Hello, Hubsters!
Last week was thrilling, wasn’t it? There were so many highlights: The first hour-long show, featuring Radiohead. The transparent SuperPAC transforming into the secretive c4. The yearly arrival of the Atone Phone, with John Lithgow calling in. (And if you’re a Lithgow fan, read on for more news!) I enjoyed it all, including a stinging WORD and the return visit of Trevor Potter, who really has been wonderful explaining the legalities of campaign contributions. I’m so proud of Stephen for his outrageously cutting-edge efforts to enlighten everyone about the effects of the Supreme Court’s ruling giving corporations the status of people. There’s just no one like him.
Now, let’s see what treats Stephen has in store for us in the next four shows.
Monday, 10/3: Jerome Groopman
Once upon a time, when you became sick, you went to your doctor and listened to his or (less often in the old days) her advice. But things have changed: for every disease there are numerous treatment options and we can all do our own research on the web, where we have access to a vast amount of information. On one hand, that gives us more control over our own lives and bodies; on the other hand, it’s scary and sometimes overwhelming to sift through the competing advice and know the good from the bad. What choice should we make–and what if our decision is wrong? Dr. Jerome Groopman’s new book, Your Medical Mind: How to Decide What Is Right for You (co-written with his wife, Pamela Hartzband), helps patients navigate through those choices.
Groopman’s achievements are staggering: he’s a distinguished AIDS and cancer specialist who holds the Dina and Raphael Recanati Professorship at Harvard Medical School; a regular reporter for The New Yorker magazine; a contributor to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and other publications; and an author with several New York Times bestsellers—including The Anatomy of Hope and How Doctors Think. In addition to his medical fellowships and honors, he has received many awards for his writing: two Books for a Better Life Award, a Christopher Award, and a Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting. And a nice bit of trivia: apparently, the character in the TV show Gideon’s Crossing, played by Andre Braugher, was based on him. And that barely begins to scratch the surface of this writer and healer.
Visit his official website.
He’s been on The Colbert Report before! Hear him discuss How Doctors Think.
Get a little sneak preview into the issues he discusses in the book; read this article he wrote last year for The New York Review of Books on “Health Care: Who Knows Best?”
Hear Groopman discuss Your Medical Mind on NPR.
Here’s a more personal article on him in The New York Times.
Tuesday, 10/4: John Lithgow
Last week, we enjoyed a small taste of John Lithgow interacting with Stephen during the hilarious “Atone Phone” sequence. And, while we didn’t realize it at the time, when Stephen said goodbye at episode’s end, we were getting a glimpse of him preparing for Tuesday’s show. There he was, leaning back, blowing the shofar and holding Lithgow’s new autobiography, Drama: An Actor’s Education. And why not? It’s supposed to be an extremely enjoyable and upbeat read. You may also remember that Lithgow had a short visit to the Report before, dramatically (and hysterically) reciting a < span=””> title=”John Lithgow recites Newt Gingrich press release on The Colbert Report” href=”http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2011/05/about-late-last-night-john-lithgow-recites-newt-gingrichs-dramatic-press-release-video.html” target=”_blank”>Newt Gingrich’s press release.
Now, may I digress for a moment to praise Mr. Lithgow for giving one of the most chilling brilliant, and fearless performances ever, as the Trinity Killer in Dexter? (Here he discusses the role with CBS’s Harry Smith.) From the moment he appeared on screen as a super-smart serial killer who knows how to get the last word , this often jovial and appealing actor left you frozen in fear. He earned both an Emmy and Golden Globe for the role, deservedly so. (Unfortunately, he thanked the wrong network when he gave his Emmy acceptance speech.) I just remember him in that bathtub, his arms around a terrified young woman, a knife in his hands, whispering almost tenderly and creepily….
Since Lithgow has already written several bestselling children’s book, including The Remarkable Farkle McBride about a young genius musician, it’s not surprising that Drama is winning accolades. The New York Times just gave it a rave. One quote I love from the review: Lithgow’s description of himself “an insufferable Shakespeare snob” who put on an English accent. (Sounds like he and the black-turtlenecked pre-comedy Colbert might have had much in common!) Another fan of the book: Steve Martin, who called it “[a] memoir as finely crafted as one of Lithgow’s performances. Lithgow tells of transgressions, indiscretions, and a tabloid-worthy affair that my PR people could only have wished for. An exciting and revealing book, and what’s more, it’s about ACTING!”
