Angry Optimist: The Life and Times of Jon Stewart
Page 21
“Don’t you find that people contact you way more?”: Ibid.
“meaty and muscular and fun”: Suzy Byrne, “Jon Stewart Opens Up on the Joys of Three-Legged Dogs.” Yahoo Canada, June 7, 2013.
“but it’s also truer”: Gloria Goodale, “Politics as Punch Line.” Christian Science Monitor, January 20, 2004.
“Of course, you’re going to listen to Jon”: Ibid.
“but you’d also be missing half of our joke”: Mediabistro.com, May 6, 2003.
“a relatively savvy consumer of information”: Nolan Gawron, “The Daily Ho with Mr. Jon Stewart.” Weekly Dig, December 11–18, 1990.
“There’s no insidious plan”: Monique Beeler, “Daily Showmanship.” Cal State East Bay Magazine, Fall 2010.
“our show is uniquely positioned to do that”: Ibid.
“We’re suffocating in information”: Gary Levin, “Fans Like Their Dose of Daily News.” USA Today, October 6, 2003.
“what’s particularly absurd of this moment or of this time”: University Wire, April 4, 2002.
“with something interesting to say about it”: Conor O’Clery, “The Daily Capers.” Irish Times, February 19, 2005.
“you have adopted [Stewart’s] credibility”: Biography Presents Jon Stewart.
“completely different from what I do”: Amazon.com, September 2004.
“We are the last stop of the disgruntled”: Conor O’Clery, “The Daily Capers.” Irish Times, February 19, 2005.
“because he hates to be laughed at”: Tad Friend, “Is It Funny Yet? Jon Stewart and the Comedy of Crisis.” The New Yorker, February 11, 2002.
“because we think we have anthrax”: John McKay, “Stewart: It’s Hard to Be Funny Again.” The Province (Vancouver), November 12, 2001.
“To me, that’s edgy”: Ben Domenech “Jon Stewart: The SIN Interview.” Student Information Network (William & Mary), April 26, 2002.
“It means you’re being talked about!”: Tad Friend, “Is It Funny Yet? Jon Stewart and the Comedy of Crisis.” The New Yorker, February 11, 2002.
“all the camera guys are pooping”: A. J. Jacobs, “Jon.” Esquire, July 2001.
“if you do it the right way’”: Biography Presents Jon Stewart.
“to find light in darkness somehow”: World News Tonight, 2003.
“You can’t beat that”: The Daily Show, September 20, 2001.
Chapter 8
“than people would imagine”: “Jon Stewart Discusses Politics and Comedy,” Fresh Air, NPR, September 30, 2004.
“our paper of record”: Marshall Sella, “The Stiff Guy vs. the Dumb Guy.” New York Times Magazine, September 24, 2000.
“our morning cup of sadness”: Fresh Air, NPR, September 29, 2010.
“frequently end up on the show”: “Writers Speak: A Potentially Regrettable Evening with the Writers of The Daily Show.” Paley Center for Media, November 7, 2010.
“It’s pretty laid out for you”: Ibid.
“It gets stronger”: Ibid.
“knowing what you need to attack”: Ibid.
“There’s plenty of food to go around”: New York magazine, October 16, 2006.
“Even after that, probably a month of salads”: Ibid.
“I am incredibly horny”: Ibid.
“I call fairly frequently”: NPR Talk of the Nation, March 1, 2004.
“better than the ones you plan more”: “Writers Speak: A Potentially Regrettable Evening with the Writers of The Daily Show.” Paley Center for Media, November 7, 2010.
“and it is petrifying”: Lauren Weedman, “A Woman Trapped in a Woman’s Body.” Sasquatch Books, 2007, p. 10.
“triple-A game every time”: Rob Feld, “Daily Life.” Directors Guild of America, DGA.com, Fall 2008.
“I will answer you facetiously”: Janice Turner, “How Jon Stewart Became the Most Powerful Man on TV.” London Times (U.K.), October 2, 2010.
“because we love the guy”: Daily Show Forum, televisionwithoutpity.com September 16, 2011.
“It’s a harsh work environment”: Monique Beeler, “Daily Showmanship.” Cal State East Bay Magazine, Fall 2010.
“managing, editing, and moving toward showtime”: Maureen Dowd, “America’s Anchors.” Rolling Stone, October 31, 2006.
“We can just put it out there”: Bill Moyers Interviews Jon Stewart, PBS, July 11, 2003.
“I just have to face in the right direction”: Fresh Air, NPR, September 30, 2004.
“with his feet up on the desk”: Monique Beeler, “Daily Showmanship.” Cal State East Bay Magazine, Fall 2010.
