Welcome to Better Know a Guest, your weekly guide to the wonderful and diverse array of personalities appearing on ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ each week.
Welcome back, Hubsters! It has been nine long months since Stephen Colbert bid us adieu on The Colbert Report. He told us, “I know weʼll meet again some sunny day.” Since then, we have listened to his podcasts, watched his videos, read his interviews, laughed at his amazing promos, and waited with bated breath for him to return to our televisions. Nation, the This is our sunny day!
The premiere week kicks off with an amazing line up of guests – from actors to politicians to musicians and more. The very first episode of the Late Show with Stephen Colbert will be an historic moment in late night television. First, Stephen talks to the handsome and altruistic George Clooney. Guest number two is Republican presidential candidate, Jeb Bush. Will Stephen discuss his roasting of Jebʼs brother at the 2006 White House Correspondents Dinner? I, for one, hope so! After that, we are in for a treat of many surprise musical guests.
Letʼs get it started! Here are your guests for the premiere week. Who are you looking forward to? What are your hopes for the new show? Be sure to leave us comment below.
Tuesday, September 8 (2014)
George Clooney (Actor and Humanitarian)
George Clooney is an actor and humanitarian, who like Stephen Colbert, Clooney was raised Catholic, although now Clooney is not too sure on his beliefs. Clooney started his acting career in 1978, but it wasn’t until he was cast in ‘ER’ (NBC), that his career took off on both televsion and eventually film. After gaining critical success as an actor career, Clooney taken on roles behind the camera, as a successful writer, director and producer, and co-founder of ‘Section Eight Productions’.
Away from the big screen, Clooney is also known for his humanitarian work, and is a co-founder of the ‘Not On Our Watch Project’ which draws attention to global issues, and aims to use resources toward ending mass atrocities around the world with the help of artists, activists and cultural leaders. His most recent humanitarian project is called ‘The Sentry’, in which technology is used to track the sources of those that are contributing to the war efforts in Africa.
His most recent film, “Tomorrowland” will be available on DVD/Blu-ray on October 13th, 2015.
Jeb Bush (American Businessman and Republican)
Jeb Bush is one of the many candidates in the running for the Republican nomination in 2016 presidential election. He is currently the third leading Republican candidate behind Ben Carson and Donald Trump. Bush served as the 43rd Governor of Florida, ending his term in 2007. He is the brother of former President George W. Bush , and son of former President George H. W. Bush, and was involved in helping with his father’s presidential campaign back in the 80’s. Politically, Jeb is considered to be very conservative in his views, and is Pro life, against the Iran nuclear deal, opposed to Obamacare, against gay marriage, and believes in a free market economy. Since annoucing his candidacy on 15 June, 2015, his presidential campaign has raised approx. $114 million dollars.
Wednesday, September 9 (2015)
Scarlett Johansson (Actress: “Avengers: Age of Ultron“)
Scarlett Johansson is an American actress and singer, born in New York City. Her acting career began in the 1994 comedy ‘North’, but it wasn’t until 1998 that her role in ‘The Horse Whisperer’ brought her critical acclaim and popular recognition. In 2003 she stared alongside Colin Firth in ‘Girl With a Pearl Earring’ and in Sophia Coppola’s ‘Lost In Translation’, wining a BAFTA award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Scarlett has also had success on Broadway, winning a Tony Award in 2010, for her performance in Arthur Miller’s ‘A View From the Bridge’. As a singer, Scarlett has released two albums: ‘Anywhere I Lay My Head’ and ‘Break Up’.
Elon Musk (CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Motors)
Elon Musk is a man of many talents and occupations, and is an American business magnate, inventor, investor, entrepreneur, and engineer. Born in South Africa, Musk and his brother invented Zip2 in 1995. Zip2 is a software company that developed an internet “city guide” for the newspaper publishing industry. Musk then invented PayPal, which was sold to eBay for $1.5 billion. In 2002, Musk founded SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies) which develops and manufactures space launch vehicles. In 2004, Musk became the Chairman of Tesla Motors Board of Directors. He is now the CEO and project architect of Tesla. Musk is the largest shareholder for SolarCity, which is the second largest provider of solar power systems in the United States. By funding both Tesla and SolarCity, Musk has a deep interest in combating global warming. Musk has proposed a high-speed transportation system known as Hyperloop and a supersonic jet aircraft.
