Lip Flip Clip
March 4, 2014 2:06 PM Subscribe
Lip Flip with Jiimmy Fallon & Tina Fey: After Tina expresses interest in interviewing herself, she and Jimmy swap mouths for an in-depth chat that ends with a duet of Endless Love. [SLYT]
The world needs more Jimmy Fallon and less of that other late night host.
posted by KokuRyu at 2:33 PM on March 4, 2014
posted by KokuRyu at 2:33 PM on March 4, 2014
his team has been really good at the social media stuff for a while now. their tumblr is great, so is their youtube channel. i was a fan of his on the previous show and i'm just so glad for him that the change over has been a pretty big hit so far. i think it's a good move and i think he'll keep doing well.
posted by nadawi at 2:34 PM on March 4, 2014
posted by nadawi at 2:34 PM on March 4, 2014
How innovative, never seen anything like it
posted by any major dude at 2:41 PM on March 4, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by any major dude at 2:41 PM on March 4, 2014 [2 favorites]
I don't think anyone was pretending it was innovative; just expressing pleasure at the fact that it was done at all.
posted by Hamadryad at 2:47 PM on March 4, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Hamadryad at 2:47 PM on March 4, 2014 [2 favorites]
One thing is for certain: Jay Leno's intransigence was a nasty boulder stuck in a creek. With its release, late night television is fun again. And Fallon is king.
posted by NedKoppel at 3:03 PM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by NedKoppel at 3:03 PM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]
How innovative, never yt seen yt anything yt like yt it yt
Oh come on.. have many people done it where they actually swap mouths and perform live as each other? It's almost always just one person doing a silly thing inside a photo...
posted by ReeMonster at 3:13 PM on March 4, 2014 [2 favorites]
Oh come on.. have many people done it where they actually swap mouths and perform live as each other? It's almost always just one person doing a silly thing inside a photo...
posted by ReeMonster at 3:13 PM on March 4, 2014 [2 favorites]
So for the last infinity years, I haven't had any interest in what happens on TV after 11 except for Daily Show and Colbert, and I PVR those. And yet last night not only did I find myself wanting to watch Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon, but I had to catch the clips after the fact because I was too busy watching Kimmel give my bumblefuck of a Mayor the public humiliation he so richly deserved.
All of a sudden late-night TV is competing for my eyeballs. Things change quickly.
posted by dry white toast at 3:21 PM on March 4, 2014 [3 favorites]
All of a sudden late-night TV is competing for my eyeballs. Things change quickly.
posted by dry white toast at 3:21 PM on March 4, 2014 [3 favorites]
(yes I know "deserved" may be a harsh word, and it was terribly awkward to watch, but after enduring months of lies and scandal after scandal after scandal from Rob Ford, I found it oddly cathartic)
posted by dry white toast at 3:24 PM on March 4, 2014
posted by dry white toast at 3:24 PM on March 4, 2014
This plays right into Fallon's biggest problem as a talk show host: He is only really great when he is working with people he knows. The first year or so of Late Night resembled The Chris Farley Show whenever he was talking with someone he had not been in something with or otherwise known for years. He has gotten better, for sure. But after the Conan debacle, I can't help but feel like he hasn't really paid his dues enough to graduate to Tonight.
posted by mediocre at 3:35 PM on March 4, 2014
posted by mediocre at 3:35 PM on March 4, 2014
But after the Conan debacle, I can't help but feel like he hasn't really paid his dues enough to graduate to Tonight.
But wasn't the Conan debacle really the Leno debacle?
posted by Room 641-A at 3:54 PM on March 4, 2014
But wasn't the Conan debacle really the Leno debacle?
posted by Room 641-A at 3:54 PM on March 4, 2014
What is the Conan Debacle?
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 4:04 PM on March 4, 2014
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 4:04 PM on March 4, 2014
What is the Conan Debacle?
He got in trouble for stealing the jeweled eyes of an evil religious artifact.
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:20 PM on March 4, 2014 [4 favorites]
He got in trouble for stealing the jeweled eyes of an evil religious artifact.
