Archive for Glenn Eichler
Six Degrees: Surviving the blizzard edition
Posted by: | CommentsUgh, the snow and wind continue to swirl here in my neck of the woods (darn you, unnamed grocery store, for continually canceling my deliveries!), and I’m having weird flashbacks to my childhood in the Upper Midwest. In an attempt to keep my mind in the present, how about some updates on some of our friends at The Daily Show and Colbert Report?
Our friends over at PBS have released another teaser ad for Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Pluto Files, which will feature any number of our favorite people (like Stephen Colbert!) when it airs. Here’s a fun snippet with Brian Williams and some guy with a little cable show, Jon Stewart.
Mr. Stewart is keeping himself busy, performing stand-up gig in Vegas over the Super Bowl weekend. The Las Vegas Review Journal featured a pretty cool article on Jon to coincide with the gig, and it’s definitely worth a read. The story he told about bombing while opening for Sheena Easton (“[S]he poked her head in my dressing room and said (he mimics her Scottish accent), ‘Don’t worry, Jon. Tomorrow is another day.’”) … ouch!
Click past the jump for more!
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Six Degrees: The I Can’t Believe it’s Already February Edition.
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Am I the only one completely baffled by the fact that January has gone by in the blink of an eye and that we’re already steam rolling straight through February? February of course, can mean only one thing – Vancouver!! But while Stephen is off polishing his skates in preparation for the Winter Olympics his friends will be back in the good old US of A working on their latest new projects.
Friends of the Show
Neil DeGreasse Tyson
- Dr. Tyson has been selected by over 600 Global Science Advisors as the EarthSky Science Communicator of the Year for 2009.
Many expressed this sentiment about Dr. Tyson: “Especially since 2009 was the International Year of Astronomy, it’s appropriate that we honor Neil deGrasse Tyson and acknowledge his outstanding efforts to promote astronomy and other sciences.”
EarthSky has featured Dr. Tyson in an 8-minute EarthSky Clear Voices for Science podcast, speaking on the importance of science in creating an informed U.S. electorate.
Neil deGrasse Tyson: ‘Learning How to Think is Empowerment’:
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Six Degrees: Glenn Eichler and Allison Silverman
Posted by: | Comments Hi gang! I hope everyone had a good weekend and is ready to face Monday. (What, already?) This is just a quick drive-by post to fill you in on some news about a couple of our favorite Colbert Report people.
Glenn Eichler
- Hollywood University blog has a great interview with TCR writer Glenn Eichler, who talks about becoming a TV writer. Here he discusses his transition from writing for an animated show to writing for the Report.
Interview with The Colbert Report’s Glenn Eichler – Hollywood University blog
Your credits include animated series as well as The Colbert Report. How did you make the jump from one genre to another, and what advice do you have for other writers wanting to do the same (i.e. miving from comedy to drama)?
I made the jump because the animated show I wrote for five years (Daria) had a sort of cultish cachet, so I got to meet some up-and-coming comedy writers while doing it. By the time the show wrapped, several of them had become established in the industry, including Ben Karlin, who became e.p. of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. He recommended me for the latter when it was staffing up. So my story may be a little atypical. But my advice for writers is always the same: never stop writing, even when you’re not being paid to, and try to learn as many genres as you can. Even so, you may get pigeonholed in one area — I was “the guy who can write in a teenage girl’s voice,” until I became “the political satire guy.”
Allison Silverman
- Somewhat related to the topic of the interview with Glenn Eichler is this New York Times article about women writers — or more precisely, the lack of them — in late night television. Among the women writers and producers who were quoted in the article was former TCR head writer and executive producer Allison Silverman.
Among late-night writers, few women in the room – New York Times
“When you’re writing for late night, you’re writing through one person’s prism, and that person at the shows you’re looking at is always a dude,” said Hallie Haglund, one of the new writers on “The Daily Show.” Allison Silverman, who has served as the only woman writer first on “The Daily Show” then on Conan O’Brien’s staff, said she has no trouble assuming the voices of male hosts. Bu tshe added, “I don’t think the issue of sensibility is off base. The hosts and the staffs I worked on often resembled one another. Have you seen how many tall Irish people are on Conan’s staff?”
. . .Writer’s rooms have always had a reputation for crude behavior. Ms. Silverman described both “The Daily Show” and Mr. O’Brien’s show as “really good experiences” — though rife with crudeness. “There were plenty of penis jokes,” she said. “On occasion I’ve told them myself, though my penis jokes were rarely good. I don’t quite have the feel.”