Acting is ceetainly a subject Lithgow knows about because it’s in his blood. He comes from an acting family: his mother was an actress and his father ran the McCarter Theater in Princeton, New Jersey. After going on to Harvard, he attended the London Academy of Musical and Dramatic Art on a Fulbright scholarship. From early on, Lithgow captured awards: he received both Tony® and Drama Desk® awards for his theatrical debut in David Storey’s The Changing Room; Tony nominations for Requiem for a Heavyweight and M. Butterfly; and Oscar® nominations for his first two major screen roles—as a transvestite in The World According to Garp and for the weepy melodrama Terms of Endearment. He also appeared in the original Footloose–about to be released in a new version–as a stuffy reverend whose daughter discovers a love of dance. His turn as a comic alien in the hit TV series Third Rock From The Sun won three Emmy® awards and many more nominations. Lithgow is also an accomplished musician and singer who has not only starred in Broadway musicals such as The Sweet Smell of Success but produced an album of children’s songs, Singin’ in the Bathtub. (Oops, see terrifying scene above. That title doesn’t bring me child-friendly memories.)
Next up for Lithgow? A return to Broadway in a new drama by award-winning playwright David Auburn about a real-life foreign-affairs columnist Joseph Alsop.
Visit John Lithgow’s official website.
Here is his official author page at Simon & Schuster.
Read a New York Times interview with him about the book.
Follow him on Twitter.
Wednesday, 10/5: Mos Def & Talib Kweli
Are you ready for some music? With luck, we’ll probably get some on this show. It isn’t often that Stephen has a guest return so soon. Talib Kweli last appeared on the Report only this past June, for Colbchella. Now he’s back, together with Mos Def, and I think this will be a phenomenal episode. The two hip-hoppers have a band called Black Star, and they’re currently touring, with a NYC show this very evening and then on to California and other states. So far, their performances have reportedly been incredible; here’s a rave about their Dallas show.
The duo’s first release was in 1998, when they postponed their individual albums to join forces on Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Black Star. I don’t always recommend Wikipedia—you know what Stephen can do to a page and so can anyone else!—but Wiki’s entry on that groundbreaking collaboration is extremely good, I think, and goes track by track. This is the album that the rappers are revisiting on their tour.
Since I’ve covered Kweli so recently, let me focus on Mos Def. Like Kweli, he’s a Brooklyn-born boy who always showed an interest in music and acting. Def majored in musical theater at New York’s renowned High School of Performing Arts, and then went on to NYU. In addition to singing, he has pursued an acting career with equal success: He received an Emmy nomination for Something the Lord Made and also guested on House, among other shows. His next role? Believe it or not, he’s set to appear on the next year of Dexter! Maybe he and John Lithgow should get together and chat. The musical work he created with Kweli came early in his career, and it hit big, giving them two songs—“Respiration” and “Definition”—that became part of VHI’s “100 Greatest Songs in Hip-Hop.” Mos Def has sung with Kanye West and Colbert favorite The Roots, and received six Grammy® nominations for his recordings. Some of his top songs include “Sex, Love & Money,” ‘Ghetto Rock,” “Undeniable,” and “Stylo.” His most recent album was The Ecstatic in 2009.
Both Mos Def and Kweli are strong lyricists with a political bent and a desire for honor their roots. You can check out some of their lyrics here, if you’re interested.
Follow Kweli on Twitter. You can also follow Mos Def.
Watch the video for their song “History.” (I love the many images of earlier African-American artists who preceded them. And hurrah for Brooklyn references! )
Recently, a prisoner named Troy Davis, most likely innocent but certainly not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, was executed in Georgia. Here’s their shout-out tribute to him.
Here’s a Rolling Stone article from their last reunion show in 2009.
You can like Black Star’s Facebook page, although it seems like one of those quickies that someone puts up on FB, rather than an official page.