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:20 PM on March 4, 2014 [4 favorites]
This Jimmy Fallon mania is starting to look a lot like the Dane Cook frenzy of years past. Legions of fans hijacking viral media to force unfunny down the throats of America. It'll work for a little while but eventually the guy is going to need to bring some substance to his game.
posted by any major dude at 4:26 PM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by any major dude at 4:26 PM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]
What is the Conan Debacle?
I assumed this:
posted by Room 641-A at 4:34 PM on March 4, 2014
I assumed this:
When O'Brien's contract neared its end and he was courted by other networks in 2001, NBC extended his contract and essentially guaranteed him he would be the fifth host of Tonight. The network neglected to let Leno know that until his contract extension in 2004, when they informed him he would remain host for five more years and then transition the show to O'Brien in 2009. When that time arrived, other networks conveyed interest in Leno; NBC, in an effort to keep both of its late-night stars, offered Leno a nightly primetime show before the local news and O'Brien.which wouldn't really have anything to do with whether or not Fallon is ready to take over. But maybe medicore was (eponymously!) referring to something else.
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien and The Jay Leno Show failed to attract immediate viewers, and NBC affiliates, seeing their viewership decline, grew restless. NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Zucker, alongside chairman Jeff Gaspin and executive Rick Ludwin, created a remedy: move Leno back to his 11:35 pm start time and bump O'Brien a half-hour later, to 12:05 am. O'Brien and his staff were both disappointed and furious; when it became clear O'Brien would not agree to the proposed changes, the situation grew heated. Though not a breach of either host's contract, the change resulted in a public outcry and public demonstrations largely in support of O'Brien. O'Brien's public statement that he would "not participate in the destruction of The Tonight Show" led to negotiations with NBC for a settlement. O'Brien and his staff received 45 million dollars to walk away from the network, with his final Tonight Show airing January 21, 2010; Leno was reinstated as host that March.
posted by Room 641-A at 4:34 PM on March 4, 2014
Late Night With Conan O'Brien: 1993 - 2009
Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: 2009 - 2014
Conan put in 16 years to get his shot at The Tonight Show. Fallon stumbled his way through 5 and had it handed to him on a platter.
posted by mediocre at 4:48 PM on March 4, 2014
Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: 2009 - 2014
Conan put in 16 years to get his shot at The Tonight Show. Fallon stumbled his way through 5 and had it handed to him on a platter.
posted by mediocre at 4:48 PM on March 4, 2014
> Keep your head still, Tina!
It was kind of funny for the first 30 seconds when they would try, then laugh and fail, to hold still, but I'd rather this be done with something that tracks head position so they could focus on the performance.
posted by morganw at 5:01 PM on March 4, 2014
It was kind of funny for the first 30 seconds when they would try, then laugh and fail, to hold still, but I'd rather this be done with something that tracks head position so they could focus on the performance.
posted by morganw at 5:01 PM on March 4, 2014
What is the Conan Debacle?
To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women.
posted by RobotHero at 5:03 PM on March 4, 2014 [9 favorites]
To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women.
posted by RobotHero at 5:03 PM on March 4, 2014 [9 favorites]
Fallon stumbled his way through 5 and had it handed to him on a platter.
For the first time in forever, I'm genuinely interested in The Tonight Show. I can't think of another potential host that I'd have even a passing interest in, including Conan. So I really don't care if Fallon hasn't "paid his dues". He's fun and people want to see what he's going to do next. His gift is that he doesn't take the world or his guests too seriously. I would rather see that than the formulaic interviews and musical performances that have defined late night for the last 20 (more like 60) years.
The world needs more silly.
posted by dry white toast at 5:05 PM on March 4, 2014 [3 favorites]
For the first time in forever, I'm genuinely interested in The Tonight Show. I can't think of another potential host that I'd have even a passing interest in, including Conan. So I really don't care if Fallon hasn't "paid his dues". He's fun and people want to see what he's going to do next. His gift is that he doesn't take the world or his guests too seriously. I would rather see that than the formulaic interviews and musical performances that have defined late night for the last 20 (more like 60) years.
