Conan & the Tonight Show in the Times Magazine

Posted by Maximum Fun on 20th May 2009

“In 2004, when O’Brien’s contract was up and other networks were aggressively wooing him, NBC promised him their flagship. “But they wanted me to wait five years to be the host of ‘The Tonight Show,’ ‘ O’Brien told me. “And in 2004, 2009 sounded absurdly far away. I thought that in 2009, we’d be flying around with jet packs and our dinners would be in pill form. It was like being given a car when you’re 11 years old and being told, When you’re 16, you get to drive it. So I put my blinders on, and I went back to work. And, then, two years ago, I began to feel the barometric pressure changing. When it was a year away, I sat bolt upright in my bed. And now. . . ‘ O’Brien’s voice trailed off as 3 of his 15 writers arrived for their weekly meeting. “And now, we’re stuck between two worlds. We’re putting on a show here while we’re imagining another show there.'”

Conan O’Brien profiled in the NY Times Magazine

(heads up from John Moe)