Listen to Black Star’s music online.
Read an EW.com review of Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Black Star from the time of its original release.
Thursday, 10/6: Jason Amerine
We know how much Stephen admires the men and women who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. Tonight, he honors one more hero: Green Beret Major Jason Amerine. Amerine was already in Afghanistan training local troops when the September 11th attacks occurred. He and his forces were asked to assist Hamid Karzai, then only a tribal leader, and his fighters defeat the Taliban. Then an air strike went wrong—a case of “friendly fire.” Several people were killed and others, including Major Amerine himself, were wounded. Yet the battle was won. He and his Special Forces team are the subject of the book The Only Thing Worth Dying For: How 11 Green Berets Forged a New Afghanistan, written by Erik Blehm.
Amerine’s medals include (but are not limited to) the Purple Heart, Bronze Star with Valor, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Army Commendation Medal with 2 Oaks Leaf Clusters, given for bravery. He has also received numerous citations and badges. In 2006, this real-life hero also became an action hero: Amerine is starring in an Army-made video game meant to entice teens to enlist. Hmmm. Much as I honor those who put their lives on the line, I’m not sure it’s fair to tempt youngsters with something that doesn’t capture the realities of war, but portrays it as a bloodless game.
Here are Major Amerine’s comments on the events of October 11, 2001.
Go to this Army website to learn more about Major Amerine, see all the medals he’s received (more than a could name in this space), and watch a video.
Listen to an interview with him on PBS.
And Now, Let’s Check In With Our Good Friend, Jon Stewart!
Lots of return guests this week. I thought Sudeikis was too, but apparently this is his first time on the show. Surprise.
Monday, 10/3: Thomas Friedman
Many people I know are huge fans of Thomas Friedman; me, not so much. I think he came rather late to the understanding that the Iraq war was a bad move. But that is just my humble opinion, and I understand if you disagree. You’re in good company if you do, because Friedman has won the Pulitzer Prize three times. He’s a New York Times columnist specializing in foreign affairs, and the author of several bestselling books, including Hot, Flat and Crowded; The World Is Flat (which he also released in an expanded paperback edition), and Longitudes and Attitudes: Exploring the World After September 11.
His newest book, co-written with Michael Mandelbaum, is That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back. They take a close and critical look at the United States in a time of globalization and technological change, as well as the effects of our huge deficit and energy guzzling.
Visit his official site, in which he discusses his support for the Iraq War in the “About the Author” section, and provides links to articles.
Hear a video of him speaking about The World Is Flat at MIT.
He’s a friend of the show! Watch two of his earlier appearances on The Daily Show, one in 2009 and another in 2008.
Follow him on Twitter.
Tuesday, 10/4: Michael Lewis
Bestselling author Michael Lewis seems to have the best of luck when his books become films. Most writers get upset as they watch their masterpieces destroyed, but The Blind Side got great reviews and earned Sandra Bullock an Oscar. Now Moneyball, with Brad Pitt playing Oakland A’s baseball manager Billy Beane, continues Lewis’s Hollywood lucky streak. Before dedicating himself to writing full time, Lewis—who has an MA in economics– worked for Salomon Brothers, which inspired his book Liar’s Poker. The world of money, and by extension math and statistics, fascinates him: Moneyball , for example, involves figuring out how to win at baseball through crunching the numbers and figuring out which players to use when.
JUST ADDED: A big New York Magazine profile of Lewis!
See his last appearance on The Daily Show, when he discussed his book The Big Short, about the mortgage meltdown—and a man with Asperger’s syndrome who made money betting against subprime mortages.
He also appeared on The Colbert Report to discuss The Big Short again, when it came out in paperback. Fun to compare interviews!
Access his articles for Bloomberg News here.
Lewis discussed Moneyball with the folks at ESPN.
What does Michael Lewis like to read? He told the Atlantic magazine.
Watch the Moneyball trailer.
