MIKE O’BRIEN’S GUIDE TO MAKING OUT WITH FAMOUS PEOPLE
No. 1: Know Lorne Michaels.
“The thing about Lorne is he will green-light something on just a sentence, which is cool. That paid for a sound guy, nicer equipment than you would normally see on a video series. But everything is done separately from SNL. It’s just me and Rob and Erin Doyle, this young producer at SNL. A video producer on SNL has this friend who has an apartment in Columbus Circle, and we use the guy’s walk-in closet. We also have a set designer on the show who rearranges some of the background, but it’s 90 per cent the guy’s actual closet. As for guests, Erin made the initial calls and the pitch was, ‘He wants to interview them in a closet.’ I don’t know why anybody would say yes — but Erin gets pitched guests a fair amount now. And at SNL after-parties, people come up to me and whisper, ‘Hey, I would do that closet thing if you want.’ ” No. 2: Be sensitive.
“We have three cameras, and we’re actually in the closet for about 25 minutes, so I will watch the guest’s interviews on talk shows and know what conversation will work best and what to avoid. I will spend days reading about someone, watching their movies — only to stammer and double back on questions. A lot of guests come to us in the middle of a junket and are so exhausted of being asked the same three questions. Patricia Clarkson, who was the second one, was simply told it would be fun to do. Which is the right attitude. I hope that’s what they’re thinking. Or maybe they just want to make out with me. Patricia was the second interview, and Hoda Kotb was the first interview, and I turned bright red when I went to kiss them both.” (Sample question for Hoda: “Whisper in my ear the worst thing about Kathie Lee Gifford.”) No. 3: Be attentive.
“One of the things that immediately became obvious to us was that this is what a reality show should be like. There is a moment in each of (the episodes) that I think, ‘That is what that person is actually like’ — as far as I know them. Though sometimes it’s the whole episode. Elijah Wood is very much himself the whole time. I also like when I get someone to laugh who is very put-together. Some of them are being funny, but Christina Ricci, for instance, wasn’t putting on a show. When she snorted (twice), it was her. The first seven, because we hadn’t posted any videos yet, didn’t know I would try to kiss them. That’s Patricia, Hoda, Kristen Wiig. Their reaction is their genuine reaction to someone kind of breaking their trust. Amy Poehler didn’t know.” No. 4: Breathe.
“The Insane Clown Posse — they didn’t know what it was and hadn’t seen the videos and had no idea I would try and kiss them. Violent J was incredibly happy afterward, but Shaggy 2 Dope, when he said, ‘I can’t do it, man,’ I didn’t want to push. I never muscle anyone’s face back toward me. . . . Do interviews get serious? Yeah, and I have gotten better about enjoying when that happens. Jason Sudeikis (with whom he shares an office) and I talked for 15 minutes about whether all comedians are sad people. But there is a limit to that.” No. 5: Lower your expectations.
Clarkson asked, “You know what the name of my lipstick is? Cherries in the Snow.” Then they full-on made out for a moment. Hamm kissed O’brien first. But those are exceptions. Wiig squirmed into a crouch. Ricci ducked. Morgan hugged, accepting a peck. Poehler asked: “Are you done?” Ty Burrell and Paul Rudd relented, “just kind of let me have at it,” O’brien said. “Seth (Meyers) was fun but he’s my boss.” Jack Mcbrayer bared his teeth. But perhaps the most awkward — Connie Britton. O’brien asks her, “Do you like me?” And Britton replies, with genuine confusion, “Like, like like you?” So he kissed her shoulder.