The other week David Letterman had his buddy, Howard Stern on the Late Show with David Letterman and in the conversation they were having Mr. Letterman said something that equated to the idea that he might be leaving the show in a couple of years.
Fans eyebrows lifted in curious confusion and concern from that little statement and pounded on the internet, looking for answers. I am guessing that the fact that Mr. Letterman’s contract with CBS expires at the end 2012 could have also been factored into the fan panic!
But with Mr. Letterman’s statement, it became spin city time to help correct fan perspectives about the man and the show.
Rob Burnett, the poor guy who has to tackle this issue, is the executive producer of the Late Show with David Letterman, chatted up Entertainment Weekly and had a few nuggets to say about the scenario.
One was that Mr. Letterman has said something to this account on various occasions, the first time being noted way back in 1987. He also clarified that the response was a sort of tossed-off response and made one interesting point for fans to consider:
“…when a guy ends a 30-plus (year) career on television, it’s not going to be guessing about whether he’s leaving or not.“
-
Cinema Static Thoughts:
For one, even if David Letterman’s response wasn’t just off the cuff, this kind of spin being produced would be necessary to appease sponsor and network contractual obligations. You would be surprised what goes into an entertainment contract!
But secondly, if he were looking to leave, I think Mr. Letterman would be more guarded about that kind of information if he was in the middle of concocting his exit strategy. Though Mr. Burnett did quantify one thing by saying he does not know what Mr. Letterman knows, in as much as his own plans.
Then again, Mr Letterman & Howard Stern are fairly decent friends and Mr. Stern’s own skills at conversational interviewing, which in my mind, is damn near second-to-none, could have had Mr. Letterman slip up.
But I am tending towards the second point, where if David Letterman were leaving, he wouldn’t let it slip up in one of his own interviews. I think he’s smarter than that.
Isn’t he?
-
You can follow Cinema Static on Twitter
[Inside TV on EW]