Kendrick Lamar (Musician: “To Pimp a Butterfly“)
Kendrick Lamar is a rapper, who is best known for his breakout album Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City. He got his start in 2005, when he released a mixtape Youngest Head Nigga in Charge (Hub City Threat: Minor of the Year), under the pseudonym K-Dot at the age of 16, which landed him a recording deal with Top Dawg Entertainment, and he periodically released more mixtapes for the next several years. When Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City was released in 2012, it got instant critical acclaim and was nominated for seven Grammys (he lost to Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, to much controversy). Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City is about Lamar’s childhood growing up in a rough neighborhood in Compton, California. It has been both commercially successful and lauded by both reviewers and big name rappers. Lamar has recently partnered with Reebok to produce a short video about his hometown of Compton, in order to show kids that there’s an alternative to selling drugs and living on the street.
Thursday, September 10 (2015)
Joe Biden (Vice President of the United States of America)
Joe Biden is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States. Biden is a Democrat who represented Delaware as a US Senator from 1972 until becoming the Vice President in 2008. Biden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania and moved to Delaware when he was ten years old. He became an attorney in 1969 and entered politics in 1970 when he was elected to the New Castle County council in Delaware. Biden was first elected to the Senate in 1972 and was re-elected six times. Obama selected Biden as his running mate in the 2008 presidential election, which they won. They were then re-elected in 2012. Biden is the first Roman Catholic Vice President of the US, and it is highly speculated that Joe Biden will make a bid to run for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.
Travis Kalanick (Co-Founder and CEO of Uber)
Travis Kalanick is the founder and CEO of Uber. In 2001, Kalanick founded Red Swoosh, a peer-to-peer file sharing company, which allows users to transfer and trade large media files, including music files and videos. The company was sold in 2007 to Akamai Technologies for $19 million. In 2009, Kalanick co-founded Uber with Garrett Camp. Uber is a mobile app which connects people in need of drivers for hirer and ridesharing services. Uber operates in 58 countries and in more than 300 cities around the world. It is estimated that Uber is worth over $50 billion.
Toby Keith (Musician: “35 MPH Town“)
Born Toby Keith Covel, Toby Keith is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor, who has recorded eighteen albums, two Christmas albums, and four compilation albums. Keith’s eighteenth studio album, “35 MPH Town” wil be released on 9th October, 2015, making is the seventh straight album Keith has released in October, only taking a year off in 2014.
A long time friend of ‘The Colbert Report’, Keith had the honour of appearing not only as a guest, but also on ‘A Colbert Christmas’ and the final episode as part of a star-studded musical sing-a-long. In June 2015, Stephen Colbert was on hand to induct Keith into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame, but not before singing a spot rendition of Keith’s 2005 country chart-topper “As Good As I Once Was”, complete with a black Stetson, black shirt and denim jacket with white fur collar.
Friday, September 11 (2015)
Stephen King (Author: “Finders Keepers: A Novel (The Bill Hodges Trilogy)“)
Stephen King is an American author of contemporary horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, science fiction, and fantasy. Thus far, King has published fifty-four novels, including seven under the pen name Richard Bachman, six non-fiction books, and approx. two hundred short stories. Since publishing his first novel, ‘Carrie’ in 1973, many of his most popular works have been adapted into feature films, miniseries, television shows and comic books, including ‘The Green Mile’, ‘Carrie’ , and ‘The Shining’.
