Conan O'Brien: Divorce from NBC is Ugly and "Crazy Expensive"

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed)
Jan 22nd 2010 at 2:20PM

If you can't beat them and you are leaving anyway, why not spend all their money?

That seems to be Conan O'Brien's philosophy this week as he embarked on a series of skits and extraordinarily expensive props to put on the appearance that he intended to blow through the Tonight Show budget in one week.

On Wednesday he trotted out a Bugatti Veyron, a rare and pricey sports car that costs as much as some private jets. O'Brien unveiled the Bugatti Veyron, showing the million dollar car embellished with mouse ears and whiskers. O'Brien claimed to have purchased the sports car.

Last night, he upped the ante by bringing out Kentucky Derby winning racehorse Mine That Bird adorned with a mink "Snuggie" and by showing restricted Super Bowl footage. This "crazy expensive" skit, he claimed, cost NBC $4.8 million.

But did O'Brien really spend millions of NBC's money? Our sources reveal the Bugatti is owned by Bob Petersen of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles and was loaned to the show for free. Conan did authorize to pay for its transportation costs to and from the show. It is already back at the museum where it may end up being moved to the Hollywood Wing, where important cars from movies and TV are displayed.

Likewise, the identity of the racehorse and the authenticity of the Super Bowl footage has since been disputed. As our sports-loving friends at FanHouse point out, that footage was actually a 1984 USFL game between the Tampa Bay Bandits and Houston Gamblers. A quick look at the horse on the Tonight Show and at Kentucky Derby winner reveals that while the two share some markings including a white smudge on the forehead, they are not the same animal. Mine That Bird is a bay with a darker mane and a smaller white marking than the horse that appeared on the Tonight Show (which was a chestnut). And while it is hard to tell from a television screen if the horse is wearing real fur, the thinness and drape seem to indicate that the horse is not adorned in real mink.

To be sure, there were some costs involved with the jabs at NBC. Our sources say that O'Brien may have actually purchase the rights to use the master copy of the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction" which played while he unveiled the Bugatti. O'Brien claimed the skit cost NBC $1.5 million in expenses to air, which includes securing the royalty rights for the music. This may explain why, as Mashable reported, the network took down the clips of the Veyron sketch from Hulu and NBC.com to avoid fees associated with replaying the song each time. The clip remains on YouTube.

O'Brien's antics became more fantastic since he put "The Tonight Show" up for sale last week on popular website Craigslist offering a barely used show "guaranteed to last for up to seven months." The posting was later pulled but Conan used the ad as a launching off point for what he called "crazy expensive" comedy bits.

What set O'Brien off was a decision NBC made earlier this month to move "The Jay Leno Show" to the "Tonight Show's" slot at 11:35 pm beginning in March, and shift O'Brien's show to 12:05 am. Leno, who's show is floundering in its current 10:00 pm slot, is supportive of the decision. O'Brien, on the other hand, is outraged. O'Brien is livid that he passed up "far more lucrative" offers to have the opportunity to take over "The Tonight Show" in June 2009. "I sincerely believe that delaying The Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting."

O'Brien only has one more chance to pull another fast one off on NBC. Earlier this week, the comedian reached a deal with NBC to step down as host of the "Tonight Show", reportedly pocketing a $32 million payout, with his staff receiving a severance package worth another $12 million to $13 million. He is prohibited from going back on the air until September of this year. O'Brien's final show as host of the "Tonight Show" will air this evening. What should Conan trot out tonight? We're hoping for some serious bling. Maybe he'll wear Lil John's record setting crunk necklace or something similar.

We'll see what he has in store for us.

Tags: bugatti veyron, BugattiVeyron, conan obrien, ConanObrien, jay leno, JayLeno, kentucy derby, KentucyDerby, Mine that Bird, MineThatBird, nbc, nbc universal, NbcUniversal, rolling stones, RollingStones, Super Bowl, SuperBowl

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Reader Comments (Page 5 of 15)

jloftis01 Jan 22nd 2010 3:43PM

Ok, for all you people whining, complaining, bickering, insulting, please remember one key thing: Your a friggin human, you have a CHOICE not to watch his show. The fact that you people are spending time on this is amazing.....Who the hell cares if his ratings dropped or rose, or whether the fact that Leno's crappy show was going to be cancelled......if it's really THAT bad to see/hear him then change the goddamn channel, theres a crisis in haiti, a war in afghanistan and our new president is dropping the ball......do you people really have no lives? Do you really have to be apart of something as stupid as this? WHO CARES ABOUT THIS CRAP, its NBC....cmon people, get it together.

Side note: i guarentee 60-70% of you people are older than me yet your acting more like 12 year olds over a boy band breaking up......

GROW UP and look around you, whats that called again? Oh yeah

R E A L I T Y

Blah Blah Jan 22nd 2010 3:42PM

I think the reason why Leno's show flopped was because people don't want to watch Jay Leno at 10 PM. They want to watch the news. Since the news was pushed back to 11PM, people change the channel and watch FOX news or another news channel instead. A lot of people have jobs, and just want to watch the news and go to bed. This in my opinion, is one of the reasons why Leno's show killed ratings at NBC.

