By Eric Ditzian
I'm already an admitted cheerleader for Team Coco. That guy could take a dump in a shoebox on the JumboTron in Times Square and I might well chuck any shred of journalistic objectivity and laud the comedian for such a daring bit of Neo-Dadaist performance art. (Though for the record, he really shouldn't do that). That being said, Conan O'Brien has been conducting a master class in savvy Hollywood maneuvering since the "Tonight Show" imbroglio first started and now, after signing up for a Twitter account, it's time to applaud our flame-haired friend.
"Today I interviewed a squirrel in my backyard and then threw to commercial," he tweeted Wednesday afternoon. "Somebody help me."
18 hours later, without shooting off another update, he had over 280,000 followers. His Twitter bio says everything you need to know about how Conan is approaching post-"Tonight" life: "I had a show. Then I had a different show. Now I have a Twitter account." Humble, funny, true, at once presaging a bright future and making clear that at present Conan is making all the right moves.
It all started with his mid-January press release, in which he managed to pull off a feat that publicists and crisis-managers never have: being honest and funny while making a strong public stance and insulating oneself from potential criticism. "I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction," he wrote of "Tonight," immediately seizing a moral high ground Jay Leno has only been able to gawk at ever since.
Then, following his righteous "Tonight" send-off, came the facial hair: a scruffy beard that called to mind his mountain man growth in solidarity with his brethren during the 2007-08 writers' strike. What's in a whisker? An everyman laziness, an on-with-the-show fortitude, an "I'm just another unemployed dude, except when I got fired my bosses gave me $30 million but love me anyway!"
Days later, word leaked that Conan and his brain trust were making plans for a theatrical tour that would have the comedian whisking around the country — and possibly the world — for performances that marry parts of his TV work with fresh stage elements. A while back we suggested some potential new career paths for Conan, and never once did we strike upon an idea that was such a perfect fit for the man's talents. That's probably why Conan pays professionals to make his career choices for him, rather than navel-gazing entertainment journalists. No matter! Taking his show on the road would keep him in the spotlight, invigorate him creatively and keep him on his toes until his non-compete with NBC expires and he can return to the airwaves with a new late-night show.
So we were already feeling optimistic about Coco's future when he popped up on Twitter. Taken on its own, the opening of a social networking account doesn't amount to much. But viewed as one more step in the shaping of his post-"Tonight" life, it makes so much sense we can't believe we didn't start a "Bring Conan to Twitter" campaign last month.
What seems to be happening is that Conan is creating the same sort of business machine that David Letterman did after his ouster from NBC in the early '90s. Don't expect Conan ever again to put his fate and financial future so heavily in the hands of others. We're still not sold that starting up a new late night show (likely on Fox) would be a good choice (in fact, the idea makes us nervous), but right now we're choosing to trust in Team Coco. Those folks seem to know what they're doing.