Live From New York - James H. Miller [293]
DANNY DEVITO, Host:
What makes Lorne so good as a producer? I think it may be the popcorn. There’s a lot of popcorn in his office. He always has big, big bowls of fresh popcorn, and I think that helps. It’s really what sets him apart from other producers. And another thing is, he doesn’t really care if it drops on the floor. It’s like total focus on the board. You could just eat like a slob in that office and he really doesn’t give a shit. With him it’s really all about the show.
ROBERT WRIGHT, NBC Chairman and CEO:
He’s never been a sitcom producer, so he doesn’t have that. He’s never been a variety-show producer either; he’s not a George Schlatter. He’s not one of the early sitcom producers, like Sheldon Leonard, where he did nineteen in a row. So he doesn’t have that kind of a history. He’s really unique. The length of the show and the fact that he stays with it; he’s the Sumner Redstone of live comedy programming, with one show. He has to work very hard to do that. I know he does. And he’s fortunate that he has young children, because he’s forced to pay attention to lots of different worlds.
My sense is he would rather not do as much of the politics, but he knows it works, and he knows that the people do a great, great job with it. I think he’s political, but I don’t think he feels he’s a political satirist as much as he is funny. I think his great strength is, he’s looking for funny. And if politics is a way to do that, fine. If it’s some piece of legislation or some event, a war or whatever, he’s there. He’s a marvelous asset.
STEVE MARTIN:
He puts people together well. He will suggest something that performers are either too shy or too afraid to suggest. He will encourage partnerships, he’ll make the phone call to the person that everybody else’d be afraid to call. And he also has this kind of soft wit and patience. Patience with things and people. He loves the youth that flies around those offices. He gets a lot from it. It keeps him hip, I guess. It keeps him puzzled and it keeps him challenged, because the new thing is sometimes very hard for older people to tolerate and accept, even though we were all once a part of it. He’ll let something go that he might not fully understand.
SARAH JESSICA PARKER, Host:
Lorne is not necessarily a demonstrative person, but you know you’re in good hands. You know it’s not a lack of interest on his part; he’s overseeing something and doesn’t need to be there hands-on all the time. I think he trusts the host that he hires. Look, he’s hired you, he must feel fairly confident in your ability to fulfill your obligations, and he feels he doesn’t need to baby-sit.
RUDOLPH GIULIANI, Host:
Lorne’s a good friend. He’s somebody I really respect and admire because of the consistency and the way in which he’s carried this out through now maybe two different generations of people and four or five generations of artists. So at this point you have to say, despite the fact that he’s had some tremendously talented people, this whole thing is really him.
Honestly, you’d have to be very fortunate to find somebody like him. The show could only survive without him if they could find somebody like him — if he could find somebody like him and train him, the way a great coach can find somebody to replace him. But usually you can’t do that.
GWYNETH PALTROW:
Lorne can be stingy with praise, but I think you have to be in that environment. They’re writing so much each week and the turnover is so fast, you don’t want people resting on their laurels and thinking, “Oh, I’m funny, Lorne thinks I’m funny,” and then, “Anything I write is funny and good.” I think it’s very important in terms of keeping the show fresh and edgy and funny and young that nobody relaxes. So I think it’s Lorne’s job to keep them on their toes.
Some people are able to make it and go on to other things, some people can’t, and some people end up killing themselves.