- In other Allison Silverman news, Variety reports that she’s just won a Muse Award from New York Women in Film and Television: New York Women in Film and Television has announced the winners of this year’s Muse Awards. “The Good Wife’s” Julianna Margulies, “Ugly Betty’s” America Ferrera, The Colbert Report” writer-producer Allison Silverman and Lifetime Networks CEO Andrea Wong will be presented their awards at the Muse Awards gala Dec. 9 at the New York Hilton.
(h/t Ms I)
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Six Degrees: ‘Colbert Report’ Glenn Eichler gets “Stuffed”
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‘Colbert Reporter’ scribe Glenn Eichler has a new graphic novel out called “Stuffed”. According to the comicbookresources.com blog, the novel is about a man who discovers that what he thought was a mannequin given to him by his father is actually the remains of a human being. And, of course, wackiness ensues. CBR has a fantastic interview with Glenn that is a very interesting read. Here’s a small excerpt:
CBR: So tell us, what is “Stuffed!” about?
GLENN EICHLER: It’s a story about a guy who inherits a mannequin of an “African savage” from his father’s tourist-trap “Believe It or Not”-type museum, and realizes that this mannequin is actually a stuffed and mounted human skin. This “statue” used to be a person — what is the proper thing to do when you’re the owner of such a macabre item?
Glenn, you’re a writer on “The Colbert Report.” You’ve shared in Emmys and Writers Guild Awards and a Peabody and really, why are you spending your free time writing a graphic novel?
Wait a minute – is that question a dis of graphic novels? That attitude can’t be good for your business.
But the answer is, “TCR” and all the other late-night shows are extremely collaborative efforts – it’s sometimes hard to figure out what your contribution was to any given episode. I wanted to do something that would let me claim a little bit of ownership.
Now that you’re working on “The Colbert Report,” do you miss crafting narratives and telling longer stories. Is this part of where “Stuffed!” came from?
Definitely yes and definitely yes. Of course, if I were only doing graphic novels, I’d miss writing Sarah Palin jokes.
You can click here to learn more about “Stuffed” and order it from Amazon.
(Tip of the Hat to Katt)
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SIX DEGREES: ‘Colbert Report’ writer Glenn Eichler waxes poetic about the recession
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s so wonderful to see pieces from the ‘Colbert Report’ writers outside of the show. This piece from the New York Times, written by ‘Colbert Report’ writer Glenn Eichler, definitely does not disappoint. Oddly enough, the subject matter is quite absorbing and one of my favorite parts of the anatomy.
From the New York Times:
The Self-Examined Life
By GLENN EICHLER
July 5, 2009, 9:00 PMThis economic downturn has been tough on everyone, but for those of us in the creative community it’s been especially hard. I’m no complainer (not that I get any credit for it), but I’ve got to tell my story — not so much for myself as for my fellow artists everywhere. Things might be different if I were a painter, or a sculptor, but I’m not. I’m an omphaloskeptic. And the sad truth is, I can no longer make a living gazing at my own navel.
Trust me when I say, if you think you know where this is going, you’re sadly mistaken. It’s an amazingly laugh-filled read. Now if you’ll excuse me I have to go spend some quality time with a part of my body that is, sadly, oft overlooked.
h/t Jennie
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SIX DEGREES: ‘Colbert Report’ writer Glenn Eichler to collaborate on graphic novel
Posted by: | CommentsAccording to MTV News, ‘Colbert Report’ scribe Glenn Eichler has been working on a project with “American Splendor” artist Nick Bertozzi. This new project, called “Stuffed” is being cryptically described by Bertozzi as being about “racism”, but it also seems to have dark comedy undertones from the preview above. In an interesting note from the blog post, “the artist [Bertozzi] also noted that, as has become standard operating procedure with these types of collaborations, he’s never actually met Eichler yet.” We’ve also got a bit of a wait – the book is set to be released in late 2009.
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Episode 4048 (04/14/2008)
Posted by: | CommentsJohn Legend and Stephen sing the anthem [Ben Franklin: "Play ball!"].
First segment:
- Ben Franklin in the Election Center
- Road to the PA primary: History of the campaigns so far
Second segent:
- Mayor Nutter and guns
Third segment:
- Chris Matthews (host, MSNBC’s Hardball)
- Wow! I guess Stephen wasn’t kidding about Chris Matthews announcing a Senate run on his show.
In closing: Well, folks, that is it for the Report. Tomorrow night, my guests will be The Roots and Michelle Obama. Plus, I will learn how to pronounce this word ["Schuylkill" appears onscreen, Stephen makes a few hilariously bad attempts to pronounce it, then shrugs]. Good night.
NOTABLE MOMENTS, Video links, and more after the fold!
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