The world needs more silly.
posted by dry white toast at 5:05 PM on March 4, 2014 [3 favorites]
Sly, understated wit should be going viral, not this. The world needs more subtlety.
posted by davebush at 5:10 PM on March 4, 2014
posted by davebush at 5:10 PM on March 4, 2014
How innovative, never seen anything like it
Um...none of those had the same premise. So were you actually being sarcastic or not?
posted by yoink at 5:12 PM on March 4, 2014
Um...none of those had the same premise. So were you actually being sarcastic or not?
posted by yoink at 5:12 PM on March 4, 2014
ferguson is still my king of late night - but fallon is great for the tonight show slot. conan was a bad fit - he's better either later or on cable.
posted by nadawi at 5:23 PM on March 4, 2014
posted by nadawi at 5:23 PM on March 4, 2014
It's silly when people refer to someone "earning" The Tonight Show. It's a job, not an award. Having said that, I'm enjoying Jimmy Fallon as host.
posted by ColdChef at 5:34 PM on March 4, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by ColdChef at 5:34 PM on March 4, 2014 [3 favorites]
It's silly when people refer to someone "earning" The Tonight Show. It's a job, not an award.
Just ask David Letterman!
posted by Room 641-A at 5:47 PM on March 4, 2014
Just ask David Letterman!
posted by Room 641-A at 5:47 PM on March 4, 2014
I kept wondering why I found that as funny as I did.
And if Rob Ford could feel shame, maybe I'd feel sympathy.... nope. Still think he deserves much more of a shellacking.
posted by gadge emeritus at 6:25 PM on March 4, 2014
And if Rob Ford could feel shame, maybe I'd feel sympathy.... nope. Still think he deserves much more of a shellacking.
posted by gadge emeritus at 6:25 PM on March 4, 2014
Um...none of those had the same premise. So were you actually being sarcastic or not?
the premise of the funny is that it's not their own lips on their face so yes it is the same premise, and it was driven so far into the ground by Conan there was magma oozing from the corner of Smigel's mouth by the end. But hey, let's rebrand it and call it Lip Flip just like Leno re-branded Letterman's Small Town News into Headlines.
posted by any major dude at 7:18 PM on March 4, 2014
Americans have always had a mental block when it comes to the value of absurdity for its own sake.
posted by Flexagon at 9:38 AM on March 5, 2014
posted by Flexagon at 9:38 AM on March 5, 2014
the premise of the funny is that it's not their own lips on their face so yes it is the same premise,
No, the premise of the funny in this case was that the lips of the two interlocuters were swapped, and each was imitating/mocking the other. It was funny because it's technically very difficult (unlike projecting lips onto a still image) and they were trying to do this technically very difficult thing live and because its interactive (again, unlike projecting your lips onto a still image of some non-present person whom you are imitating)--where each has to try to act with their eyes/foreheads etc. to match what the other person is saying with the mouth. It has one small thing in common with those linked clips, but that doesn't make it "the same premise" at all--any more than any two comedy bits are "the same premise" because they involve "actors talking" or because they "both involve props."
posted by yoink at 10:13 AM on March 5, 2014 [1 favorite]
No, the premise of the funny in this case was that the lips of the two interlocuters were swapped, and each was imitating/mocking the other. It was funny because it's technically very difficult (unlike projecting lips onto a still image) and they were trying to do this technically very difficult thing live and because its interactive (again, unlike projecting your lips onto a still image of some non-present person whom you are imitating)--where each has to try to act with their eyes/foreheads etc. to match what the other person is saying with the mouth. It has one small thing in common with those linked clips, but that doesn't make it "the same premise" at all--any more than any two comedy bits are "the same premise" because they involve "actors talking" or because they "both involve props."
posted by yoink at 10:13 AM on March 5, 2014 [1 favorite]
First: Yes, I think this is sufficiently different/innovative/difficult than "just" putting lips on a still figure (you'll note Fallon and Fey's attempts to make the rest of their face/body match what "their" mouth is doing) to not be considered a rip-off.
Second: I don't think Conan has any personal animosity toward Jimmy Fallon; indeed, Conan's refusal to move the Tonight Show to 12:05 probably helped saved Fallon's Late Night from starting at 1:05(!) Conan was instead screwed over by Leno and the NBC execs.
