Tag: Matt Lauer (1-10 of 20)

May 3 2013 10:52 AM ET

Matt Lauer to Jay Leno: 'I am not a guy who complains' -- VIDEO

There’s only one veteran TV personality who might really know what Matt Lauer’s been going through since Ann Curry’s dramatic ousting from the Today show: Jay Leno, who’s been the subject of vitriol and derision basically since the day NBC picked him to host Today‘s late-night counterpart. (The height of it probably came during the Great Conan Disaster of 2010, the sequel to Leno and David Letterman’s original Late Night Wars over who would replace Johnny Carson.)

It’s no surprise, then, to learn that Lauer and Leno are good pals — and it’s doubly unsurprising that when the former stopped by the latter’s show last night, their conversation barely touched upon the beating Lauer’s been taking since Curry got axed.

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Apr 5 2013 12:00 PM ET

Who will replace Matt Lauer? Who cares!

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Image Credit: Peter Kramer/NBC

The search for the next host of Today feels like a reality competition series—with the lowest stakes imaginable and a thankless grand prize.

Last week, as the Today show’s agonizingly slow (and publicly denied) effort to expel Matt Lauer from its eco-system blistered open with stories in New York magazine and The New York Times, an old joke about academia—or maybe morning shows—came to mind: “Why is the infighting so vicious? Because the stakes are so low.” I’m not talking about money: This is, in network-ese, a “day-part” in which salaries are measured in the millions, ratings twitches in the tens of millions, and annual revenue in the half-billion dollars that Today is said to bring NBC. But culturally, who is going to replace Matt Lauer no longer amounts to a hill of beans except to the people involved, and the slightly less than 2 percent of Americans who watch the show. This sort of changing of the guard is often described as a tectonic shift, but if so, it’s an earthquake that’s happening on a tiny planet populated by stick figures inside a snow globe. READ FULL STORY »

Apr 1 2013 10:02 AM ET

Chris Brown takes apology tour to 'Today': 'What I did was totally wrong' -- VIDEO

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Image Credit: NBC

April 1 probably wasn’t the best choice of date for Chris Brown’s big Today mea culpa. Even so, the troubled singer opened up to Matt Lauer on this morning’s show, easily fielding questions about his volatile relationship with on-again, off-again girlfriend Rihanna and earnestly expressing how much he’s changed since his 2009 felony assault charge. (The windows in Today‘s dressing rooms must be breathing a sigh of relief.)

After a few cursory inquiries about Brown’s new album, X, Lauer got down to brass tacks. The anchor asked Brown to describe how he’s matured since entering the music industry as a teenager, and then made his own assessment: “The biggest difference I would note and tell our viewers about is right now, you are agreeing to sit down and talk about things that you hadn’t talked about over the last three years.”

Brown responded with a nod, a smile, and a monologue: “I’ve been humbled by the whole experience, from me losing everything to me having to regain public opinion, or whatever it is. But most importantly, you know, knowing that what I did was totally wrong, and having to kind of deal with myself and forgive myself in the same breath, and being able to apologize to Rihanna, and being able to be that man that can be a man, you know?” Later, Brown noted that he wants his music to “inspire the world” — and, more specifically, “people that have been in my situation.” I’m not even going to touch that one.

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Mar 29 2013 05:46 PM ET

Did Savannah Guthrie flip off Matt Lauer on the 'Today' show today? VIDEO

This might be the last time Savannah Guthrie is ever allowed to wear gloves on camera.

On this morning’s Today, it looks like a gloved Guthrie flips off Matt Lauer after he made a crack about her never using a vacuum before.

Judge for yourself below. Roll the tape! READ FULL STORY »

Mar 27 2013 11:33 AM ET

Conspiracy? David Letterman has a theory about NBC's talk-show woes -- VIDEO

Calling himself the “soul of discretion,” David Letterman started off his interview with Brian Williams last night with a discussion about Today and Matt Lauer. A recent New York Magazine article put the Today story in the spotlight again, with reports that during the drama that enveloped the show during the demotion of Ann Curry, Lauer took meetings with ABC. Williams, half-jokingly aghast, said that he hoped he could wake up and this interview would all be a dream, but Letterman persisted.

”So NBC says we got to put an end to this [bad press], because it’s the Today show. So now they come up with these crazy stories about the other end of their programming day, The Tonight Show,” Letterman theorized about all the recent Tonight Show drama surrounding Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon.So now all of that conversation comes up to get people’s mind off of the Matt Lauer stuff. Now if I’m onto something, blink twice.”

Williams didn’t blink.

