices are not going anywhere.”
O’Brien’s comments came about a month after CBS cancelled “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” as part of what the network called a “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night.”
People like Stephen Colbert are too talented, and too essential, to go away. It’s not going to happen. He’s not going anywhere. Stephen is going to evolve and shine brighter than ever in a new format that he controls completely,” O’Brien said.
His comments were made a month before Jimmy Kimmel’s pre-emptive hiatus in September, when ABC pulled “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off U.S. airwaves following criticism over comments he made about Charlie Kirk’s fatal shooting. Trump-appointed FCC chairman Brendan Carr had pressured the network to take action against Kimmel, prompting outcry and accusations of government censorship.
The show returned to ABC on Sept 23, when the comedian called critics’ response to his comments “intentionally, and I think maliciously, mischaracterized.” Kimmel emphasized that it was “never my intention to make light” of Kirk’s death.
Contributing: Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY