Whoo hoo! Interviewee report! It’s been too long since we’ve had one of these. From Matt Miller’s blog:
Backstage with Colbert
1/12/09A number of you have asked what it’s like to do Colbert, does he ever talk to you as his real self offstage, etc. The answer is it was unbelievably fun (I’ve said to a few people it was the most fun I can imagine having in 5 minutes, which invariably leads people to offer other options they think would be better…). The man is a comic genius, and the “real” Stephen also seems like a very decent person.
. . .
One of the funniest parts of the experience was off-air. A few minutes before the taping started, a staffer came by to give a sense of what the writers had brainstormed as potential lines of “questioning” Colbert might take. He might not use these at all, she said (and Colbert didn’t that night – it was all basically improvisational riffs). The idea is to have you not be totally blindsided by the wackiness that might be coming.
Here are the things I recall from what they said he might ask about The Tyranny of Dead Ideas. These totally cracked us up in the green room.
-Why should we get rid of the old ideas, when the new ones suck?
-Even if the old ideas don’t work anymore, shouldn’t we continue them out of respect for tradition?
-You say the economy is creating too many of the “undeserving rich.” But isn’t that the American Dream – to be rich and useless?
-What about undead ideas?
When they put me at the interview desk on the set just before my segment started, I glanced over at Stephen at his anchor desk to have a look. Just before the camera went on he looked over at me and snapped deadpan, “The free ride is over, Miller.” He’s just really funny.
. . .
It’s always a happy thing, having an it-getting guest. Congratulations on your interview, Mr. Miller, and I’m glad you had such fun on your trip to The Colbert Report.
Matt Miller: Matt Miller says the government must make sure we have basic securities like health care and pensions.
I read his book, finished it last night. The guy is a [very unpleasant man]. He’s gone in and taken a number of progressive ideas and kneecapped them, making them more palatable to our corporate overlords. Rarely has a book made me so angry. He’s a snake in the grass. McCain was running on some of his ideas, and I’m happy to say the American public rejected them with overwhelming revulsion.
He at least is smart enough to see the writing on the wall.
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Oh man! I love hearing these stories. Stephen said “the free ride is over” to Will Smith, when I was there, too!
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I love behind-the-scenes stories! I would never catch these things if it weren’t for you MsI. Thank you!
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