“a thought behind every joke”: Chris Smith, “America Is a Joke.” New York magazine, September 20, 2010.
“lay them back to back … giggle”: Eric Bates, “Jon Stewart: The Rolling Stone Interview.” Rolling Stone, September 29, 2011.
“that I’ve been trained for”: “Jon Stewart Discusses Politics and Comedy,” Fresh Air, NPR, September 30, 2004.
“But we’ve never met before!”: The Daily Show, November 30, 2001.
“about the movie or about you”: The Daily Show, November 21, 2013.
“might not ask you anything”: Ibid.
“for a four- to six-hour period”: Fresh Air, NPR, September 29, 2010.
“make a better fucking movie”: Sharilyn Johnson, “Jon Stewart Almost Quit Daily Show Over ‘Asshole’ Coworkers.” Third Beat Magazine, December 10, 2012.
“as a straight commentator or orator”: Eric Bates, “Jon Stewart: The Rolling Stone Interview.” Rolling Stone, September 29, 2011.
“singles and doubles in a freshman dorm”: Paul Rogers, “A Bald Liar.” Boston Globe, May 1, 2005.
“overall, it was very loose”: Obrien phone interview, February 3, 2010.
“they’d toss a football back and forth”: Zimmerman phone interview, May 4, 2010.
“they were friendly and laid back”: Ganis phone interview, May 5, 2010.
“they would be mistaken”: Claudia Kawczynska, “The Dogs of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” The Bark, June–August 2012.
“grass and squirrels [inside]”: Ibid.
“Dogs are therapeutic”: Ibid.
“shouldn’t take life too seriously”: Ibid.
“have won the dog lottery”: Brian Williams, “Gone to the Dogs: Behind the Scenes at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” Rock Center with Brian Williams, NBC, September 28, 2012.
“who runs the show loves Ally”: Ibid.
“at the end of the day”: Claudia Kawczynska, “The Dogs of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” The Bark, June–August 2012.
“without these dogs”: Ibid.
“there weren’t dogs walking around”: Ibid.
“they are dealt with the right way”: Suzy Byrne, “Jon Stewart Opens Up on the Joys of Three-Legged Dogs.” Yahoo Canada, June 7, 2013.
“to have them around”: Ibid.
“through laughter and acceptance on stage”: Wiltfong phone interview, May 5, 2010.
“that lends itself toward happiness”: Ibid.
“It’s like a dysfunctional family”: Black phone interview, January 21, 2010.
“what’s going on in the world”: Wiltfong phone interview, May 5, 2010.
“these guys are doing stupid stuff”: Ibid.
“that’s me being that Stephen Colbert guy”: Charlie Rose, December 8, 2006.
“He wants to honestly mock”: Ibid.
“But I have nothing to back it up”: Maureen Dowd, “America’s Anchors.” Rolling Stone, November 16, 2006.
“really just want to get a laugh”: Ibid.
“just get our work done every day”: Charlie Rose, December 8, 2006.
“other correspondents engaged Jon in conversation”: Wiltfong phone interview, May 5, 2010.
“Stephen was one of the few”: Ibid.
“That’s part of the business”: Ibid.
“a good thing to feel as a performer”: Ibid.
“lucky to get a one-year contract”: Irin Carmon, “Th
e Daily Show’s Woman Problem.” Jezebel, June 23, 2010.
“‘It’s sooo hard to keep women here’”: Lauren Weedman, “A Woman Trapped in a Woman’s Body.” Sasquatch Books, 2007, p. 14.
“that person without some support”: Irin Carmon, “The Daily Show’s Woman Problem.” Jezebel, June 23, 2010.
“‘Like how you talk to everyone but him’”: Lauren Weedman, “A Woman Trapped in a Woman’s Body.” Sasquatch Books, 2007, p. 20.
“And I knew I’d be fired”: Ibid., p. 10.
“and all the Comedy Central executives”: Ibid., p. 27.
“So it kind of goes both ways”: Irin Carmon, “The Only Women in the Late Night Writers’ Rooms.” Jezebel, May 14, 2010.
“questions like I did yesterday”: Ibid.
“They’re miserable for everyone”: Lynn Harris, “Late Night’s Real Problem.” Salon, January 10, 2010.
“a show that’s all about men”: Ibid.
“is always a dude”: Bill Carter, “Among Late-Night Writers, Few Women in the Room. New York Times, November 11, 2009.
“three or four were from women”: Ibid.
“it’s based in frustration over reality”: Maureen Dowd, “America’s Anchors.” Rolling Stone, November 16, 2006.
“we don’t have to defend anything”: Ibid.
