James Corden talks about Trump-era humor
LOS ANGELES— James Corden brings a gleeful buoyancy to his CBS late-night show, whether he’s bantering simultaneously with his guests or singing duets with stars as he drives.
But CBS’ smoothly produced “The Late Late Show” suggests just how much Corden invests in his work, which was affirmed in a conversation amid preparations for the show’s visit to Corden’s native England.
For starters, he described shuttling between Los Angeles ( where his show is based), New York (to attend the premiere of “Ocean’s 8”) and London to do pretaped elements.
He discussed what “The Late Late Show” means to him and how much he puts into it, with the United Kingdom trip, an encore to last year’s, an example. Some scheduled guests include Cate Blanchett, Cher, Chris Pratt and Orlando Bloom. Paul McCartney joined Corden for a “Carpool Karaoke” segment, with Andrew Lloyd Webber in a new “Crosswalk the Musical.”
In an Associated Press (AP) interview, Corden also refused to cede ground on the political humor that infuses so much of late-night in Donald Trump’s era, saying his show is as topical as any—in its own way.
Excerpts:
You’ve described a hectic schedule, but it sounds like you’re having the time of your life.
How can I not? …I don’t think I can moan about having a film (“Ocean’s 8”) with Sandra Bullock. And a TV show which is bigger than anyone thought it could be a few years ago when it started.
What will viewers see that’s different from the Los Angeles shows?
We have a “Crosswalk the Musical” shot in London, we’ve got sketches and taped bits. And of course, the venue will be vastly different because it’s a 1,000-seat old church. It will look and sound different.
Although Trump-era political humor is key in late-night, have you made it less a part of your show because you’re British?
It’s not that it’s less. We talk about politics every night on the show. I just don’t want it to be the only part—and I don’t think our audience does either. So every day, our monologue is somehow dominated by President Trump. What we often try to do is think, “What is our show’s way of tackling it?” So, for example, when the president announces his abhorrent ban on transgenders in the military, we think, “What is our show’s way of dealing with it, rather than just talking about it?” And that’s how you come up with an LGBT song rewritten to Nat King Cole’s “Love.”—