Video: Letterman, Leno's Super Bowl Reunion: How It Happened
How hard was it to get longtime rivals Jay Leno and David Letterman to agree to shoot that Super Bowl commercial together?
Not hard at all, actually.
USA Today reports that Letterman, 62, concocted the idea for the 15-second spot, which featured him and Leno, 59, watching the game and Oprah Winfrey serving as the referee. (In the commercial, Letterman bemoans that it's "the worst Super Bowl party ever," and Winfrey, 56, in the middle, tells him to "be nice." Leno then whispers, "Aw, he's just sayin' that because I'm here!")
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The spot was shot last Tuesday at Letterman's Ed Sullivan Theater in NYC. It was so hush-hush that Leno even flew to New York in disguise, wearing a hooded sweatshirt, dark sunglasses and a fake moustache.
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Leno was "very professional, very cordial, friendly," says Late Show executive producer Rob Burnett. "They both got that this was funny and a good thing for everybody."
Adds Burnett, "There was a lot of conversation internally: 'Is it good for Jay, does it help him?' Dave had no interest in any of those conversations." To him, CBS' promo time was "this is 15 seconds in the Super Bowl; it has to be funny."
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people, letterman especially blamed Leno for the mess, he talked about it numerous times, he famously said, "would Jay Leno do the right thing?" and second of all, conan can't appear in the media until september.
I love you Jay...You're a good guy and Letterman is running like a scared rabbit.He knows you beat him before and will again!
ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!!!!
It was a funny, yet odd, commercial. I think it definitely shuts up those Dave v. Jay critics - that's for sure!
If it was not for the terms of the seperation (no media contact I believe) I think it would have been great to have Conan turn up as the pizza delivery guy. I mean he is out of work and was hinting he needed a job... Still it was in my top 5 commercials of the night.
Darrell, which one are you calling a dip?
Can angelina and brad go somewhere else.I am so sick of them.Are they getting a divorce not getting a divorce.Get over them.They deserve each other.trash
Ratings, people, it's all about the TV ratings. If we only knew the truth, Jay and David could actually be the best of friends all these years, their little feud could really only be one big ruse, for TV ratings; people love a fight, the nastiestness etc., think it's funny, people tune in = ratings. Presidents Bill Clinton and both George Bush's are all actually really good friends and like each other though they are different parties and put on a front, they have all been close and friendly for years. The world's ALL an act.
I thought it was the best of the night. Good for Letterman; he knew this could only help but not hurt Leno. He knows Leno was not in any way responsible for the NBC mess.
I was surprised it was shot with all 3 of them is front of the camera. I thought it was shot in front of separate green screens and then digitally added together. I give a lot of credit to Jay to fly all the way to New York for a 15 second commerical for Dave. I would like to hear more details about all of this. Did Oprah fly into New York in the same plane with Jay? What else did Jay and Oprah do in New York? Did Jay do a show at some casino while he was in the area? More details please...
To Peter at 10:07 a.m. - You have me cracking up!
It wasn't really funny. I smiled, but I didn't laugh. I was, however, surprised to see them in a commercial together. It's been quite obvious, especially in the past few weeks, that Letterman doesn't care much for Leno.
You write: ...Leno then whispers, "Aw, he's just sayin' that because I'm here!" Is he whispering? Here is the Oxford dictionary definition of "whisper": "speak very softly using one's breath without one's vocal cords". You might want to watch the video again, contemplate the above definition, and review your word choice. Might I suggest: "Leno then says". Not as poetic but at least it is correct.
I like Kathryn's idea, but I doubt Conan would have gone along. Maybe Jimmy Kimmel could have popped up behind the couch and said something snarky...!
Conan should have brought out the dip.
Saw the video, loved it!
It would have been better if Conan had walked up to Jay at the end and said, "Hey, you took my spot!" or "Hey, I was sitting there!"