Jay Leno gave a deliciously passive-aggressive interview to Broadcasting & Cable today, and though the host purports not to be stung by criticism of his new show, he can still rattle off the most cutting comments from memory ("My favorite one is, someone on a blog said they hope I die of AIDS in one of my old cars"). Still, the most interesting portion of the interview is when Leno basically says that if someone would like to give him his 11:35 time slot back...well, it's not like he's going to ask for it, but if someone were to give it to him, he would be totally OK with that. Actually, more than OK. Actually, could someone offer it to him right now?
If someone [from new ownership] comes in tomorrow and puts you back at 11:35, are you thrilled?
Oh, I don't know. Are you married? Whatever you want, honey.
You know I don't believe a word you are saying, right?
I'm not having a bad time at 10 o'clock now. I look at this as a job, and now I'm faced with a challenge, and it's a challenge I find difficult but interesting. I find that when I go to Vegas, whereas before I might not sell out, all of a sudden it's sold out. I seem to be doing better in terms of public appearances. I am reaching a wider audience. Whether that translates to television just yet, I don't know. But I see a difference. Now why is that, because I'm in the paper every day? I don't know. Because I'm on earlier? I'm actually doing well; this is almost the best year for personal appearances since I started. So there is no negativity there.
Do you want to go back to 11:35?
If it were offered to me, would I take it? If that's what they wanted to do, sure. That would be fine if they wanted to.
Would you rather do that than this?
I don't know....Would I take it? I guess. But it's not my decision to make; it's really not.
But seriously, if someone were to, say, put that time slot on a table when no one was around, and Leno just happened to come by and he picked it up, that would be OK, right? No harm, no foul?
Jay Leno Talks Back: An Exclusive Interview With B&C [Broadcasting & Cable]