Wednesday, 10/5: Hugh Jackman
Actor, singer, dancer, Oscar host, and eye candy extraordinaire Hugh Jackman has a lot going on in his career right now. And I know because I have a tickets to see his upcoming show on Broadway! It’s a one-man song-and-dance revue, aptly named Back on Broadway, (His last stint there was in a two-man show with Daniel Craig called After the Rain.) The former X-Man also stars in a new 3D movie from Disney, Real Steel, set sometime in the future. Jackman’s character is a an ex-boxer and rogue trainer of robots, so I expect we’ll get to see plenty of physical action in the third dimension. Butler, a comedy with Jennifer Garner, follows on its heels, and next up, he’s doing the film adaptation of the musical Les Miserables.
Follow him on Twitter.
Read this article about the new film and what’s been happening in his life recently.
Remember how good he was hosting the Oscars? Watch his opening number again!
See the trailer for Real Steel.
He’s been on The Daily Show before, and he and Jon discussed hosting the Oscars. (Jon also seemed to admire his muscles. So do I!)
Thursday, 10/6: Jason Sudeikis
Comedian and actor Jason Sudeikis is a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live (he does Joe Biden), and also has a recurring role on The Cleveland Show (an animated series on which he does voiceover). His recent films include The Bounty Hunter and Horrible Bosses, both with Jennifer Aniston, and Hall Pass. Now, he’s joining the cast of HBO’s Eastbound and Down. And if all that weren’t enough, Sudeikis also guested on 30 Rock (his ex-wife writes for the show), It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Portlandia (Allison Silverman’s show). Guess he just likes to keep busy!
By the way, in case you didn’t know, he’s the nephew of actor George Wendt, from Cheers.
Here’s an article on Jason in Men’s Journal.
He just hosted the MTV Movie Awards, where he and Twilight‘s Taylor Lautner did a a parody of The Hangover. He also got an excellent review from Popeater on Huff Post.
Sudeikis appeared on Stephen’s former BFF’s show: Jimmy!
That’s it for this week! Let me know who you’re looking forward to watching in the coming days. And–who’s planning to phone Stephen to atone? How have you wronged him? I have less than a week before Yom Kippur and then my time is up for the year.
Cheers, all.
Better Know a Guest: October 3th – 6th, 2011
Hello, Hubsters!
Last week was thrilling, wasn’t it? There were so many highlights: The first hour-long show, featuring Radiohead. The transparent SuperPAC transforming into the secretive c4. The yearly arrival of the Atone Phone, with John Lithgow calling in. (And if you’re a Lithgow fan, read on for more news!) I enjoyed it all, including a stinging WORD and the return visit of Trevor Potter, who really has been wonderful explaining the legalities of campaign contributions. I’m so proud of Stephen for his outrageously cutting-edge efforts to enlighten everyone about the effects of the Supreme Court’s ruling giving corporations the status of people. There’s just no one like him.
Now, let’s see what treats Stephen has in store for us in the next four shows.
Monday, 10/3: Jerome Groopman
Once upon a time, when you became sick, you went to your doctor and listened to his or (less often in the old days) her advice. But things have changed: for every disease there are numerous treatment options and we can all do our own research on the web, where we have access to a vast amount of information. On one hand, that gives us more control over our own lives and bodies; on the other hand, it’s scary and sometimes overwhelming to sift through the competing advice and know the good from the bad. What choice should we make–and what if our decision is wrong? Dr. Jerome Groopman’s new book, Your Medical Mind: How to Decide What Is Right for You (co-written with his wife, Pamela Hartzband), helps patients navigate through those choices.
Groopman’s achievements are staggering: he’s a distinguished AIDS and cancer specialist who holds the Dina and Raphael Recanati Professorship at Harvard Medical School; a regular reporter for The New Yorker magazine; a contributor to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and other publications; and an author with several New York Times bestsellers—including The Anatomy of Hope and How Doctors Think. In addition to his medical fellowships and honors, he has received many awards for his writing: two Books for a Better Life Award, a Christopher Award, and a Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting. And a nice bit of trivia: apparently, the character in the TV show Gideon’s Crossing, played by Andre Braugher, was based on him. And that barely begins to scratch the surface of this writer and healer.
Visit his official website.
He’s been on The Colbert Report before! Hear him discuss How Doctors Think.