“we very much infuse it with who we are”: Paley Center Daily Show chat, April 19, 2001.
“the actual ethics of real journalism”: John Crook, “Comics Mining Laughs from Presidential Race.” Rocky Mountain News, July 21, 1999.
“that is driving the entire enterprise”: Biography Presents Jon Stewart.
“he’s mad at them for going union”: Ed Brayton, Culture Wars Radio, May 15, 2012.
“But he doesn’t have a mustache”: The Daily Show, January 25, 2005.
“I try not to let him out”: Tom Junod, “Jon Stewart and the Burden of History.” Esquire, October 2011.
“what I’d do if he wasn’t’”: Ibid.
“runs The Daily Show with joyless rage”: Irin Carmon, The Daily Show’s Woman Problem.” Jezebel, June 23, 2010.
“I didn’t fit the core principle there”: Wiltfong phone interview, May 5, 2010.
“I was getting this angry phone call”: Piers Morgan Live, October 6, 2011.
“haranguing you for mocking him”: Ibid.
“is creatively and physically exhausting”: Louis B. Hobson, “Jon Stewart’s Cookin’ Now.” Calgary Sun, June 26, 1999.
“until something’s desperately wrong”: “Jon Stewart Discusses Politics and Comedy,” Fresh Air, NPR, September 30, 2004.
“but we are”: Daniel Schack, “Jon Stewart Q&A.” The Daily Northwestern, February 19, 2001.
“what our day is like every day”: Chris Smith, “America Is a Joke.” New York magazine, September 20, 2010.
Chapter 9
“this film creaks like a broken-down tractor”: Kevin Smith, “Death by Smoochy.” The Beacon News, April 5, 2002.
“whatever’s on my mind at the time”: Dan Sweeney, “Heeeeere’s Jonny!” New Times, February 27, 2003.
“to connect with the farmers”: Talk of the Nation, NPR, March 1, 2004.
“and don’t want to talk to anybody”: Ibid.
“We never forget that we’re not”: Ibid.
“It’s a Nerf interview”: Biography Presents Jon Stewart.
“the focus of 22 percent of the segments”: “Journalism, Satire or Just Laughs? The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Examined.” Pew Research Center’s Journalism Project Staff, May 8, 2008.
“Bush is a gold mine”: Biography Presents Jon Stewart.
“to be able to honestly mock”: Charlie Rose, December 8, 2006.
“you can pretty much hammer away at anybody”: Marshall Sella, “The Stiff Guy vs. the Dumb Guy.” New York Times Magazine, September 24, 2000.
“some new material and some new challenges”: “Writers Speak: A Potentially Regrettable Evening with the Writers of The Daily Show.” Paley Center for Media, November 7, 2010.
“it so clearly goes against his constitution”: Larry King Live, CNN, December 8, 2004.
“and show him that I’m an idiot”: Ibid.
“I don’t think that’s anything to honor or enjoy”: Maureen Dowd, “America’s Anchors.” Rolling Stone, November 16, 2006.
“The paradigm has switched”: Larry King Live, CNN, June 25, 2004.
“politics are handled within the media”: Howard Kurtz, “The Campaign of a Comedian; Jon Stewart’s Fake Journalism Enjoys Real Political Impact.” Washington Post, October 23, 2004.
“is that it’s cathartic”: Ibid.
“very strong driver of our revenue”: Alice Z. Cuneo, “Marketers, Politicians Clamor for Daily Fix.” Advertising Age, September 27, 2004.
“that really has found a niche”: Ibid.
“this is the way real journalism should be”: Wiltfong phone interview, May 5, 2010.
“a personal kick in the [balls]”: Frazier Moore, “Jon Stewart, Daily Show, Cover America in New Book.” Charleston Daily Mail, October 14, 2004.
“hurting America.” Crossfire, October 14, 2004.
“to be your monkey”: Ibid.
“was kind of embarrassed for him”: Biography Presents Jon Stewart.
“This was real.”: Ibid.
“news stories on the Associated Press”: Scarborough Country, September 27, 2006.
“sometimes they break news”: Ibid.
“sort of pin in the balloon”: Frazier Moore, “Jon Stewart Plans to Keep Pace with Quick-Witted Daily Show.” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, January 14, 1999.
“with the same respect”: David Bauder, “CNN Lets Crossfire Host Carlson Go.” Associated Press, January 5, 2005.
“the kid in the back throwing spitballs”: Howard Kurtz, “The Campaign of a Comedian; Jon Stewart’s Fake Journalism Enjoys Real Political Impact.” Washington Post, October 23, 2004.
