I wonder what the pay for hosting a major awards show is, and how it works logistically. I know major late night show comedians normally have a writer's room... Would someone like O'Brien or (as...
I wonder what the pay for hosting a major awards show is, and how it works logistically. I know major late night show comedians normally have a writer's room... Would someone like O'Brien or (as an example) Colbert write all their own jokes for the awards show? Or does the show production run its own writers room for the production? How much is written vs improvised?
For some reason, I had never thought about this until today, but now I feel intensely curious.
I worked in late night for a long time. The way this works is The Oscar's itself is a TV show with its own LLC and production company. When the host is from your own network, like Kimmel and ABC,...
Exemplary
I worked in late night for a long time. The way this works is The Oscar's itself is a TV show with its own LLC and production company. When the host is from your own network, like Kimmel and ABC, the existing Kimmel writer's room works with the producers of the awards show to plan the comedy and script. This works out nicely because that room already knows the host and they are already getting paid because of the 45 production weeks a year. Other writers may come in for the other presentation dialogue or just to have some fresh perspective.
For someone like Chris Rock or Billy Crystal the Oscar's production will hire writers and spin up its own small writers room. Comedians have comedian friends and writers who they like, so more often than not the room is going to consist of a mix of people the host uses often and professional journeymen writers who specialize in awards shows.
When Conan hosted the Emmy's they used his show's writers, and I suspect for the Oscar's Conan will have great sway on who is included in the writer's room. Or since he still has a production company and a show on MAX, they may just hire the production company and then he'll have total sway (and likely use whoever is already getting paid).
Conan strikes me as the very hands-on type, and someone who has a distinct comedy brand. He might not come up with everything, but he'll certainly have great sway. On his youtube channel I think they still have rehearsal outtakes from his TBS show. It's a good watch not just because they're funny but also you get a sense of how Conan works as a writer and as someone who is a great collaborator.
I don't want to dox myself, but I started as a PA and eventually became a producer. My main area of focus were what we called "pre-tapes," and "remotes," things like commercial parodies,...
I don't want to dox myself, but I started as a PA and eventually became a producer. My main area of focus were what we called "pre-tapes," and "remotes," things like commercial parodies, man-on-the-street, "Host learns how to X," any segment that wasn't live in-studio, that would be watched by the studio audience on the monitors.
The SNL "digital short," and "Please Don't Destroy" segments are examples, so are things like Seth Meyer's "Day Drinking," or when Colbert went to a Waffle House.
Conan does a travel show on MAX, and when he did that for his late night shows someone like me would have produced it. That person likely also had a heavy hand in Conan's Emmy's hosting runs because the skillset is 1:1 transferable.
It’s fully scripted. But the best hosts are able to take the live/unexpected situations and roll with them. Billy Crystal, Jimmy Kimmel were great. Tina Fey and Amy Poheler also crushed it as...
It’s fully scripted. But the best hosts are able to take the live/unexpected situations and roll with them. Billy Crystal, Jimmy Kimmel were great. Tina Fey and Amy Poheler also crushed it as things came up. I think I remember Kimmel saying that he also has some writers backstage to help with “off the cuff” jokes.
Concern about Conan, is if they tone him down. His comedy is most brilliant when he has full freedom to do something bonkers. Hope he does well, though.
I don’t think the exact amount has been revealed, but years ago Kimmel stated that the pay is nothing (for these guys anyway). And it’s actually quite a bit of work for how low they’re paying, the...
I don’t think the exact amount has been revealed, but years ago Kimmel stated that the pay is nothing (for these guys anyway). And it’s actually quite a bit of work for how low they’re paying, the assumption is “well you’re hosting the Oscar’s and that’s good enough.” It’s kind of a thankless job and is a reason they always have people turning them down.
