Haha. Nail on head. Its jobs for the boys (of the inner circle).

Just bumping this thread as it’s Craig Ferguson’s last week as host of The Late Late Show this week.

He has some good guests lined up, good because they are friends of the show rather than big time Hollywood A listers.
I’m going to really miss him, and am looking forward to seeing how he ends it on Friday. Yes, he’s been better at times than others over his 10 years as host, but it really is ‘like no other late night talk show’. And I’ve really been enjoying his ‘only a few more weeks of the crap’ act recently.

In related news, Drew Carey has been confirmed as the first guest host, and James Corden’s premier date has been pushed back to late March to coincide with the NCAA March Madness. Corden himself moves his family to LA in January in preparation for his new job.

Corden was on last nights show with Craig during the cold open and at the end. There are videos of tonights show where Craig introduces Josh finally. I'll miss Craig lots.

I really liked the fact that James Corden made a cameo in Wednesday night’s show. He appeared incredibly nervous, but I guess that is to be expected.
Craig Ferguson pre-taped the final two shows yesterday, so the last ever one is all done and dusted now ready for broadcast tonight. I’m really going to miss his unique take on the talk show format. There is a glimmer of hope he may return to the genre one day, he keeps hinting that he’s got something lined up but can’t say any more for legal reasons just yet. The strong suspicion is that he’s going to host a syndicated 30 minute, early evening, comedy talk show with a planned premier date of late 2016 ( a long way off I know!).

I also read an interesting interview with James Corden in this weeks edition of Shortlist magazine. He says that when he was recently in New York appearing on Letterman and Colbert it was actually Jimmy Fallon who took him out for dinner to meet him and offer him advice. It sounds like Corden’s Late Late Show is going to be similar to Fallon’s style (as I’ve been predicting) and inspired by TFI Friday in that it’s going to be unpredictable and reach out to generation ‘X’.

Back to Craig Ferguson though, he’s flying back home to Scotland this weekend so forum members north of the border should keep an eye out for him in the Glasgow area, or wherever it is he owns his castle.

Some videos from tonight show have been uploaded including a musical number!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPPxMSmt55w


I think there is a new show but it's not until Autumn 2016 which is a long way away. I think Corden did appear nervous but it's a British thing isn't it? A lot of British comedians tend to laugh and giggle on TV and generally appear unprofessional unless they're on the BBC and over here people put up with it because it's drilled into you that you'll never be famous or make anything of yourself and everyone on TV is grateful to be there and when they behave like that it makes them a bit more human and relatable. I don't know if the US will get that or put up with it.


I think his castle is outside Glasgow and it's up North a bit from here. It's really weird because I never know when he comes here, maybe there's a way of finding out, I don't know, I certainly don't know and I know on Twitter there's usually people tweeting about him and selfies taken and I can only assume those are family members or friends so I would never bother them or ask them about Craig but it feels weird that I watch his show, he seems to come here regularly around August and Christmas....and maybe more often now he's not tied down and I don't think I'll ever bump into him. I know in Glasgow he likes the west end and I'm in the south side, the west end to me and still is a bit upper classy and posh. That's where all the fancy bars are restaraunts, it's know for the student staying there, even your Oxfam stores are like Books and Music and they're priced accordingly. It's all money money and I'm not judging him or anyone else, it's just not for me although i do like going there to browse the shops. It would be nice to meet him but i just don't see how it would happen and i've had fans talk to me about this before and fans told me they couldn't afford to go to LA for his show and when he toured he didn't really go anywhere near their towns and they couldn't afford to leave their states to go to the next state to see him and that i'm really lucky to be in Glasgow because he was born in Glasgow and always talks about his love for Glasgow and his friends and family here and I kept telling them no lol...........just because I live here it doesn't work like that, wish it did but it doesn't, unless there's things i'm oblivious too. Certainly will be busy leading up to Christmas and I will be out and about lots so I will keep an eye out.



You should also watch this if you have time. He recorded this on Monday evening after the taping.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FMXOHtobEI

Watched the episode with Corden last night and that was a complete act.

He's famous and confident enough to appear on a chat show, even a US one that he's taking over, without being a complete shambles.

It'll be interesting how Letterman's last show will be like, I imagine it'll be very emotional since he's been doing late night shows since 1982 with Late Night then the Late Show. I've mentioned it before but CBS has to have a retrospective of some sort that could air in the run up, maybe on the Sunday before, the actual night might be tricky if CBS already has season finales planned.