“they do the satirical Jon”: Bill Carter & Brian Stelter, “In Daily Show Role on 9/11 Bill, Echoes of Murrow.” New York Times, December 26, 2010.
“He’s a necessary branch of government”: Chris Smith, “America Is a Joke.” New York magazine, September 20, 2010.
“‘I’m just a satirist’”: Howard Kurtz, “The Campaign of a Comedian; Jon Stewart’s Fake Journalism Enjoys Real Political Impact.” Washington Post, October 23, 2004.
“that’s really all right”: Larry King Live, CNN, February 27, 2006.
“CBS should have been doing”: Jeremy Gillick, “Meet Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz [AKA Jon Stewart].” Moment magazine, November/December 2008.
“the new millennium without The Daily Show”: Bill Moyers Interviews Jon Stewart, PBS, July 11, 2003.
“do this again somewhere”: The Daily Show, October 29, 2002.
“any credibility to lose”: Conor O’Clery, “The Daily Capers.” Irish Times, February 19, 2005.
“I’d like that. I’m tired”: The Daily Show, November 1, 2004.
“why is this guy still on the show?”: Wiltfong phone interview, May 5, 2010.
“I didn’t want to not like it”: Adam Sternbergh, “Stephen Colbert Has America by the Ballots.” New York magazine, October 16, 2006.
“someone like Stephen could do”: Seth Mnookin, “The Man in the Irony Mask.” Vanity Fair, October 2007.
“But I can’t be an asshole”: Adam Sternbergh, “Stephen Colbert Has America by the Ballots.” New York magazine, October 16, 2006.
“You’re an idiot. There’s a difference”: Ibid.
“because we hid his keys”: Howard Kurtz, “TV’s Newest Anchor: A Smirk in Progress.” Washington Post, October 10, 2005.
“It’s really a virtuoso performance”: Seth Mnookin, “The Man in the Irony Mask.” Vanity Fair, October 2007.
“doing his show in a second language”: Ibid.
“very contented and warm feeling”: Marc Peyser, “Red, White & Funny.” Newsweek, December 29, 2003.
Chap
ter 10
“coming across as mean-spirited or nasty”: Gary Levin, “Jon Stewart Looks Oscar in the Eye.” USA Today, February 19, 2006.
“I was losing my mind”: Ibid.
“I don’t have any of it right now”: Ibid.
“and Dick Cheney shot her”: 78th Academy Awards, March 5, 2006.
“pale shadow of great hosts gone by”: Tom Shales, “Memo to Jon Stewart: Keep Your Daily Job.” Washington Post, March 6, 2006.
“as he usually is”: Alessandra Stanley, “The Dresses, Low Cut, but the Tones Were Lofty.” New York Times, March 6, 2006.
“the Oscars is a really hard gig”: Biography Presents Jon Stewart.
“after a game of musical chairs”: Gary Susman, “Oscar Hosts: From Worst to Best, Rating 60 Years of Academy Awards Emcees.” Moviefone.com, February 16, 2012.
“it was such a bad job”: Biography Presents Jon Stewart.
“laugh impulse has been deadened”: Adam Sternbergh, “Because What’s the Point of Being Funny in Wisconsin?” New York magazine, October 24, 2007.
“The sky’s the limit”: Nathan Rabin, AV Club, October 12, 2006.
“it was at least surprising”: Jaime J. Weinman, “What’s Happened to The Daily Show?” Macleans, January 22, 2007.
“and saying that it cures impetigo?”: The Daily Show, March 12, 2009.
“I wish he’d get back to work”: Letters and Comments, usanews.com, March 18, 2009.
“What am I going to do with that?”: The Late Show with David Letterman, October 6, 2005.
“He’s really all about his family”: Lisa Fickenscher, “Cooking Up a Café Comeback.” Crain’s New York Business, June 3, 2012.
“to thermonuclear levels”: Suzy Byrne, “Jon Stewart Opens Up on the Joys of Three-Legged Dogs.” Yahoo Canada, June 7, 2013.
“and me on the inside”: Kat Harrison, “The Mama of Moomah.” New York Family, December 30, 2011.
“to be the case”: The Daily Show, May 1, 2009.
“not in a mean or nasty way”: Marc Peyser, “Red, White & Funny.” Newsweek, December 29, 2003.
“It’s just cruel”: Stephen Galloway, “Steve Carell Says Comedy Has Become ‘Uber-Cynical,’ ‘Borderline Mean.’” Hollywood Reporter, August 2012.
“another congressman doing a dumb thing”: Larry Getlen, “Our Possible Future Mayor … Maybe.” CityScoopsNY.com, May 19, 2009.