THE CARROLL NEWS: Staff Commentary: Interning for David Letterman

Staff Commentary: Interning for David Letterman
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Anne McCarthy on 12 February, 2008 09:30:00
 
Last semester, instead of grinding away at lectures, keggers, babysitting and
finals, I had the opportunity to be an intern with the most famous late-night
talk show host, David Letterman. Working at “The Late Show” was an
experience unmatched to this point in my life.
At “Late Show” I worked as a production intern. It was an
incredible experience, with highlights ranging from talking to Dave in the
hallway each week, to nearly plowing over Jude Law while racing down the stairs.
Then there was seeing Slash change into his leather pants and seeing far more of
Slash than I ever would’ve liked to see. I also enjoyed having the
paparazzi take my picture several times, confusing me for a celebrity (a common
mistake) when I would go in and out of the stage door. Once, I had to tell Faith
Hill to move so I could get through to deliver a tape to Dave’s dressing
room. I even got to be on TV for an intern-jumping stunt, which led to a
smile/wave/hi relationship instigated by Jake Gyllenhaal, which we currently
share together.
As a production intern, the majority of the work was far from glamorous.
Unfortunately, it didn’t require me to fraternize with rock stars and
celebs all day long. My days prior to the writers strike were often spent going
on McDonald’s runs for the show’s writers and editors, delivering
tapes to the writers, and the bane of my existence – the dusty, cramped
tape stock closet where I toiled away taking inventory and nearly killed myself
several times moving boxes that were stacked sky-high.
At last, there was my favorite job requirement - taking a copy of the show tape
to Dave’s office at the end of each day.
In early November, the writers strike reared its ugly head. It was nice at
first, not having to run around all day.
Then reality set in that the strike was not going to be settled anytime soon.
So, the last two months of the internship were spent reading magazines in the
research room, taking extra long lunch breaks with intern friends and watching
movies in the conference room.
The writers did host a get-together in a coffee shop and explained everything
to us lowly interns, and discussed how they became writers on the show, which
was pretty cool. We even got to march the picket lines around Manhattan, which
led to sightings of SNL-ers Seth Meyers, Andy Samberg and Tina Fey, and actors
Robin Williams and Tim Robbins.
Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed this insider perspective of the “Late
Show” and the writers strike, despite it being shameless self-promotion.
As my best friend David Letterman likes to say, “There is no off position
on the genius switch.” And, judging by the caliber of this commentary,
I’m sure you would agree. (Post Script: I’m available for article
signings).