Stephen Colbert to ‘The Ithaca Journal’: “I gotta get some sleep, but I’ll be fine.”
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Does Stephen have a Time-Turner? I swear, there really don’t seem to be enough hours in the day for him to do everything that the show requires of him, have a private life, and still give interviews and sign on for performances the way he always seems to. I mean, it’s glorious for him to be so generous with his time, but oh! How I want him not to burn out.
At any rate, here are a few snippets from the Man himself, courtesy of The Ithaca Journal:
All-American ‘truthiness’
Stephen Colbert talks about the Ivy League, his new book and emotional responses
In his recent interview with Ticket, Stephen Colbert also expounded on a few other topics.
By Jim Catalano
Journal staffLike Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert made his mark on “The Daily Show.” Like Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert hosts his own late-night show on Comedy Central. Like Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert has written a book. And like Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert has sold out two shows at Cornell’s Barton Hall.
Just how long does Stephen Colbert plan to ride on Jon Stewart’s coattails?
“Forever!” exclaimed Colbert in a recent phone interview with with the Journal, days before announcing his presidential campaign (see sidebar). “Believe me, if you had coattails that big, you’d jump on board, too.”
On Friday, Oct. 26, Colbert will take a break from “The Colbert Report” to visit Ithaca for the first time to perform at Barton Hall. “I’ll come to talk about life in America — what I think is right with America, what I think is wrong with it, and how we can fix it,” said Colbert. “This is in support of my book, ‘I Am America (And So Can You!)’ which is a constitution for the Colbert Nation.”
. . .
The book, and its accompanying audiobook, is just the latest in a series of Colbert-related products spawned from the show. (A “Best-of” DVD is coming next month.) His recent spate of talk-show appearances to promote his book, not to mention the life-size cardboard cutout displays in bookstores make it seem like he’s everywhere at once these days.
“You’re making me sound divine,” he said with a big laugh. “My character is based on people who try to do the same thing, and so we’ve been successful in modeling their marketing plans.”
. . .
“My show’s about emotion — an emotional response to social and political ideas. So I have to have an emotional response to a person. We sit down once a month and go over a list of people who might be on for the next six weeks — I have to look at the list in character to see if I have an emotional response to them. If I do, I say, ‘Book that person.’ I’ll figure out later exactly what that emotional response means in terms of what I’m talking about, but I immediately have at least one or two questions in my head.”
With its vast range of topics, variety of segments and timeliness, “The Colbert Report” offers an ideal showcase for Colbert’s many talents.
“Sometimes I get to make references to the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesh. And sometimes I get to make poop jokes. And sometimes I get to make a very current essay, like whether Al Gore deserves the Nobel Prize, and sometimes I get to sing with Tony Bennett,” he said. “There’s no way the show could be frustrating, because I get to do so many things. The only frustrating aspect of it is, I’d love more time to do it. But you know, that’d be double-edged sword, because we’d be too precious about our writing. Most of the time, the show works. Sometimes it doesn’t, but you’ve got to live with it, and move on.”
. . .
T: So what do you do in your spare time?
COLBERT: Spare time? What is that? I finish the show and I go home and hang out with my wife and kids, and that’s it. Occasionally, I’ll play a game of squash.
T: Well, with luck, you’ll be able to keep up your show for another few years.
COLBERT: I gotta get some sleep, but I’ll be fine.
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3 Comments
October 25th, 2007 at 4:16 pm
You were trained as a classical actor at Northwestern and have played serious roles in movies like “Strangers With Candy” and television shows such as “Law and Order.”
Little known fact: Strangers With Candy was a documentary??
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October 25th, 2007 at 4:44 pm
Oh, Chuck Noblet was a serious character. Most definitely. *shrugs*
And Stephen – GET SOME SLEEP!
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October 26th, 2007 at 12:30 am
I get tired of hearing Colbert’s riding on Stewart’s “coattails.”
Here’s another Dr. Stephen T. Colbert fan who never watched a Daily Show before I fell in love with Stephen. NEVER.
My heart has always belonged to Stephen…well, except for high school boyfriends, and the college flings, and a rather serious romance that culminated in marriage…..but other than that….
:-)
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