Another Weird Guest for Letterman...

So we've talked about David Letterman's 'misfortune' when it comes to surreal guests. But something really surreal happened last night. Sasha Baron Cohen went on- as himself.



Traditionally, this wouldn't be weird, like if Jack Hanna or Rosie Perez did it (way to pick examples, Dan) but Cohen will traditionally stay in character when promoting a movie, like he did on Conan a while back:



Cohen is funny, and his characters are funny, and so his appearances in character are usually also funny- however, the whole going-on-a-talk-show-in-character thing kind of rubs me the wrong way. Maybe it's because Andy Kaufman did it well, or because Andy Dick does it so poorly. Either way I just don't like the concept of going on a talk-show in character, even though I normally like seeing Cohen do it. (I hate the concept of the piece, but like the art itself, similar to Britney Spears' 'Toxic') So seeing the artist instead of the character was actually nice, especially when Cohen is one of the most interesting artists working in Hollywood today.

Third most interesting, after us.

Anyway, poor Dave- the dude can not catch a break!

Dan

Letterman's History of Surreal Interviews

So we know this is all a prank at this point and that sort of ruins the fun- for me at least. Also, it makes me wonder why is it that when someone decides they want to go crazy during an appearance on a talk-show, they do it on Letterman?

I feel bad for Dave, but I also think it's cool that we now have this treasure trove of surreal talk-show appearances.

I know what's going on with Joaquin (he's not on drugs, he's not nervous- he's 'acting') so let's not spend any more time on it. Instead, let's discuss these...

Andy Kaufman
He did a lot. I won't post them all- but here's a famous one.



Harvey Pekar
Ummm...



Crispin Glover
Like Joaquin Crispin is in character- though not the character from the film he's promoting (The River's Edge) but a character from the yet-to-be-made Rubin and Ed.



Harmony Korine
He's probably screwing with Dave. He might also be an awkward guy. He's probably got a weird sense of humor. Add those together and you get this.



And the sequel...



Side note: Harmony Korine cast Werner Herzog in his Julien Donkey-Boy and Mister Lonely and Crispin worked with Herzog on Incident at Loch Ness and both gave a commentary track on Herzog's Fata Morgana. Werner Herzog has yet to appear on Letterman (though he was on Conan...)

Anyway, moving on to some less-intentional surrealism...

Madonna
Watch Madonna try not to be boring- this shtick was old at the time. Who cares?



Farrah Fawcett
Unlike Joaquin, Crispin, and Harmony, Farrah quickly came out to admit she was nervous- but... I don't know...







Dan

Kaufmans. PSUA.

Vince extended an invitation for Charlie Kaufman to join PSUA. I agree with that, and would like to extend it even further to Charlie's even more elusive brother Donald (co-writer of Adaptation).

And should the brothers decide to join, the Kaufman family will have a huge stake in our union- with 3 members, all brothers- Charlie, Donald, and Andy.

Dan

POSSILBE SURREALISM IN PROGRESS - Joaquin Phoenix 'Quits' Acting

This has been big news the past few days (as the mainstream media filled time waiting for our Presidential endorsement), apparently Joaquin Phoenix has quit acting.

I'm not really a big fan of any of the movies he's been in, but the dude can act and actually seems to take the craft pretty seriously, which we respect. So, it would sort of bum us out if he stopped- mainly because his future roles would probably be given to those creepy d-bags from The Hills*.

But watch the above video... there is something weird afoot. Why is that camera following Joaquin down the red carpet? He alludes that Casey Affleck is to take over the throne of Method Actor-dom. I mean Casey Affleck is a good actor- but seriously?

This is all so weird.

Is this some sort of Andy Kaufman-esque prank? Maybe Phoenix is making some sort of Borat-ish Hollywood satire? I don't know, but he sort of seems a little too serious for something like that. But then again, maybe I only think that because he's such a good actor. Or maybe he is a closeted surrealist and he takes his surrealing seriously. If that's it Joaquin, let the PSUA know so you become eligible for our benefits (which you'll no longer get from SAG...).

Dan

* Not to be confused with The Hillz- which is technically very surreal.