JB Jan 22nd 2010 3:54PM

this conan guy is one of kind you find out what kind and we will all know jb

caitiekat94 Jan 22nd 2010 3:45PM

THAT WAS AWESOME! good for you get back @ nbc! LOL XD

kiowa391 Jan 22nd 2010 3:50PM

Who cares, I am so tired of this. I they both win...Connan with his big pay off. Trust me give me 8 million to move on to HBO or ever his is headed. Hey folks are getting the axe every day and are lucky to get unemployment bene's. He flopped from day one, give me Jimmy Fallon and Carson Daly.

Nancy Jan 22nd 2010 3:53PM

I hope other stations will see what a crook Conon is. What other station would handle him if it would wind up costing them millions if things did not go his way.

Ted Jan 22nd 2010 3:54PM

Nope, still not funny Conan . Off you go. Conan is like the American Idol candidate who is waved off but still wants to sing one more song in the most irritating way.

ieeee Jan 22nd 2010 4:45PM

Ever notice how everyone who decides to bash Conan is old, crusty and decaying? I'm guessing they all remember the time when they had to crank start their cars and create formal letters via typewriter. Childish, immature, idiot.....really!?! They all want to watch old gas bags like themselves on TV. All Leno does is play the "your dumb" deprecating card" ...... talk about not being funny.

spita80 Jan 22nd 2010 3:59PM

Leno sucks! I will not watch him at all if/when he takes the tonight show. He had it and stepped down...if he could't muster the ratings for his 10pm show...what makes him think he will get the ratings for the Tonight Show? Maybe it's the show itself....Tonight Show has been a staple in the TV industry! But, when Leno comes back, I know quite a few people will not be watching it.

deboss Jan 22nd 2010 3:59PM

PRICELESS,,JUST PRICELESS,,LENO IS A HAS BEEN,,CONAN,,FRESH AND NEW EVERY NIGHT,,ILL INVEST 10 MILL,,I WANT CONAN ON MY PAYROLL,,.

armjoint1 Jan 22nd 2010 4:01PM

Can't stand immature, cry-baby Conan; can't wait for Jay to return. Hope Conan has a difficult time finding a job in lieu of the antics he is pulling now because he's angry and having a tantrum; other executives at other stations will be watching his actions of retaliations now. Good ridance Conan!!!!!

Steve Jan 22nd 2010 4:02PM

I'll never watch NBC again. Good luck, Conan! I'll be watching Craig Ferguson or Lopez Tonight until Conan is back on the air.

Candee Jan 22nd 2010 4:04PM

No matter what, Conan was NEVER funny and is an annoying little troll. He has no talent for hosting the Tonight show,.So what he graduated valedictorian etc. that doesn't make him funny, entertaining or anything else Jay Leno IS.
His antics of this week show how classless he is and proves NBC made the right decision. Don't blame Leno-it was NBC's decision. Carson was the only person truly suited for The Tonight Show-Leno did great taking over when he left.
Last night, Leno demonstrated his class by making a short statement and moving on. Conan whined like a baby...and will cry all the way to the bank with his multi million dollar settlement-as will his former low end staff now turned millionaires. Get over it and move on.

wigsrus Jan 22nd 2010 4:06PM

Loved it! It was hilarious and a funny way to stick it to NBC for their shady deals and colossal mismanagement.

wcwfjojo Jan 22nd 2010 4:07PM

They're jokes. We know that. It's a comedy TV show.

It's like when Conan posted this up: http://www.infinitehollywood.com/2010/01/funniest-batman-youtube-clip-ever.html

It was a gag.

simpsondlnd Jan 22nd 2010 4:12PM

Good riddance! Conan is ridiculous and I for one mon't miss him.

Justin Chopin Jan 22nd 2010 4:15PM

I don't know why he's whinning. The man just signed a forty five million deal with the company to come on next September. I love Conan as a comedian to death but if I were him I would just stop with all of the anti- NBC humor since he is in effect getting a really " Sweet Deal" to basically do the same thing.

prionboy Jan 22nd 2010 4:10PM

Those sketches are pretty funny. But not nearly as funny as Leno making fun of dumb people, of course. Now that's true genius.

Paul Atkinson Jan 22nd 2010 4:10PM

Conan is the best of all! He earned the Johnny Carson the correct way. WORKED FOR IT>>>> NBC sucks, and will learn. They will still be around screwing everyone they make money off. Conan will be fine. If I were him, then I would have a whole month of filet mingon, and Dom Peri Champange. What a life he did for his self. He earned it NBC.

Light3 Jan 31st 2010 2:21PM

Too bad Conan wasn't clever enough to figure out how to use his last night's on-air budget for the benefit of jobless Americans or Haitian relief. He had an opportunity to shock his audience, silence his critics, and move on graciously to other things. Instead, well, what an inappropriate waste of money during these hard times!

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