Really enjoyed the last show. The look that Craig gave Michael when "Bill Cosby" called in had me rolling with laughter. The fly was also funny. Wonder what Jeff said that got bleeped.

Will miss this show. Only started to watch it the last 4 years. Wish I had watched it earlier. Was lucky enough to see a taping of his show in 2011.

Would love for Craig to be a guest on Graham Norton. Think that would be interesting but I suppose he's not well known enough here for that to happen.

Wish him all the best for his next projects.

Still not sure how he's going to make this work. But I do wish him well.

I think the last time Craig did a chat show here was 1992 on the Jonathan Ross Show, this was weeks before he entered rehab and once he got clean most of the work he did was in America after that. He says himself the reason he doesn't try get work here is because the media remember his binge years of drinking and drug taking and to be honest he has done well over there.

His first year hosting the show he admitted was a little under 1 million dollars and then when he signed for the next year that went up. The lsat contract negotiation in 2012 was for $6 million per year. The ITV show Doc Marten was based on a character from a film he wrote and directed so he gets royalties from that and that's been going a long time. He could never have earned that kind of money over here and he's arguably been more succesful than the UK counterparts. I'm sure Norton and Ross are worth a fair few million but to do what Craig has done in the short span of time in the US he's faired better I think. He also did the Drew Carey show for years and that paid well for him.

He'll get a nice sum for being passed over The Late Show as well. I'd love to see him do an episode of Doctor Who just so he can be reunited with Peter Capaldi who was in a band with him when they were younger.

He got a few million at least for it, I think Larry King asked him if he got 7 million and he laughed and said it wasn't 7 million so he definately got something from passing on it.

I can't remember who it was that spoke about the details of Craig's contract but it was written into his contract that he would get the Late Show automatically once Letterman steps down, Craig had the job but CBS never asked him to do it and I think because CBS never ran any promos for the Late Late Show and there was always budget issues and they cut corners everywhere they could I think probably Craig felt like even though the Late Show was his if he wanted it, he was never really going to get any support from CBS. It's like they never really wanted him and the only reason he was there because Letterman's World Wide Pants helped produce it and they think so highly of Letterman that if he thinks Ferguson is ok then just leave it at that. Also Craig would never be allowed to do what he done at an earlier timeslot.

I think he would do Doctor Who. I think he turned down a lot of stuff because he just couldn't get out of LA to do them because of the show, now he has all the time in the world to do what he wants.

Here is the clip from Jonathan Ross. Craig said it was after Christmas in 1991 he went to rehab and I don't know the exact date for this episode but Craig said on Twitter this was weeks before he went to rehab in January 1992.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-h8ZsBtUDE

Letterman showing a huge lack of class here and also the reason that maybe retiring isn't such a bad idea.


http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/j...terman-5061683

I'm no fan of Corden's, but for Letterman to slate him like this is unfair and certainly unprofessional.

I don’t know what to make of this really. I suspect it was just Letterman’s sense of humour, joking about the new guy being no where to be seen, especially with old friend Regis Philbin. Calling James Corden ‘tubby’ though is crossing the line a bit.
He’s either being slightly unprofessional mocking the new guy, or being simply rude.
Although not quite the same, Letterman himself was no where to be seen for 3 months between his NBC Late Night exit and his CBS Late Show start. He was of course taking time to prepare for the new programme, as Corden is doing now, but you could mock him for that by these standards.
CBS gave Corden the Late Late Show knowing he had other commitments and wouldn’t be able to start until March 2015, and knowing that their contract with Craig Ferguson expired in December 2014. That’s not Corden’s fault.


Don’t get me wrong, I like David Letterman, he’s a late night television legend. But I do question what type of person he is sometimes, particularly to work with. When Craig Ferguson announced he was leaving the Late Late Show, a programme that Letterman’s production company has produced for 10 years and followed him on the air for 10 years, Letterman gave a brief acknowledgement by reading a somewhat insincere statement off a card. And on the actual day of Craig Ferguson’s final show Letterman didn’t give it a single mention, not even a ‘stay tuned for....’

When Larry King asked Craig Ferguson if he spoke regularly with his boss and timeslot lead in David Letterman, he said “I think all of our conversations can be seen on YouTube”. That said it all to me.

He also said this ..


As you say, CBS knew Corden had prior commitments and they also were likely fully aware that he has a family to consider as well so it's not like they can, as Letterman says, "Call him Friday and he's there Monday".

He wouldn't let it go either ..


