Actor Jay Leno pose for photographers at the red carpet of the NBC Universal Press Tour 2009 in San Marino, California on August 5, 2009. UPI/Hector Mata |
License Photo
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Jay Leno says he hopes he and fellow U.S. comedian Conan O'Brien are still friends despite the current late-night shakeup at NBC.
NBC booted Leno as host of "The Tonight Show" at the end of last season and gave the position to O'Brien to keep O'Brien from moving to another network. NBC then gave Leno a nightly, hourlong, 10 p.m. series. When the prime time "Jay Leno Show" failed to be a strong lead-in for local news broadcasts, however, NBC announced it would push Leno's show back to 11:35 p.m., shorten it to 30 minutes and air "Tonight" at 12:05 a.m.
However, O'Brien said he would not remain on "Tonight" if it was bumped to 12:05 a.m.
NBC said last Thursday O'Brien would leave the network but would not be free to start a show on a competing network until September. There are reports NBC and O'Brien reached a $45 million exit deal.
The network said Leno would return to "Tonight" March 1 in its regular 11:35 p.m. time slot.
Asked by TV's "Inside Edition" if he and O'Brien are still friends, Leno replied, "I hope so."
He was also questioned about whether he thinks the way the whole late-night scheduling drama played out will tarnish his nice-guy image.
"You know what's good for tarnish? Vinegar and ammonia," Leno quipped.
To the question, "Are you confident you're going to beat David Letterman in the ratings?" Leno replied, "I'm not confident about anything," "Inside Edition" said Monday.
