PASADENA, Calif. - ....First, of all,'' Craig Ferguson said, ....let me say my wife is standing by me through this very difficult time.''
Buenos Aires is lovely this time of year, the Late, Late Show funnyman told his audience - a handful of reporters jammed into a tiny mezzanine atrium at a Pasadena hotel.
....I will answer any of your questions,'' Ferguson added. ....Not necessarily honestly.''
About his new book American on Purpose, for example. Asked what readers can expect, he replied, without missing a beat: ....It's reasonably priced. And available on September 22nd .''
But wait, there's more.
....It's an autobiography,'' Ferguson said. ....And I'm looking forward to reading it.''
..It' is an account of how he came from there - Glasgow, Scotland, where he was the drummer in a punk rock band called The Bastards from Hell - to here - the U.S., where he hosts the CBS late-night talk show The Late, Late Show, following Late Show, hosted by his colleague, mentor, friend and boss, David Letterman.
....It's the story of how I ended up here,'' Ferguson said, ....which surprises me as much as anyone.''
Letterman produces Ferguson's Late, Late Show through his production company Worldwide Pants Inc.
****....David Letterman is more than my boss,'' Ferguson told Canwest News Service. ....I'm going to give you an exclusive story now. David Letterman, no matter what the numbers have been in the, what, 30 years he's been on CBS now, is the king of late-night television, all right? Now, I know there are press releases and people who can prove to you scientifically that that's not f-ing true, but I'm telling you that's true. It's different, it's a different thing. If there's a successor to Johnny (Carson), it's David. My relationship with David Letterman is that I sit at his feet.''
Ferguson has hosted The Late, Late Show for nearly six years, since Jan. 3, 2005. He's known for his avuncular, observational humour, gentle self- deprecation and thick Scots accent. There's not a sarcastic bone in his body - his style couldn't be more different from other late-night funnymen like Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel and his mentor and friend, Letterman - but that doesn't mean he isn't above walking away from showbiz every now and then. He's careful to keep his personal life and professional life separate, and he doesn't like talking about himself away from the Late, Late Show set.
....Please understand, if nothing else, that I'm not pushing anything today,'' Ferguson said. ....I'm not pushing any manifesto. I'm here to talk about the show because I make a show which is on television and you're a television critic, but I'm not pushing anything. For me, I don't want everything to be about TV. I don't want everything (in my life) to be about show business.''
On the personal front, Ferguson does discuss receiving his pilot's licence only last week.
****....I'll tell you why I live aviation,'' Ferguson said, warming to his subject. ....I like aviation because it's the complete opposite of show business. In show business, you bull-, you bull-, you bull-, and that's what you do. That's how you get ahead. In aviation, you bull-, you f-ing die. You're gone. So when Andy says to you in show business, ..Can you do that?', you go, ..You bet I can.' When Andy says to you in aviation, ..Can you do that?', you'd better tell the truth. Because if you can't, you're on the local news, and that's that. ''
Ferguson's ambitions extend beyond his TV show and making money. That's why The Late, Late Show works as well as it does, he reasons.
....I don't want to be rich to the extent that all I care about is keeping my job,'' he said. ....I don't care enough about keeping my job right now. That's good. That makes me effective at what I do. I don't want to be frightened of getting fired. So, that end, I suppose my ambition is to spend less than I earn.
****....Look, the truth is we all work in a precarious business. Do I want to make a lot of money? F- yeah. But do I want to make it at the expense of my friendships and who I am? Look, I've met a lot of rich people who are douche bags. I don't want to be that. I want to be able to look at myself in the mirror. That's my ambition.''
Ferguson is reluctant to talk about his favourite and least favourite guests - to a point.
****....I like to think I'm a bit like a doctor,'' he explained. ....At a certain point, it's like the Hippocratic Oath. But I'll tell you: My favourite guest is Betty White. And my least favourite guest is an actor, who I'm not going to mention by name because f- him.''
The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson airs weeknights on E! and CBS at 12:35 a.m. ET/PT.
astrachan@canwest.com
blog: www.canada.com/tvguy
http://www.tvsquad.com/2009/08/03/craig-ferguson-finally-getting-a-little-hd-respect-from-cbsCraig Ferguson finally getting a little HD respect from CBS
When the late night musical chairs began, I dipped my toes into their waters for the first time in many, many years. The only three shows remaining on my DVR are
The Tonight Show,
Late Night and
The Late Late Show, and only
Craig Ferguson is a must watch from beginning to end (I've actually cut
Tonight twice and put it back since Conan took over).
The real hook for me is Ferguson's monologue. While everyone's doing, "Hey let's look at the news. Setup. Punchline. Setup. Punchline. Setup. Punch me in the face I can't take it anymore!," Ferguson is doing a short stand-up routine every night. It's smart, it's clever, and it all flows so much more nicely.
I've also enjoyed his constant rants about how terrible his show is, what a horrible host he is, and how incredibly cheap CBS is when it comes to anything to do with
The Late Late Show. But now, long after all of his competitors got the upgrade, we're finally getting
Craig Ferguson in HD starting August 31, 2009. So he'll have one less thing to bitch about, at least.
He's also getting a fancy new intro sequence and updated theme song, but still no band and a promise of no change to that monologue format that hooked me in the first place. The strength of Ferguson is that he's so entertaining and funny in his own right, he makes interviews with people I could care less about worth watching. And it'll be great to not have those annoying flashing white lines at the top of the screen during the show.
I actually enjoyed a recent interview with Paris Hilton, and not once did I fantasize about driving a railroad spike through her skull. Okay, maybe once, when she was walking on the set. And every other time she opened her mouth, but every other part was sheer entertainment.
On a side note, I don't care who the pig slept with, nor do I care that Craig is clearly shilling for the shark. I say let the pig back in the contest and let the true choice of the people win. Or is this another Iran, Craig Ferguson?