For me, it's hugely unprofessional. Even moreso if Letterman's production company is still going to produce The Late Late Show as well.

I’ll have to watch the video itself, but just reading the quotes it sounds like Letterman’s typical ‘act’. He’s typically known as the late night host who likes to complain and moan about things (often being called a grumpy old man), getting all worked up about them, to which the audience finds hilarious. Whether he actually fully means what he’s saying or is doing it for comedic affect is the question. Either way, some of those comments are unprofessional regardless, I agree.

To answer your other comment, no, his production company (World Wide Pants) will not be producing the new Late Late Show with James Corden. Giving him control of the 12:30am slot was something CBS gave him to keep him on the network in the 11:30pm slot. Now that he’s retiring himself, all deals are over. Having said that, even if he was still going to produce Corden’s show I can still see him making the exact same comments, partly because that’s his ‘act’ and partly because I think he sometimes really doesn’t care (hence completely turning his back on Craig Ferguson in the later years).

And if Letterman actually watched The Late Late Show (which he still produces for now) or had a clue what was actually going on with the show, he’d know that James Corden is in LA right now and has featured in a number of cameos on the programme as recent as last week in one of the monologues.

I don't know if it is part of his on stage persona, but he does come over as being a bit of an unpleasant dick at times.

All channels have now released their schedules to the press for the next 14 days. With The Late Late Show with James Corden starting on 16th March and no sign of it (assuming it would be shown the next day over here) it looks like no UK broadcaster is going to be picking this up, not from the start anyway.

Which is a bit of a shame, I think it’s probably worthy of a shot on a late night minority channel over here, unless CBS are demanding too much for it to make that viable. I also think Corden himself should do everything in his power to secure a UK broadcaster, to maintain a high profile over here.

There’s a good interview here, which captures the complete absurdity of what’s happening to him right now quite well.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/even...tory-Boys.html

No one can replace Craig Ferguson but I wish James all the best for the role. He will need to know what he is talking about. At least Craig had lived in LA since 1994 and had a general idea of who the celebs were and their way of speaking.

I agree. Craig Ferguson was one of a kind in the late night world, I’m glad to see James Corden will be doing his own thing and not attempting to replicate the previous incarnation of the show.

I’ve never really been a fan of Corden before, I don’t dislike him it’s just I’ve never really been appealed by anything he’s done. Having said that I also wish him luck, it’s always nice to see a Brit doing well in the US (whether it be Craig Ferguson, John Oliver or James Corden).

But I’ll be watching because this will be very interesting to see how it plays out. I think it’s either going to be a stroke of genius (with CBS having their own ‘mini Jimmy Fallon’) or a complete disaster (with Corden being so like a fish out of water and the audience not accepting him).

On a side note, I think I read somewhere that ‘A League of Their Own’ is returning to Sky later this year – I wonder if they’ll replace Corden or if he will use some of his valuable holiday leave to fly back to the UK and tape the entire series in a few days).

I know from day one Craig always had the month of August off and then when he left last year he had many weeks off where it was nothing but pre taped shows but at least he still pre taped them, they were still original shows even if they were 2-3 weeks in the past by the time they aired.

It is very demanding, Craig taped 4 days a week and like I said, most of those days were taping more monologues and interviews for others shows. It became a thing for longterm fans of the show because he always wore certain ties for certain days of the week. Doing this they were able to piece together shows, they could piece together a show for a Monday in a few weeks and then maybe a spare interview for the following Monday so now they need to tape another monologue on another day to go with that 2nd Monday and all this stuff they did really was amazing.

I also think because Craig had lived there in the 80s as an illegal immigrant and then legally in 1994 and he always wanted to be in America that made a difference. Craig wanted to be an American from a young age so it would have suited him but I don't know where James head is at and if he can literally spend most of his year in LA and be stuck in LA because as Craig found out you can't do other stuff, you can't do films or TV shows because you have that commitment 5 nights a week, the only thing you can really do is guest appearances or voice over work. You can't leave LA. You can't commit to shooting all day and night or even all day because Craig had to be in the office every morning like everybody else and prepare for the show. I don't know if all the late night guys did that or if it was just Craig but it's a big commitment to make.

Is that really correct? I know Craig Ferguson pre-taped shows a LOT, often weeks in advance (commonly referred to as freeze-dried shows) but I thought he always taped complete shows. In other words sometimes doing 3 shows a day, 1 for that nights broadcast and 2 for sometime in the future. I’d never heard of him commonly taping different segments on different days and then putting them together to make a complete show. Wouldn’t that be a continuity nightmare? He frequently changed his hair style/length for starters.

