Booking War Brewing Between Letterman and Leno

By Rob Shuter Posted Jan 25th 2010 08:00PM

Now that David Letterman and Jay Leno will be going head-to-head once again, the bad blood between the late-night enemies will carry onto the guest couch. Word is Letterman won't play ball with anyone who goes on Leno's 'Tonight Show' first, setting up some serious celeb-snagging competition. More on that, plus Mariah's bubbly stash and Sarandon's bouncy night out with her rumored boy toy after the jump!

Dave and Jay: Now It's War

If you think the attacks from David Letterman and Jay Leno about chins and personal scandals were bad, you haven't seen anything yet, a source close to both late-night hosts tells me. As Jay is preparing to return to 'The Tonight Show' job he held for many years, Letterman is determined to hold onto his new ratings crown by playing some late-night hardball.

"Jay's image has taken a huge bashing during the whole Conan disaster. It was Leno who came off as the bad guy and this is something Dave and his team are going to exploit, especially when it comes to booking celebrity guests," a network source told me. Letterman's 'Late Show' staff is turning up the heat, already making it very clear to celebrities that Dave will not follow Jay with guest booking.

So, if you want to sit on Leno's couch, don't expect to be sitting next to Dave anytime soon.

Oh boys, can't we all just get along and play nice? There is always room for an extra bottom on my Pottery Barn sofa.

Does Mariah Travel With Her Own Champagne?

Remember Mariah Carey's nutty acceptance speech a few weeks ago? You know, the one she blamed on a few too many glasses of champagne ... How could you forget? Well, sources tell me no one was more surprised by the bubbly confession than the other guests at the Palm Springs Film Festival, who were offered only wine and cocktails!

"We had no idea you could order bubbly," a guest told me. "Mariah must have been the only one in the entire place that got any. They must have gotten it just for her."

Which is entirely possible when you are as fabulous as Miss Mariah -- or maybe the divine singer travels with a stash of her own Angel brand of champagne? Sneaky ... and smart! Cheers to you, Mariah.

Susan Sarandon Plays Ping-Pong With Rumored New Boyfriend

Susan Sarandon, who recently announced her split from long-time partner Tim Robbins (goodness, I love 'Shawshank Redemption'), spent an evening looking very cozy with new rumored boyfriend Jonathan Bricklin last week.

I saw them at ping-pong club SPiN (don't ask ... Sarandon co-owns the club with Bricklin) in NYC at an event that raised nearly $20,000 for Haiti. Watching larger-than-life movie executive Harvey Weinstein trying with everything he's got to hit that little ball is still making me giggle, but all for a great cause.

The event was hosted by Modelinia, your guide to supermodel beauty and style. Because who doesn't want to look fabulous?

Remembering a Friend
One of the most wonderful ladies I ever knew passed yesterday morning, her name is Mera Lome. She might think that I didn't know how she lit up the newsroom at 'Extra TV' doing her best Rob Shuter impersonation ... but I did, and was honored. I love you very much and will miss you every day "my little frosty."

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Tags: Dave Letterman, david letterman, jay leno, mariah carey, MariahCarey, Susan Sarandon

Comments

(127)

Monday 25 January

By nate

Lowest Rank Vote down Vote up Report this

Leno is a "has been" time for him to fold them and retire, I won't help boost his ratings

Tuesday 26 January

By deb

Imagine if Johnny carson had done to Leno what he has done to Conan.. You told the viewers you were retiring a year in advance and now you hae renegged twice... you are a loser

By Pat

WHAT A STUPID REMARK nate

By jo

Highest Rank Vote down Vote up Report this

Everyone has forgotten how NBC forced jay out and replaced him with the immature moron Conehead.
Leno was first in the ratings at the time.

Who is the bad guy here?

NBC.

By dee

Vote down Vote up Report this

they are both making fools of themselves , like school kids

By legeagle2

Who would want to be on that gap-tooth pervert, Letterman's, show, anyway. The most trashy and unfunny host on TV, Leno is about to bury him again in the ratings.

