“He went and took that show back and I think in a similar situation, if roles had been reversed, I know — I know me, I wouldn’t have done that,” O’Brien, 47, says in his first post-”Tonight Show” interview, scheduled to air on “60 Minutes” Sunday.

In the interview, the new TBS late-night host tells Steve Kroft that he would not have “surrendered ‘The Tonight Show’ and handed it over to somebody publicly and wished them well — and then … six months later… But that’s me, you know.”

Adding that “Everyone’s got their own, you know, way of doing things,” O’Brien, who’s been on the road for his 30-date North American tour, says if he had been in Leno’s shoes, he would’ve “done something else, go someplace else.”

Leaving NBC, he says, was like severing a “toxic” relationship, especially one he didn’t see having a future with.

And though he may have negotiated with the network, O’Brien says he “started to feel that I’m not sure these people even really want me here.”

according to cnn.com & people.com

*No, that wasn’t special effects or CGI trickery that brought Oprah Winfrey together with late night rivals Jay Leno and David Letterman in a Super Bowl promo for Letterman’s “Late Show.”

“According to the talk show’s executive producer Rob Burnett, the spot was put together quickly. And on the down low.

The wheels were set in motion soon after CBS offered “Late Show” a promo slot during the Super Bowl.

“Dave had this idea, ‘What about getting Jay and Oprah together with me?’ and he wrote it,” Burnett explained to the Associated Press. “We said, ‘This is too funny to pass up.’ First we called Oprah.” Then Leno was approached, and he, too, signed on. That was two weeks ago.

Arrangements had to be made to get the Los Angeles-based Leno and the Chicago-based Winfrey to New York for filming — and do it without word getting out.

“Security was a big priority for us,” Burnett said. “We really wanted to keep this under wraps. There were a lot of internal logistical conversations about how to even get Jay and Oprah into our building secretly.”

The spot was filmed last Tuesday at the Ed Sullivan Theatre, home of “Late Show.” According to Burnett, Leno arrived in disguise: hooded sweatshirt, dark glasses and fake mustache. Filming took less than a half-hour, Burnett said.

“It was quick, it was easy,” he said. “The attitude was professional and cordial. Dave and Jay were fine with each other.”

For now. It may be a different story after the Winter Olympics, when Jay Leno returns as host of the “Tonight Show” and his ratings battle with Letterman resumes.

via: EURWEB