Fantasy Colbert League: April 19-April 22

Welcome to another installment of the Fantasy Colbert League. This week has some guests which you may have heard of before, and some which you may not. I have to admit when I saw the name Craig Robinson, I thought it was Darryl from The Office promoting Hot Tub Time Machine, but I quickly learned it wasn’t. So, without further ado…

George Will is a long-time journalist for both The Washington Post and Newsweek. He has been writing both columns since the 1970′s, when he also won a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for “distinguished commentary on a variety of topics” in 1977. Mr. Will has written a variety of books about political philosophy and baseball, including the 1990 book, Men at Work: The Craft of Baseball, which is currently being reprinted and re-released. In addition to his written work, George also works as a news analyst for ABC, and was a panelist on Meet the Press in the 1970′s. Graduating from Trinity College in Connecticut, Will went on to study Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Oxford, and then received a Master’s and his Ph.D. from Princeton University. His political views are unique, and as an example he was opposed to both Bush’s and Obama’s stimulus plans, believes in the abolishment of minimum wage, and also thinks that all troops should be withdrawn from Afghanistan. George was previously on The Colbert Report in 2008.

Fract: You’ve seen him before. Dana Carvey portrayed George Will on The Dana Carvey Show. That show should sound familiar to The Nation.

Tuesday, April 20: Jeffrey Katzenberg

Jeffrey Katzenberg is the CEO of Dreamworks Animation, having produced the movies, Shrek, Shark Tale, Madagascar, Kung Fu, and a familiar film, Monsters vs. Aliens, among others. Though currently CEO for Dreamworks, Katzenberg might be better-known for his tenure at the Walt Disney Company as head of the motion picture division in the 1980′s and 1990′s. In that time, he rejuvenated the studio with the hits, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King. He also worked to create the deal to partner Pixar with the Disney Company. After he left Disney, Katzenberg went on to create DreamWorks Studio with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen. Most recently, Jeffrey has spoken at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show about the current status of 3-D in the movies and its future potential.

Fract: Intelligence by numbers: In 2007, Katzenberg was ranked number 22 on Entertainment Weekly’s list of the 50 smartest people in Hollywood.

Wednesday, April 21: Craig Robinson

Craig Robinson wrote the new book, A Game of Character: A Family Journey from Chicago’s Southside to the Ivy League and Beyond, which is due out April 20th, but you may know him better as the brother of Michelle Obama. Mr. Robinson has found success in business and basketball. He was a star player at Princeton when he attended from 1979-1983. He went on to receive his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago and became a bond trader for Continental Bank. Craig was a vice president at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, and also a managing director and partner at Loop Capital. At the end of the millennium, Robinson returned to basketball as a coach. Since his return, he has coached for Northwestern as an assistant, and Brown and Oregon State as a head coach. At Oregon, he has helped to turn around a failing program, helping the team reach the Pac-10 Tournament, though there is still work to do with a 14-18 season record for 2009-2010.

Fract: Good company? It isn’t surprising that Robinson has had a fruitful career in basketball – he had the chance to practice with Michael Jordan.

Thursday, April 22: Gorillaz

Gorillaz is the popular virtual band from Great Britain. Created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, the group is comprised of four animated members: 2D, Murdoc Niccals, Noodle, and Russel Hobbs. The uniqueness of the band has brought with it accolades, including an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most successful virtual band, having sold more than 15 million albums worldwide. The band’s newest album is called, Plastic Beach, and was released in March 2010. Previously, Gorillaz released the 2001 and 2005 albums, Gorillaz and Demon Days, respectively. Gorillaz, the group’s first album included the hit single “Clint Eastwood,” which was written about the movie star’s film, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. The second album, Demon Days was nominated for 5 Grammy Awards.

Follow the band on Twitter here.

Fract: Interesting origins: The creators of Gorillaz felt watching MTV was like watching “Hell,” so they thought of the idea of a cartoon band to reflect a lack of substance.

Enjoy this week’s shows!