King is also a political activist, and has raised question to certain political issues throughout his novels, including ‘Guns’ (2013), which brought about the issue of gun control in America. In 2008, he also spoke out against banning violent video games. King’s most recently published novel, ‘Finder’s Keepers’ is part of the ‘Mr. Mercedes’ trilogy, and is a thrilling story about “a reader whose obsession with a reclusive writer goes far too far”. The fifth issue of King’s comic book series, ‘The Dark Tower’ was released in July, 2015. His next book, ‘End of Watch’ is slated for release in 2016.
Amy Schumer (Actress and Writer: “Trainwreck“)
Amy Schumer is an American actress and comedian, who started her career doing stand-up at the Gotham Comedy Club. In 2007, she competed on ‘Last Comic Standing’, where she finished fouth. Following this, Schumer went on to appear in numerous shows, including ’30 Rock’ and ‘Louie’, before she landing a Comedy Central presents stand-up special in 2010. Her second stand up special ‘Mostly Sex Stuff’ debuted on Comedy Central in 2012.
In 2013, Schumer created the sketch comedy series ‘Inside Amy Schumer’ on Comedy Central, where she uses her feminist views to illustrate her comedy. Sketches and standup pieces that appear in the show are mainly about sexuality and gender, such as the sketch “12 Angry Men” which garnered praise for is mocking of sexist views in Hollywood.
In 2015, Schumer wrote her first feature film, ‘Trainwreck’, which marks the first time Judd Apatow has directed by someone other than himself. The film received praise for its “sharp humour and relatable characters” (Rotten Tomatoes) and for “refreshing a genre in sore need of change” (The Guardian). Ian Crouch of ‘The New Yorker’ praised LeBron James’performance, noting that “it seems safe to declare that he has given the greatest motion-picture acting performance by an active professional basketball player of all time.”
Troubled Waters (Paul Simon Tribute Band)
According to their website, Troubled Waters are “the world’s preeminent Paul Simon tribute band”, who have “taken every effort to mimic the classic sound of Paul Simon”, by “evoking the heavenly vocals, poignant lyrics, and sensible wardrobe of the greatest folk-rock artist of all time”. As the band has no web or social media presence, it is widely believed that a special musical performance will take place. Stay tuned!
Better Know A Guest – September 8 – 11, 2015
Welcome to Better Know a Guest, your weekly guide to the wonderful and diverse array of personalities appearing on ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ each week.
Welcome back, Hubsters! It has been nine long months since Stephen Colbert bid us adieu on The Colbert Report. He told us, “I know weʼll meet again some sunny day.” Since then, we have listened to his podcasts, watched his videos, read his interviews, laughed at his amazing promos, and waited with bated breath for him to return to our televisions. Nation, the This is our sunny day!
The premiere week kicks off with an amazing line up of guests – from actors to politicians to musicians and more. The very first episode of the Late Show with Stephen Colbert will be an historic moment in late night television. First, Stephen talks to the handsome and altruistic George Clooney. Guest number two is Republican presidential candidate, Jeb Bush. Will Stephen discuss his roasting of Jebʼs brother at the 2006 White House Correspondents Dinner? I, for one, hope so! After that, we are in for a treat of many surprise musical guests.
Letʼs get it started! Here are your guests for the premiere week. Who are you looking forward to? What are your hopes for the new show? Be sure to leave us comment below.
Tuesday, September 8 (2014)
George Clooney (Actor and Humanitarian)
George Clooney is an actor and humanitarian, who like Stephen Colbert, Clooney was raised Catholic, although now Clooney is not too sure on his beliefs. Clooney started his acting career in 1978, but it wasn’t until he was cast in ‘ER’ (NBC), that his career took off on both televsion and eventually film. After gaining critical success as an actor career, Clooney taken on roles behind the camera, as a successful writer, director and producer, and co-founder of ‘Section Eight Productions’.
Away from the big screen, Clooney is also known for his humanitarian work, and is a co-founder of the ‘Not On Our Watch Project’ which draws attention to global issues, and aims to use resources toward ending mass atrocities around the world with the help of artists, activists and cultural leaders. His most recent humanitarian project is called ‘The Sentry’, in which technology is used to track the sources of those that are contributing to the war efforts in Africa.