Get a little sneak preview into the issues he discusses in the book; read this article he wrote last year for The New York Review of Books on “Health Care: Who Knows Best?”
Hear Groopman discuss Your Medical Mind on NPR.
Here’s a more personal article on him in The New York Times.
Tuesday, 10/4: John Lithgow
Last week, we enjoyed a small taste of John Lithgow interacting with Stephen during the hilarious “Atone Phone” sequence. And, while we didn’t realize it at the time, when Stephen said goodbye at episode’s end, we were getting a glimpse of him preparing for Tuesday’s show. There he was, leaning back, blowing the shofar and holding Lithgow’s new autobiography, Drama: An Actor’s Education. And why not? It’s supposed to be an extremely enjoyable and upbeat read. You may also remember that Lithgow had a short visit to the Report before, dramatically (and hysterically) reciting a < span=””> title=”John Lithgow recites Newt Gingrich press release on The Colbert Report” href=”http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2011/05/about-late-last-night-john-lithgow-recites-newt-gingrichs-dramatic-press-release-video.html” target=”_blank”>Newt Gingrich’s press release.
Now, may I digress for a moment to praise Mr. Lithgow for giving one of the most chilling brilliant, and fearless performances ever, as the Trinity Killer in Dexter? (Here he discusses the role with CBS’s Harry Smith.) From the moment he appeared on screen as a super-smart serial killer who knows how to get the last word , this often jovial and appealing actor left you frozen in fear. He earned both an Emmy and Golden Globe for the role, deservedly so. (Unfortunately, he thanked the wrong network when he gave his Emmy acceptance speech.) I just remember him in that bathtub, his arms around a terrified young woman, a knife in his hands, whispering almost tenderly and creepily….
Since Lithgow has already written several bestselling children’s book, including The Remarkable Farkle McBride about a young genius musician, it’s not surprising that Drama is winning accolades. The New York Times just gave it a rave. One quote I love from the review: Lithgow’s description of himself “an insufferable Shakespeare snob” who put on an English accent. (Sounds like he and the black-turtlenecked pre-comedy Colbert might have had much in common!) Another fan of the book: Steve Martin, who called it “[a] memoir as finely crafted as one of Lithgow’s performances. Lithgow tells of transgressions, indiscretions, and a tabloid-worthy affair that my PR people could only have wished for. An exciting and revealing book, and what’s more, it’s about ACTING!”
Acting is ceetainly a subject Lithgow knows about because it’s in his blood. He comes from an acting family: his mother was an actress and his father ran the McCarter Theater in Princeton, New Jersey. After going on to Harvard, he attended the London Academy of Musical and Dramatic Art on a Fulbright scholarship. From early on, Lithgow captured awards: he received both Tony® and Drama Desk® awards for his theatrical debut in David Storey’s The Changing Room; Tony nominations for Requiem for a Heavyweight and M. Butterfly; and Oscar® nominations for his first two major screen roles—as a transvestite in The World According to Garp and for the weepy melodrama Terms of Endearment. He also appeared in the original Footloose–about to be released in a new version–as a stuffy reverend whose daughter discovers a love of dance. His turn as a comic alien in the hit TV series Third Rock From The Sun won three Emmy® awards and many more nominations. Lithgow is also an accomplished musician and singer who has not only starred in Broadway musicals such as The Sweet Smell of Success but produced an album of children’s songs, Singin’ in the Bathtub. (Oops, see terrifying scene above. That title doesn’t bring me child-friendly memories.)
Next up for Lithgow? A return to Broadway in a new drama by award-winning playwright David Auburn about a real-life foreign-affairs columnist Joseph Alsop.
Visit John Lithgow’s official website.
Here is his official author page at Simon & Schuster.
Read a New York Times interview with him about the book.
Follow him on Twitter.
Wednesday, 10/5: Mos Def & Talib Kweli
Are you ready for some music? With luck, we’ll probably get some on this show. It isn’t often that Stephen has a guest return so soon. Talib Kweli last appeared on the Report only this past June, for Colbchella. Now he’s back, together with Mos Def, and I think this will be a phenomenal episode. The two hip-hoppers have a band called Black Star, and they’re currently touring, with a NYC show this very evening and then on to California and other states. So far, their performances have reportedly been incredible; here’s a rave about their Dallas show.