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Mar 27 2013 08:00 AM ET

Your Daily Shaw Report

Our pop-culture guide to what’s in, what’s fading, and what’s definitely out.

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Image Credit: Andrew Eccles/NBC; Jeff Riedel/NBC; Mitchell Haaseth/NBC

Mar 15 2013 01:56 PM ET

Who should replace Alex Trebek on 'Jeopardy'? -- VOTE

This beloved game-show host may be out of a job come 2016.

If you guessed “Who is Alex Trebek?” then you probably already know what the New York Post is reporting – that the long-time Jeopardy host will be stepping down when his contract expires in 2016. (Reps for the show and Alex Trebek declined to comment to EW).

The Post is also saying the show is looking to woo Matt Lauer — who’s been having some trouble with his current gig — for the job if he leaves Today. The Lauer suggestion is ridiculous. As much as we all adore Jeopardy!, it would be a huge step down for the current morning show anchor, and something he has no need to seriously entertain.

But Trebek does eventually need a replacement, and it’ll likely be someone younger who can be the face of the franchise for a long time to come. I’d love to see Anderson Cooper — whom the Post reports is also a contender –  take over. He’s obviously incredibly intelligent, and his daytime show, not to mention his New Year’s specials with Kathy Griffin, show he’s quick on his feet and isn’t afraid to have some fun with pop culture. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 11 2013 02:40 PM ET

Matt Lauer talks Ann Curry's messy 'Today' departure

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Image Credit: Peter Kramer/NBC

In June of 2012, a tearful Ann Curry revealed that she was leaving the Today show. The decision to exit clearly hadn’t been Curry’s own to make: “For all of you that saw me as a groundbreaker, I’m sorry I couldn’t carry the ball over the finish line — but man I did try,” she told viewers as colleagues Matt Lauer, Al Roker, and Natalie Morales lent moral support.

To some, that support didn’t seem quite supportive enough — especially in Lauer’s case. Many viewers placed responsibility for Curry’s awkward ousting and the show’s dwindling ratings squarely on Lauer’s shoulders. Even Al Roker apparently played the blame game; in August, he made a quip about NBC anchors throwing each other “under the bus” that seemed aimed in Lauer’s direction. (NBC maintained that the joke had nothing to do with Curry.)

According to an interview with Lauer on The Daily Beast, things got so bad at one point that he told NBC Universal chief executive Steve Burke that he’d “get out of the way” if Burke thought Today would be better off without him. Burke brushed off Lauer’s offer, calling him “the best person who’s ever done this” — but even so, Lauer evidently still has some residual guilt over the Curry fiasco. READ FULL STORY »

Jan 9 2013 10:57 AM ET

Katherine Webb not offended by Brent Musburger's remarks -- VIDEO

Katherine Webb, the Alabama beauty queen who set hearts aflutter during Monday night’s college football game when ABC cameras lingered on her after she was recognized for being Alabama’s quarterback A.J. McCarron’s girlfriend, told The Today Show this morning that she is “flattered” and “humbled” by her moment in the spotlight. Commentators Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit stopped for a moment during the Tide’s championship game against Notre Dame to compliment McCarron on his “beautiful” girlfriend, and the 73-year-old Musburger recommended on air that young men in Alabama pick up football in order to land women like Webb. ESPN issued an apology yesterday.

But Webb, who is Miss Alabama USA, told Matt Lauer that she wasn’t offended by the remarks and didn’t feel an apology from ESPN was necessary.

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Dec 12 2012 10:29 AM ET

Anne Hathaway addresses 'Les Mis' premiere wardrobe malfunction -- VIDEO

Matt Lauer doesn’t mess around. When he greeted Anne Hathaway on the Today show this morning, the host got right down to business: “Good to see you,” he said. “Seen a lot of you lately.”

Lauer, of course, was referring to Hathaway’s major wardrobe malfunction at Monday’s Les Mis premiere. While exiting her car in a tight Tom Ford gown, the Oscar nominee accidentally flashed a crowd of photographers — who quickly noticed that Hathaway wasn’t wearing underwear.

The actress was clearly reluctant to discuss the mishap with Lauer. But after some prodding, she launched into an articulate response that skillfully turned the question on its head: “Well, it was obviously an unfortunate incident,” she began. “It kind of made me sad on two accounts. One was that I was very sad that we live in an age when someone takes a picture of another person in a vulnerable moment and rather than delete it, and do the decent thing, sells it. And I’m sorry that we live in a culture that commodifies sexuality of unwilling participants, which takes us back to Les Mis, because that’s what my character is.”

Boom! Did Hathaway miss her calling? She’d make a great PR flack, or maybe a high-powered lawyer.

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