His most recent film, “Tomorrowland” will be available on DVD/Blu-ray on October 13th, 2015.
Jeb Bush (American Businessman and Republican)
Jeb Bush is one of the many candidates in the running for the Republican nomination in 2016 presidential election. He is currently the third leading Republican candidate behind Ben Carson and Donald Trump. Bush served as the 43rd Governor of Florida, ending his term in 2007. He is the brother of former President George W. Bush , and son of former President George H. W. Bush, and was involved in helping with his father’s presidential campaign back in the 80’s. Politically, Jeb is considered to be very conservative in his views, and is Pro life, against the Iran nuclear deal, opposed to Obamacare, against gay marriage, and believes in a free market economy. Since annoucing his candidacy on 15 June, 2015, his presidential campaign has raised approx. $114 million dollars.
Wednesday, September 9 (2015)
Scarlett Johansson (Actress: “Avengers: Age of Ultron“)
Scarlett Johansson is an American actress and singer, born in New York City. Her acting career began in the 1994 comedy ‘North’, but it wasn’t until 1998 that her role in ‘The Horse Whisperer’ brought her critical acclaim and popular recognition. In 2003 she stared alongside Colin Firth in ‘Girl With a Pearl Earring’ and in Sophia Coppola’s ‘Lost In Translation’, wining a BAFTA award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Scarlett has also had success on Broadway, winning a Tony Award in 2010, for her performance in Arthur Miller’s ‘A View From the Bridge’. As a singer, Scarlett has released two albums: ‘Anywhere I Lay My Head’ and ‘Break Up’.
Elon Musk (CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Motors)
Elon Musk is a man of many talents and occupations, and is an American business magnate, inventor, investor, entrepreneur, and engineer. Born in South Africa, Musk and his brother invented Zip2 in 1995. Zip2 is a software company that developed an internet “city guide” for the newspaper publishing industry. Musk then invented PayPal, which was sold to eBay for $1.5 billion. In 2002, Musk founded SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies) which develops and manufactures space launch vehicles. In 2004, Musk became the Chairman of Tesla Motors Board of Directors. He is now the CEO and project architect of Tesla. Musk is the largest shareholder for SolarCity, which is the second largest provider of solar power systems in the United States. By funding both Tesla and SolarCity, Musk has a deep interest in combating global warming. Musk has proposed a high-speed transportation system known as Hyperloop and a supersonic jet aircraft.
Kendrick Lamar (Musician: “To Pimp a Butterfly“)
Kendrick Lamar is a rapper, who is best known for his breakout album Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City. He got his start in 2005, when he released a mixtape Youngest Head Nigga in Charge (Hub City Threat: Minor of the Year), under the pseudonym K-Dot at the age of 16, which landed him a recording deal with Top Dawg Entertainment, and he periodically released more mixtapes for the next several years. When Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City was released in 2012, it got instant critical acclaim and was nominated for seven Grammys (he lost to Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, to much controversy). Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City is about Lamar’s childhood growing up in a rough neighborhood in Compton, California. It has been both commercially successful and lauded by both reviewers and big name rappers. Lamar has recently partnered with Reebok to produce a short video about his hometown of Compton, in order to show kids that there’s an alternative to selling drugs and living on the street.
Thursday, September 10 (2015)
Joe Biden (Vice President of the United States of America)
Joe Biden is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States. Biden is a Democrat who represented Delaware as a US Senator from 1972 until becoming the Vice President in 2008. Biden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania and moved to Delaware when he was ten years old. He became an attorney in 1969 and entered politics in 1970 when he was elected to the New Castle County council in Delaware. Biden was first elected to the Senate in 1972 and was re-elected six times. Obama selected Biden as his running mate in the 2008 presidential election, which they won. They were then re-elected in 2012. Biden is the first Roman Catholic Vice President of the US, and it is highly speculated that Joe Biden will make a bid to run for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.