The duo’s first release was in 1998, when they postponed their individual albums to join forces on Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Black Star. I don’t always recommend Wikipedia—you know what Stephen can do to a page and so can anyone else!—but Wiki’s entry on that groundbreaking collaboration is extremely good, I think, and goes track by track. This is the album that the rappers are revisiting on their tour.
Since I’ve covered Kweli so recently, let me focus on Mos Def. Like Kweli, he’s a Brooklyn-born boy who always showed an interest in music and acting. Def majored in musical theater at New York’s renowned High School of Performing Arts, and then went on to NYU. In addition to singing, he has pursued an acting career with equal success: He received an Emmy nomination for Something the Lord Made and also guested on House, among other shows. His next role? Believe it or not, he’s set to appear on the next year of Dexter! Maybe he and John Lithgow should get together and chat. The musical work he created with Kweli came early in his career, and it hit big, giving them two songs—“Respiration” and “Definition”—that became part of VHI’s “100 Greatest Songs in Hip-Hop.” Mos Def has sung with Kanye West and Colbert favorite The Roots, and received six Grammy® nominations for his recordings. Some of his top songs include “Sex, Love & Money,” ‘Ghetto Rock,” “Undeniable,” and “Stylo.” His most recent album was The Ecstatic in 2009.
Both Mos Def and Kweli are strong lyricists with a political bent and a desire for honor their roots. You can check out some of their lyrics here, if you’re interested.
Follow Kweli on Twitter. You can also follow Mos Def.
Watch the video for their song “History.” (I love the many images of earlier African-American artists who preceded them. And hurrah for Brooklyn references! )
Recently, a prisoner named Troy Davis, most likely innocent but certainly not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, was executed in Georgia. Here’s their shout-out tribute to him.
Here’s a Rolling Stone article from their last reunion show in 2009.
You can like Black Star’s Facebook page, although it seems like one of those quickies that someone puts up on FB, rather than an official page.
Listen to Black Star’s music online.
Read an EW.com review of Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Black Star from the time of its original release.
Thursday, 10/6: Jason Amerine
We know how much Stephen admires the men and women who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. Tonight, he honors one more hero: Green Beret Major Jason Amerine. Amerine was already in Afghanistan training local troops when the September 11th attacks occurred. He and his forces were asked to assist Hamid Karzai, then only a tribal leader, and his fighters defeat the Taliban. Then an air strike went wrong—a case of “friendly fire.” Several people were killed and others, including Major Amerine himself, were wounded. Yet the battle was won. He and his Special Forces team are the subject of the book The Only Thing Worth Dying For: How 11 Green Berets Forged a New Afghanistan, written by Erik Blehm.
Amerine’s medals include (but are not limited to) the Purple Heart, Bronze Star with Valor, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Army Commendation Medal with 2 Oaks Leaf Clusters, given for bravery. He has also received numerous citations and badges. In 2006, this real-life hero also became an action hero: Amerine is starring in an Army-made video game meant to entice teens to enlist. Hmmm. Much as I honor those who put their lives on the line, I’m not sure it’s fair to tempt youngsters with something that doesn’t capture the realities of war, but portrays it as a bloodless game.
Here are Major Amerine’s comments on the events of October 11, 2001.
Go to this Army website to learn more about Major Amerine, see all the medals he’s received (more than a could name in this space), and watch a video.
Listen to an interview with him on PBS.
And Now, Let’s Check In With Our Good Friend, Jon Stewart!
Lots of return guests this week. I thought Sudeikis was too, but apparently this is his first time on the show. Surprise.
Monday, 10/3: Thomas Friedman
Many people I know are huge fans of Thomas Friedman; me, not so much. I think he came rather late to the understanding that the Iraq war was a bad move. But that is just my humble opinion, and I understand if you disagree. You’re in good company if you do, because Friedman has won the Pulitzer Prize three times. He’s a New York Times columnist specializing in foreign affairs, and the author of several bestselling books, including Hot, Flat and Crowded; The World Is Flat (which he also released in an expanded paperback edition), and Longitudes and Attitudes: Exploring the World After September 11.
