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Conan O'Brien on His NBC Exit

April 30, 2010 9:04 PM

Conan O'Brien talks to Steve Kroft about his exit from "The Tonight Show" and from NBC. The interview airs Sunday, May 2, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

Conan: Not Possible Show Lost Money On My Watch
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by summacuml May 4, 2010 11:09 AM EDT
Why don't people ever get the facts? Conan actually got $32.5 which he got to keep for himself. NBC's payout was $40 million, the amount over $32.5 million going to Conan's staff. Not a bad payday for someone who never could get a smile from me never mind a laugh. Conan just isn't a very good comedian and the Tonight show was losing viewers to Dave Letterman and others. His Kirsti Alley and Arnold schwarzenegger jokes used to make me cringe and made me question whether he was even a nice guy. He did ok on very late night where he had his followers, but he just couldn't carry the Tonight show. It is sad that it didn't work out for him, but he is very lucky that he got all that money and a new chance to have a late night show.
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by jsnlayne May 2, 2010 11:03 PM EDT
Conan should have gotten alot more than he did...I don't believe Conan is crying I do however believe he is pissed off at a company known as NBC used his talents to bank roll there endeavors and beliefs and now with that said the only that I know or can think of that was crying was Jay Lenno which in my opinion should have just bowed out gracefully and should of said as he handed the microphone to Conan..."Good luck Conan. Not that you need it and know My crew and myself wish you the very best." Not only should Jay of done that but also all the NBC execs..With that said remeber how far back Conan and NBC go...Lorne Michaels owes Conan along with Will Farrel, and other comedians whom Conan had the pleasure working with and writing for.Needless to say the latest late night show on television considered the best by all and probably most of the time pulled more ratings than Dave and or Jay was Conans show...And Now what about poor Max whats he to do now. All and all there that is and Conan if you happen to read this good luck brother I will always support you cant wait to see you in N.C.
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by iizzee May 2, 2010 10:03 PM EDT
I also agree with "Ericajayjaynes"-- Conan is full of energy and he's always genuine. He's always being himself. Absurd, ridiculous and hilariously spontaneous.
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by iizzee May 2, 2010 9:56 PM EDT
Seriously stop attacking Conan. He's a good man and he handled this whole thing very well. Also, don't say that he's whining because that's definitely not true... quite the opposite.. but I'm guessing you guys didn't even bother to listen to what he said. He's just stating his opinion and giving his perspective, which he hasn't been allowed to do until now and which he and everyone else should have the right to. He's just letting people know how he felt and still feels about how everything turned out. Everyone feels different; lets just accept that. By the way, what about Leno's interview with Oprah?
What Conan did was a sign of strength and maturity and this interview certainly confirmed what an honorable and true man he is. He always handles himself with class.
Again, Conan isn't whining or complaining. Sure, what happened made him upset, mostly because he LOVES what he does, but he has taken the high road and he even agreed when Steve stated that he's very well off. He's fine. He's having a great time doing his tour and he's looking forward to his new show on TBS.
Also, if you would have cared to do some research you would have known that Conan is not in it for the money. I'm not saying money is not a factor at all, but it's obvious that he wants to do keep doing his thing because he loves it and it makes him happy. If he was in it for the money, wouldn't he have taken some of the money from the tour?
Lastly, Conan is extremely caring when it comes to the people around him--his family, friends, colleagues, fans etc. Just look at what he did when his fans were rallying - he brought them pizza. Look at what he did when his staff didn't get paid from NBC - he paid them from his own pocket. He's a GOOD man. And, he's one of us. I support him completely!

Conan, you're the man. I have great respect for you!
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by Ericajayjaynes May 2, 2010 9:21 PM EDT
Jay leno is old and not funny at all anymore,
conan was actually full of energy and got you in a good mood
i think it was a ridiculous
move to take him off the air
LAME
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by timberbrook May 2, 2010 9:00 PM EDT
I can't believe 60 Minutes wasted even 60 seconds on Conan's pity party. Conan did exactly the same thing to Leno five years earlier. I didn't hear Leno crying about it. He handled it with some class.

Let's face it. Conan just isn't funny. IE NAILS ON A CHALKBOARD Anyone with half a clue knew that Letterman was going to win the ratings race against Conan. Even I was watching Letterman and I'm definitely not a Letterman fan. I'm not sure what that says about the executives at NBC. But NBC's horrible programming does seem to be in last place for some reason.
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by 1DomesticGoddess May 2, 2010 8:52 PM EDT
Quote by Jeff10021 May 1, 2010 10:28 AM EDT
NBC screwed themselves in the end. Leno could get hit by a milk truck tomorrow and who would host the tonight show?


Drew Carey, as I thought he would be a great replacement.
At least he's funny. Conan is NOT!
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by meganmaguire5 May 2, 2010 8:13 PM EDT
As one Irish to another, I raise a pint to Conan for finding his road. I back him when he says"things happen for a reason." However it has not a thing to do with being Catholic; but rather his first call regarding the Irish Magic. We are a hopeful and stubburn breed who believe strongly on finding our own road to travel and and wishing no harm to any we cross. Sadly, it often takes more than a subtle hint to convince when we have gone astray. I myself have had to replace dreams and carreers no less than 3 times due to totally unrelated and unforeseen medical diseases and 1 woman in a car who chose to run a itred light. The point is, rather than cry, blame others or die from sugar poisening, I look at each as a not so subtle way to show me I was on the wrong road. Unlike Conan, I am still struggling medically and have yet to find the "right road," but he did remind tonight that I will find it!
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by csarci May 2, 2010 8:12 PM EDT
I was a huge fan of both Leno and Conan. After the schedule change, I quit watching Leno and watched Conan; For a while... I found Conan's show boring, not even close in quality to what he had going on his previous show. Soon enough, I quit watching the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien too.

I sympathized with Conan for a while. He was not happy with the way things were going, so he quit his job with a bang. Supposedly, out of principle. Good for him. Conan got thirty-two million dollars for his failure. He is nothing but a boring whiny loser now. You got your money, your moment of fame. You could not carry the Tonight Show. Quit blaming others and shut up or put up. Just watch... he will never regain the ratings or popularity he had on his old show. Conan is just like so many CEO's who drove their companies to the ground and got paid hundreds of millions for doing so... Only in America!
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by Eyeconic May 2, 2010 8:08 PM EDT
Thanks Steve for wasting 20 of 60 minutes so that Conan could kvetch "poor me." In the midst of a deep recession, it is rather offensive to host a pity party for a guy who just collected $30 mil.
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