By nippletwister45

Who knows what kind of disease you would catch from that FAG Lettermans couch.

By SAGG

It is my sincerest hope that Leno does NOT regain his crown in the late-night wars. He deserves to be mired in second, just to see how it feels. The way he and paticularly NBC did Conan dirty is beyond barbaric. (Sorry for the little pun, there) Contrary to what you Leno sympathizers believe, Jay was NOT pressured to retire six years ago to make room for O'Brian. Jay CHOSE to retire. Otherwise, he would've bolted to another network (Fox, ABC just before Kimmel). That's a fact, but you guys simply won't believe it. David, for my money, is doing the right thing, and then some. As for Conan, he'll land on his feet at Fox, or on cable somewhere. Go, Dave!

By Ed

Letterman Has Integrity. Leno has shown his colors of greed, self special, bigot for years. BUT, he does attrack the people who can only call names about appearance. The low esteem people that have to put others down to make them feel like a better person. Kinda like, hmmm, maybe Legeagle2. Now that's a person with NO integrity.

By Bandit

I agree.

By God

The gapped tooth wonder may have bagged an assistant or two, but try not to pretend that they didn't want to be there in the first place. You did notice that nobody brought rape or sexual harassment charges against Dave. I think that assistant was on Jay's payroll anyway...I think he found her while patrolling the streetwalks of LA for more stupid people...

By Trisha

Leno is a hack whose appeal and underhanded tricks with Conan has made him a real loser. Letterman is no better. Time for some new blood.

Conan is in talks with FOX. Hurrah!

By Papa

High Rank Vote down Vote up Report this

Without the statements for or against personal appearance Leno should again take the lead in late night.

The unknown factor is poor ratings in the networks evening programs affect viewership of the late night shows.

By Dean

Letterman is a sexual pervert and a sick bastard.

By JANA

Every once in a while, Letterman is very funny. But overall, I find his humor to be very mean-spirited. And now you can see that he is as mean-spirited behind the scenes as he is in front of the camera. Not that I am a big Jay Leno fan either. But I think he has shown a tremendous amount of class throughout this debacle brought on by NBC. Its not his fault what happened to Conan. Its a tough business. And if you don't get the ratings, the advertising dollars then are not there & the affilliates are then not happy.

By Jason

You say his humor is mostly mean spirited. Isn't criticizing someone you don't know personally also *cough cough* mean spirited? Sounds like the kettle calling the pot black to me.

By Jeff

Just get it straight, LENO did NOT get the ratings at 10pm, killing local newsbroadcasts, in turn killing Conan's numbers. Conan got canned because LENO could not get ratings. So you're logic is flawed there.

By Hey You

Just goes to show what an immature, low-class guy Dave is. Also demonstrates what little faith he has in his own talent (which is NOT MUCH) if he has to make threats to try and secure guests. What a loser!!!

By SoCalGal

I agree with you....Letterman is such a curmudgeon! And those
TIRED "Top Ten Lists". I only turn his show on if there happens to be a guest I find really interesting; and I try to avoid everything before the guest spot.

I know someone who used to work for Leno's "Tonight Show" and he confirmed what I suspected: Jay Leno is a genuinely nice man who treats his staff with the utmost respect.

Hopefully, Letterman will retire before too long. If that happens, I hope Craig Ferguson (The Late Late Show host) will take his place. Now. there's a truly smart, funny, nice guy!

Wednesday 27 January

By Jane

Same song and dance Letterman tried the 1st time they opposed each other in the 11:35 pm slot when Carson retired...."WAAHH WAAHH - ANYONE WHO GOES ON LENO FIRST WON'T BE ON THE LETTERMAN SHOW!" The sleazy nasty bum - didn't work then WON'T WORK NOW !"
Conan O'Brien is great guy - he's already a winner ..
Hmmmm...guess that means gap toothed nasty sleazy sex starved bums like LETTERMAN remain at the bottom of the heap !

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