TVSquad

With The Jay Leno Show starting on Monday, I figured this would be as good a time as any to print my brief chat with Leno at the party NBC held at the TCA press tour. He had just shown up, and he was surprisingly not yet surrounded by reporters; I figured it would be a good time to throw him a couple of questions I was curious about. Little did I know that I'd be doing it while he was eating one of the short ribs they were serving at the party .

No matter; you get the hot star of the moment in front of you, you throw him questions even while he's chewing. Jay being Jay, he handled it like the pro he is. Nothing really that newsworthy came out of this little chat, which is why I've held on to it until now, but I figured it would be a fun thing to read on a Friday.

Oh, one fun note: he claims that when he started The Tonight Show, someone said "I hope Jay dies of AIDS in one of his cars." Wow. Wonder how easy that article would be to find on the Web?

Here's audio of the interview:



Was ABC ever close to happening at all?
No; I couldn't even talk to anybody for a few months. I mean, there were plenty of rumors, but no.

You work the room very well. At what point during your career did you think that being good with the press would work to your advantage?
You know, I like people. I like to talk to people, so it's not a (big deal)...

Even people like us who come at you with our tape recorders and shove them in your face?
You know if you're coming in with a big lie and you're trying to cover something up all the time, then it gets tricky, because people ask tricky questions. I just kinda answer honestly, and that's what it is, you know?

Are you concerned about Conan's ratings at all at this point? Do you think they're going to improve?
You know, he's at the same point I was when I started the show. This always happens to someone when they take over someone else's show. "You stink, you suck, we hate you." My favorite one I got was "I hope Jay dies of AIDS in one of his cars." That's when you just get 'blah.' It doesn't make any sense. It's all in how you choose to handle it.

If you watch Conan, he's doing fine. His eye's on the ball, he knows what he's supposed to do, and that's really what it is.

How much are you watching Conan? Are you watching him at all?
Oh yeah, I watch. I mean, I don't watch him every second of the day; I've got a job, you know? I see Jimmy (Kimmel), and I see him.