His newest book, co-written with Michael Mandelbaum, is That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back. They take a close and critical look at the United States in a time of globalization and technological change, as well as the effects of our huge deficit and energy guzzling.
Visit his official site, in which he discusses his support for the Iraq War in the “About the Author” section, and provides links to articles.
Hear a video of him speaking about The World Is Flat at MIT.
He’s a friend of the show! Watch two of his earlier appearances on The Daily Show, one in 2009 and another in 2008.
Follow him on Twitter.
Tuesday, 10/4: Michael Lewis
Bestselling author Michael Lewis seems to have the best of luck when his books become films. Most writers get upset as they watch their masterpieces destroyed, but The Blind Side got great reviews and earned Sandra Bullock an Oscar. Now Moneyball, with Brad Pitt playing Oakland A’s baseball manager Billy Beane, continues Lewis’s Hollywood lucky streak. Before dedicating himself to writing full time, Lewis—who has an MA in economics– worked for Salomon Brothers, which inspired his book Liar’s Poker. The world of money, and by extension math and statistics, fascinates him: Moneyball , for example, involves figuring out how to win at baseball through crunching the numbers and figuring out which players to use when.
JUST ADDED: A big New York Magazine profile of Lewis!
See his last appearance on The Daily Show, when he discussed his book The Big Short, about the mortgage meltdown—and a man with Asperger’s syndrome who made money betting against subprime mortages.
He also appeared on The Colbert Report to discuss The Big Short again, when it came out in paperback. Fun to compare interviews!
Access his articles for Bloomberg News here.
Lewis discussed Moneyball with the folks at ESPN.
What does Michael Lewis like to read? He told the Atlantic magazine.
Watch the Moneyball trailer.
Wednesday, 10/5: Hugh Jackman
Actor, singer, dancer, Oscar host, and eye candy extraordinaire Hugh Jackman has a lot going on in his career right now. And I know because I have a tickets to see his upcoming show on Broadway! It’s a one-man song-and-dance revue, aptly named Back on Broadway, (His last stint there was in a two-man show with Daniel Craig called After the Rain.) The former X-Man also stars in a new 3D movie from Disney, Real Steel, set sometime in the future. Jackman’s character is a an ex-boxer and rogue trainer of robots, so I expect we’ll get to see plenty of physical action in the third dimension. Butler, a comedy with Jennifer Garner, follows on its heels, and next up, he’s doing the film adaptation of the musical Les Miserables.
Follow him on Twitter.
Read this article about the new film and what’s been happening in his life recently.
Remember how good he was hosting the Oscars? Watch his opening number again!
See the trailer for Real Steel.
He’s been on The Daily Show before, and he and Jon discussed hosting the Oscars. (Jon also seemed to admire his muscles. So do I!)
Thursday, 10/6: Jason Sudeikis
Comedian and actor Jason Sudeikis is a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live (he does Joe Biden), and also has a recurring role on The Cleveland Show (an animated series on which he does voiceover). His recent films include The Bounty Hunter and Horrible Bosses, both with Jennifer Aniston, and Hall Pass. Now, he’s joining the cast of HBO’s Eastbound and Down. And if all that weren’t enough, Sudeikis also guested on 30 Rock (his ex-wife writes for the show), It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Portlandia (Allison Silverman’s show). Guess he just likes to keep busy!
By the way, in case you didn’t know, he’s the nephew of actor George Wendt, from Cheers.
Here’s an article on Jason in Men’s Journal.
He just hosted the MTV Movie Awards, where he and Twilight‘s Taylor Lautner did a a parody of The Hangover. He also got an excellent review from Popeater on Huff Post.
Sudeikis appeared on Stephen’s former BFF’s show: Jimmy!
That’s it for this week! Let me know who you’re looking forward to watching in the coming days. And–who’s planning to phone Stephen to atone? How have you wronged him? I have less than a week before Yom Kippur and then my time is up for the year.
Cheers, all.