Travis Kalanick (Co-Founder and CEO of Uber)
Travis Kalanick is the founder and CEO of Uber. In 2001, Kalanick founded Red Swoosh, a peer-to-peer file sharing company, which allows users to transfer and trade large media files, including music files and videos. The company was sold in 2007 to Akamai Technologies for $19 million. In 2009, Kalanick co-founded Uber with Garrett Camp. Uber is a mobile app which connects people in need of drivers for hirer and ridesharing services. Uber operates in 58 countries and in more than 300 cities around the world. It is estimated that Uber is worth over $50 billion.
Toby Keith (Musician: “35 MPH Town“)
Born Toby Keith Covel, Toby Keith is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor, who has recorded eighteen albums, two Christmas albums, and four compilation albums. Keith’s eighteenth studio album, “35 MPH Town” wil be released on 9th October, 2015, making is the seventh straight album Keith has released in October, only taking a year off in 2014.
A long time friend of ‘The Colbert Report’, Keith had the honour of appearing not only as a guest, but also on ‘A Colbert Christmas’ and the final episode as part of a star-studded musical sing-a-long. In June 2015, Stephen Colbert was on hand to induct Keith into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame, but not before singing a spot rendition of Keith’s 2005 country chart-topper “As Good As I Once Was”, complete with a black Stetson, black shirt and denim jacket with white fur collar.
Friday, September 11 (2015)
Stephen King (Author: “Finders Keepers: A Novel (The Bill Hodges Trilogy)“)
Stephen King is an American author of contemporary horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, science fiction, and fantasy. Thus far, King has published fifty-four novels, including seven under the pen name Richard Bachman, six non-fiction books, and approx. two hundred short stories. Since publishing his first novel, ‘Carrie’ in 1973, many of his most popular works have been adapted into feature films, miniseries, television shows and comic books, including ‘The Green Mile’, ‘Carrie’ , and ‘The Shining’.
King is also a political activist, and has raised question to certain political issues throughout his novels, including ‘Guns’ (2013), which brought about the issue of gun control in America. In 2008, he also spoke out against banning violent video games. King’s most recently published novel, ‘Finder’s Keepers’ is part of the ‘Mr. Mercedes’ trilogy, and is a thrilling story about “a reader whose obsession with a reclusive writer goes far too far”. The fifth issue of King’s comic book series, ‘The Dark Tower’ was released in July, 2015. His next book, ‘End of Watch’ is slated for release in 2016.
Amy Schumer (Actress and Writer: “Trainwreck“)
Amy Schumer is an American actress and comedian, who started her career doing stand-up at the Gotham Comedy Club. In 2007, she competed on ‘Last Comic Standing’, where she finished fouth. Following this, Schumer went on to appear in numerous shows, including ’30 Rock’ and ‘Louie’, before she landing a Comedy Central presents stand-up special in 2010. Her second stand up special ‘Mostly Sex Stuff’ debuted on Comedy Central in 2012.
In 2013, Schumer created the sketch comedy series ‘Inside Amy Schumer’ on Comedy Central, where she uses her feminist views to illustrate her comedy. Sketches and standup pieces that appear in the show are mainly about sexuality and gender, such as the sketch “12 Angry Men” which garnered praise for is mocking of sexist views in Hollywood.
In 2015, Schumer wrote her first feature film, ‘Trainwreck’, which marks the first time Judd Apatow has directed by someone other than himself. The film received praise for its “sharp humour and relatable characters” (Rotten Tomatoes) and for “refreshing a genre in sore need of change” (The Guardian). Ian Crouch of ‘The New Yorker’ praised LeBron James’performance, noting that “it seems safe to declare that he has given the greatest motion-picture acting performance by an active professional basketball player of all time.”
Troubled Waters (Paul Simon Tribute Band)
According to their website, Troubled Waters are “the world’s preeminent Paul Simon tribute band”, who have “taken every effort to mimic the classic sound of Paul Simon”, by “evoking the heavenly vocals, poignant lyrics, and sensible wardrobe of the greatest folk-rock artist of all time”. As the band has no web or social media presence, it is widely believed that a special musical performance will take place. Stay tuned!