I can’t think of a harder situation for a guest than being best known primarily as a comedic actor or actress and having to go on a national talk show to sell a drama.  Such was the plight of the always-entertaining Cameron Diaz, as she paid a visit to The Daily Show to promote “My Sister’s Keeper.”
Getting your “message” across in a Daily Show interview is always a risky proposition.  No matter what your agenda, the only guarantee that you will get the right promotion, is the giant poster of your film or book that adorns the back of the set.  Beyond that, any publicist who tells you different simply doesn’t watch the show.  The reality is, Jon goes where Jon wants to go, and that’s usually to the benefit of the show and the guest.  Now I’m not saying that getting your message through is impossible, especially if you are an attractive woman that would have rejected Jon in high school, or is an undeniable Shixa Goddess — credits that both could be attributed to Ms. Diaz.
The problem was, she just wasn’t properly prepared.  If you don’t know, in “My Sister’s Keeper” Cameron Diaz plays the mother of one child who is a leukemia victim and the other who was ostensibly born to be a compatible blood, marrow and organ donor to help keep her other sister alive.  When the second sister begins to resent that role, a legal battle ensues.  For any guest this would be a tough sell knowing that you are competing in the summer theaters with the likes of “Transformers” and “Harry Potter.”  Not that this type of film won’t find an audience as alternative fare, but Ms. Diaz couldn’t keep from harping on the fact that she and everyone who saw it were crying for days.  An admirable compliment for the cast’s performances, but deadly to those who a looking to pay money for a break this summer in the theaters.
Whatever happened to descriptions like “heartwarming,” “beautiful,” “moving,” and “honest?”  And you can never go wrong praising the acting of your fellow actors to fill time – something at least Jon Stewart took the lead on in mentioning Alec Baldwin’s performance.  Although he couldn’t resist commenting that the clip looked like the “saddest episode of ‘30 Rock’ ever.”
All in all some concerted prep was in order here and at the end of the day I can’t blame the performer, I blame the publicist or studio executive who booked her on the show and simply hoped for the best.  They got the worst.

William Shatner may have lost out not getting a part in the most recent Star Trek epic, but he certainly hasn’t lost any warp speed as a talk show guest.  As The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien looks to find its sea legs, beyond the ultra-heavy reliance on often forced pre-taped packages and shtick, TGW was happy to see the C man could take on a veteran of a thousand talk wars.  The combination of what was obviously well rehearsed material from Shatner, and Conan’s fearless use of physical comedic reactions, proved to be a winning combination.
Shatner, no stranger to the “plug machine,” came loaded for bear with the paperback release of his latest autobio “Up Till Now,” a new edition of his comic book series, and the season debut of his BIO Channel interview series “Raw Nerve.”  No moss growing under this stone.  But the plugs were mercifully left to the end of the interview.  That gave Shatner the chance to tell cryptic stories about traveling across country and miming the action of relieving himself near a stopped train and offering his own interpretation of a Vulcan hand gesture.  It all sounds pretty juvenile – which it was – but somehow Conan’s innate midwestern pseudo innocence worked like a charm.  In a final demonstration of just how far Conan will go for the laugh, he ended up with his already towering presence, standing on his desk in feigned disgust.  Leaving the show’s director no doubt challenged to figure out just how far he could widen his shot.
The lesson here is that the plugs and pre-interviewed stories on the “blue cards” sometimes aren’t enough.  A talk show appearance is a performance whether the guest likes it or not, and if their agents or publicists are telling them anything different, they’re selling them short.  The talk success bar is on the rise due to renewed competition in late night and constant format tinkering to insure the success of these historic money machines.
Bottom line.  Find your stories, get comfortable with them and then get some feedback from a regular watcher of these shows and kick it all up a notch if you truly want to be a repeatable guest.  Shatner is once again welcome on any TV couch.