Relevant O'Brien-Fallon clips:
Jimmy alludes to the Conan debacle at the Emmys
Conan pays Jimmy a visit (warning: crappy music dubbed into background)
Conan congratulates Jimmy on getting The Tonight Show
Jimmy thanks Conan as one of his predecessors on The Tonight Show (which Leno never did for Carson)
posted by dhens at 10:41 AM on March 5, 2014 [1 favorite]
Second: I don't think Conan has any personal animosity toward Jimmy Fallon; indeed, Conan's refusal to move the Tonight Show to 12:05 probably helped saved Fallon's Late Night from starting at 1:05(!) Conan was instead screwed over by Leno and the NBC execs.
Relevant O'Brien-Fallon clips:
Jimmy alludes to the Conan debacle at the Emmys
Conan pays Jimmy a visit (warning: crappy music dubbed into background)
Conan congratulates Jimmy on getting The Tonight Show
Jimmy thanks Conan as one of his predecessors on The Tonight Show (which Leno never did for Carson)
posted by dhens at 10:41 AM on March 5, 2014 [1 favorite]
Conan put in 16 years to get his shot at The Tonight Show. Fallon stumbled his way through 5 and had it handed to him on a platter.
Conan, is that you?
Seriously - Fallon is actually fun to watch - he gets celebrities to relax, do goofy stuff, which I think is an interesting way to see a little glimpse of their actual personalities beyond the banal veneer of the shopworn "Show up, smile, tell amusing anecdote, plug latest project" formula.
Add to that that he seems like a genuinely nice, humble guy, and is a pretty amazingly talented musician and impressionist, and you have a late night show that's actually *fun* to watch, not just glossy lights and noise.
I'm a fan.
posted by stenseng at 10:52 AM on March 5, 2014
Conan, is that you?
Seriously - Fallon is actually fun to watch - he gets celebrities to relax, do goofy stuff, which I think is an interesting way to see a little glimpse of their actual personalities beyond the banal veneer of the shopworn "Show up, smile, tell amusing anecdote, plug latest project" formula.
Add to that that he seems like a genuinely nice, humble guy, and is a pretty amazingly talented musician and impressionist, and you have a late night show that's actually *fun* to watch, not just glossy lights and noise.
I'm a fan.
posted by stenseng at 10:52 AM on March 5, 2014
Plus, the Roots are a fucking *MONSTER* house band. Just incredible talents.
posted by stenseng at 10:55 AM on March 5, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by stenseng at 10:55 AM on March 5, 2014 [2 favorites]
that doesn't make it "the same premise" at all--any more than any two comedy bits are "the same premise" because they involve "actors talking" or because they "both involve props."
or "driving in front of a green screen."
posted by Room 641-A at 11:21 AM on March 5, 2014
or "driving in front of a green screen."
posted by Room 641-A at 11:21 AM on March 5, 2014
the roots are a goddamned treasure. fallon was so lucky to score them on late night and it's incredible to me that the fucking roots are the tonight show band now. it works out great for the band from what questlove says - a steady paycheck, lets the guys with families have a normal schedule, gives him room to do his dj thing and all the other projects he's constantly working on. i would watch a yearly supercut of all their walk-on music.
posted by nadawi at 11:30 AM on March 5, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by nadawi at 11:30 AM on March 5, 2014 [2 favorites]
I was pleasantly surprised when the Roots covered a Weird Al original composition for Chelsea Handler's walk on last night!
Did anyone else notice Tariq say "12" at the end of last night's intro music? Are they counting the number of shows? (Last night was, indeed, the 12th Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon.)
posted by dhens at 11:40 AM on March 5, 2014 [1 favorite]
Did anyone else notice Tariq say "12" at the end of last night's intro music? Are they counting the number of shows? (Last night was, indeed, the 12th Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon.)
posted by dhens at 11:40 AM on March 5, 2014 [1 favorite]
Yeah - they've been counting off each show.
posted by stenseng at 11:44 AM on March 5, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by stenseng at 11:44 AM on March 5, 2014 [2 favorites]
« Older Pelican Cam | Slates for Sarah Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
Related from 20 minutes earlier in the same show last night:
Jimmy Fallon, Idina Menzel & The Roots Sing Let It Go from Frozen (w/ Classroom Instruments)
People keep saying that Fallon and company turned The Tonight Show into a viral video production house like its a bad thing. It's actually brilliant.
Both of these things were in my Facebook stream before the show was over.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 2:24 PM on March 4, 2014 [7 favorites]