In the fourth episode of ‘The Late Show Podcast‘, Stephen Colbert is accompanied by Rob Dubin, writer and producer of digital entertainment and Jay Katsir, head writer.
Rob had been a writer for ‘The Colbert Report’ for many years, but was originally hired as the web writer to launch the website. When they added more writers to the team, they immediately asked him because he “was crushing it.” Stephen recalled that he often twitches because there are so many things to do on a nightly show and he considers everything to be equal priority. When this would happen, Allison Silverman, then head writer, would say, “what just happened to you?” This was happening during the White House Corespondents Dinner, so Stephen’s wife Evie suggested that he pick two writers he felt comfortable with and let them get started on it and then he could come back to it later. So, Stephen picked Rob and Tom Purcell.
When Jay went out for the position as writer for ‘The Colbert Report’, he had planned a trip with his girlfriend, so had requested a phone interview. James Dixon, whom they share as an agent, warned him that if he was serious about this job, he would cancel the trip. Jay was willing to do this but right at that time, he received the call with the phone interview. Jay recalls his mother even thought he made the wrong decision and should have interviewed in person. But in the end, he got the position at age 23. Stephen agreed that they should hire Jay and asked what was his age. When he found out he was only 23, Stephen thought back to when he was that age and he was living in a friend’s basement making futon frames.
Currently, they are doing more scripting compared to the early days of preparing for ‘The Colbert Report’. Stephen said he read 50 scripts during a recent week break. He enjoyed this. He wanted to be at the writer’s meeting they had that morning but he was being fitted for 4 suits.
With regards to suits, Stephen recalled the difficulty in getting a suit company to sign up with them, thinking the show was not going to last. However, Brooks Brothers agreed to work with him, which he appreciated and was loyal to because they took a chance on him.
Stephen is very grateful to CBS for giving them this much time to prepare for the show. He hasn’t performed in 6 months, so he feels “like a jet fighter in a simulator …”and is really looking forward to having the audience once again.
At the end of the podcast, Stephen said he was on his way to check out the new theater and see where they can put in sneak doors like they had on ‘The Colbert Report’. They want to be able to have people enter the stage at different places, so he wants to see how they can make this work.
Available on ‘The Late Show‘ website and iTunes.
The Late Show Podcast, Episode 4: We Haven't Actually Informed the Audience That Much
In the fourth episode of ‘The Late Show Podcast‘, Stephen Colbert is accompanied by Rob Dubin, writer and producer of digital entertainment and Jay Katsir, head writer.
Rob had been a writer for ‘The Colbert Report’ for many years, but was originally hired as the web writer to launch the website. When they added more writers to the team, they immediately asked him because he “was crushing it.” Stephen recalled that he often twitches because there are so many things to do on a nightly show and he considers everything to be equal priority. When this would happen, Allison Silverman, then head writer, would say, “what just happened to you?” This was happening during the White House Corespondents Dinner, so Stephen’s wife Evie suggested that he pick two writers he felt comfortable with and let them get started on it and then he could come back to it later. So, Stephen picked Rob and Tom Purcell.
When Jay went out for the position as writer for ‘The Colbert Report’, he had planned a trip with his girlfriend, so had requested a phone interview. James Dixon, whom they share as an agent, warned him that if he was serious about this job, he would cancel the trip. Jay was willing to do this but right at that time, he received the call with the phone interview. Jay recalls his mother even thought he made the wrong decision and should have interviewed in person. But in the end, he got the position at age 23. Stephen agreed that they should hire Jay and asked what was his age. When he found out he was only 23, Stephen thought back to when he was that age and he was living in a friend’s basement making futon frames.
Currently, they are doing more scripting compared to the early days of preparing for ‘The Colbert Report’. Stephen said he read 50 scripts during a recent week break. He enjoyed this. He wanted to be at the writer’s meeting they had that morning but he was being fitted for 4 suits.
With regards to suits, Stephen recalled the difficulty in getting a suit company to sign up with them, thinking the show was not going to last. However, Brooks Brothers agreed to work with him, which he appreciated and was loyal to because they took a chance on him.
Stephen is very grateful to CBS for giving them this much time to prepare for the show. He hasn’t performed in 6 months, so he feels “like a jet fighter in a simulator …”and is really looking forward to having the audience once again.
At the end of the podcast, Stephen said he was on his way to check out the new theater and see where they can put in sneak doors like they had on ‘The Colbert Report’. They want to be able to have people enter the stage at different places, so he wants to see how they can make this work.
Available on ‘The Late Show‘ website and iTunes.