Hosts bring their own writers. I’m not sure how much sway the production team has in that regard. Which brings me to: there’s different producers every year. Sometimes they’ll have the same producer/producing team a few years in a row, but in recent years they had changed them constantly (Steven Soderbergh produced the pandemic affected 2021 ceremony as an example).
Weirdly, they’ve been consistently using the same director for all the ceremonies. I imagine directing such a broadcast is highly complicated and not something that someone just wants to take up (I imagine they’ve been training a successor and if they haven’t they should really start).
I wonder what the pay for hosting a major awards show is, and how it works logistically. I know major late night show comedians normally have a writer's room... Would someone like O'Brien or (as an example) Colbert write all their own jokes for the awards show? Or does the show production run its own writers room for the production? How much is written vs improvised?
For some reason, I had never thought about this until today, but now I feel intensely curious.
I worked in late night for a long time. The way this works is The Oscar's itself is a TV show with its own LLC and production company. When the host is from your own network, like Kimmel and ABC, the existing Kimmel writer's room works with the producers of the awards show to plan the comedy and script. This works out nicely because that room already knows the host and they are already getting paid because of the 45 production weeks a year. Other writers may come in for the other presentation dialogue or just to have some fresh perspective.
For someone like Chris Rock or Billy Crystal the Oscar's production will hire writers and spin up its own small writers room. Comedians have comedian friends and writers who they like, so more often than not the room is going to consist of a mix of people the host uses often and professional journeymen writers who specialize in awards shows.
When Conan hosted the Emmy's they used his show's writers, and I suspect for the Oscar's Conan will have great sway on who is included in the writer's room. Or since he still has a production company and a show on MAX, they may just hire the production company and then he'll have total sway (and likely use whoever is already getting paid).
Conan strikes me as the very hands-on type, and someone who has a distinct comedy brand. He might not come up with everything, but he'll certainly have great sway. On his youtube channel I think they still have rehearsal outtakes from his TBS show. It's a good watch not just because they're funny but also you get a sense of how Conan works as a writer and as someone who is a great collaborator.
What’d you used to do in late night and for which show, if you don’t mind
I don't want to dox myself, but I started as a PA and eventually became a producer. My main area of focus were what we called "pre-tapes," and "remotes," things like commercial parodies, man-on-the-street, "Host learns how to X," any segment that wasn't live in-studio, that would be watched by the studio audience on the monitors.
The SNL "digital short," and "Please Don't Destroy" segments are examples, so are things like Seth Meyer's "Day Drinking," or when Colbert went to a Waffle House.
Conan does a travel show on MAX, and when he did that for his late night shows someone like me would have produced it. That person likely also had a heavy hand in Conan's Emmy's hosting runs because the skillset is 1:1 transferable.
It’s fully scripted. But the best hosts are able to take the live/unexpected situations and roll with them. Billy Crystal, Jimmy Kimmel were great. Tina Fey and Amy Poheler also crushed it as things came up. I think I remember Kimmel saying that he also has some writers backstage to help with “off the cuff” jokes.
Concern about Conan, is if they tone him down. His comedy is most brilliant when he has full freedom to do something bonkers. Hope he does well, though.
I don’t think the exact amount has been revealed, but years ago Kimmel stated that the pay is nothing (for these guys anyway). And it’s actually quite a bit of work for how low they’re paying, the assumption is “well you’re hosting the Oscar’s and that’s good enough.” It’s kind of a thankless job and is a reason they always have people turning them down.
Hosts bring their own writers. I’m not sure how much sway the production team has in that regard. Which brings me to: there’s different producers every year. Sometimes they’ll have the same producer/producing team a few years in a row, but in recent years they had changed them constantly (Steven Soderbergh produced the pandemic affected 2021 ceremony as an example).
Weirdly, they’ve been consistently using the same director for all the ceremonies. I imagine directing such a broadcast is highly complicated and not something that someone just wants to take up (I imagine they’ve been training a successor and if they haven’t they should really start).
This is how you know they're really desperate. /s