But whatever arrangement Craig Ferguson had I think it’s safe to say CBS aren’t going to allow the same with James Corden. Craig Ferguson had been there for 10 years, and as time went on I think CBS and World Wide Pants literally lost interest, allowing him more and more freedom. Now they’ve got a new programme, with a new host, which I think they’ll be putting a lot of money and effort into making a success. I think NBC has shown them how lucrative late night can still be, and now CBS have the opportunity to reinvent its offerings with Stephen Colbert and James Corden.

Yeah but that was part of the fun. Yellow tie episodes had a bit of a reputation. I was watching a yellow tie episode from 2010 last week and the first guest he has his tie on loose and his hair is like a burst couch with a bit too much make up on and when he sits down with the second guest he has his hair perfectly combed, the tie all done up properly and a slightly darker suit jacket on lol.


I know people who went to tapings would say anytime he would record 2 shows a day he would do both monologues back to back. THe first monologue would be for that nights show, then they would change his tie, he would shoot the second monologue, then go back to his first tie and continue the show as normal with tweets/emails guest 1 and 2 then change tie and to the next tweets/email guest 1 and 2. A lot of times when there was a musical guest they would be taped with no audience in the building. Sometimes Craig would spend too long talking to his first guest and wouldn't have time for a second one and they would "appear" on a future show. In actuality Craig would tape that guests interview that day as normal but they would piece it together with other bits and pieces taped and use it for a future show.


I think the most recent thing was the November/Movember thing. Craig grew a moustache for November but if you watched the shows that month he rarely had it due to the amount of shows that were taped in advance. He would have the moustache one night and not the next. For a while his hair was gelled back to the side then it was his regular sticking up at the front, then he changed it to his current style. I think at that point that was part of the joke, that the show was taped in advance.

Thanks for the info, very interesting. I knew the episodes were recorded out of order (monologue first, cold open second for example) and often pre-taped in advance, but I didn’t know they were sometimes that disjointedly put together. I liked the fact that it was a running joke though that the shows were recorded weeks in advance, I enjoyed the honestly.

I was in LA last summer and drove past the CBS studios, but unfortunately the show was on one of its breaks. I did get to see Craig Ferguson though as I went to a recording of Celebrity Name Game. He seemed like a nice guy, it was all very rushed though as he was doing 6 episodes of that per day.

Anyway, I suspect James Corden will be made to record his shows on the day of broadcast (with the possible exception of Friday), no one month breaks for him! Which is a big commitment, and will leave him with little time for anything else.

I think the Celebrity Name Game is doing well. unfortunately he isn't as popular here now and despite living in Glasgow I doubt i'd ever run into him. I know he was here for Christmas and a few weeks into January but it's just luck right?

I liked the honesty about it being taped but I did feel like the last few years weren't as good and that there were too many running jokes rather than original jokes and far too much Geoff whereas Craig on his own, with no one to talk to other than himself often provided some of the funniest moments in the cold opens and monologues and James is gonna have to find his own feet when it comes to that. When you have to do it every day it will use every bit of your energy and probably every joke that is stored in your head. I know for a few years Craig made a bit of a joke about it and put it in his "act" and he would have the tie loose and his hair messed up and was always scowling and angry at the camera like some angry business/car salesman. i suppose part of that was truth.

If I was James i would try and learn as much as I can about American TV in general. Just the who's who, what's popular and when guests come on rather than pretend to know who everyone is and where they are from and what they are promoting........use that to find out more about them and have a conversation, a real one, not scripted questions and answers. That's something else Craig talked about often, on other late night shows and daytime shows, they would do a pre interview with you and then use them for the real interview later on, nothing was natural and Craig said he would deliberately give them false answers in the pre interview because he didn't want to know what he was going to say in the real interview and that would throw producers off because they didnt like it and likewise Craig said some guests were very uncomfortable on his show on his show due to the pre interviews and even the cue cards he would tear up, they HAD to be done due to the union.

They had to employ people to do those things even though he tore them up in front of everyone. When it came to the interviews on the Late Late Show, Craig would have no idea what his staff had asked them during the pre interview or what answers they gave so the guest would have no idea what was coming and many worried for their public image or incase they came across the wrong way rather than just letting their guard down and having a real conversation. That's also why he stayed on longer than he needed to and finished in December, he wanted to make sure he gave all those people that worked on the show time to find other jobs and other work which again......says a lot about the man.