This was the first “big stunt” (usually the closing act of our segment) I did with Conan. All our banter is ad-lib and I can’t even begin to explain how much fun this was.
You can view more Conan & Steven Stunt Footage on Funny or Die
This was my first appearance on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien. Although the ratchet stunt was prepared, we didn’t really go over any of the beats for this first section, so the majority of what we did here was spontaneous. Regarding the punch to the stomach, people ask me all the time if it was real…and yes, the sucker punch was real. I actually hit him pretty hard.
You can view more Conan & Steven Stunt Footage on Funny or Die
This was from our second stunt segment. Those bamboo swords (shinai) don’t look like they would hurt much, but trust me they STING.
You can view more Conan & Steven Stunt Footage on Funny or Die
Joe Hyams (left) with Gene Kelly
Joe Hyams, June 6, 1923 – November 8, 2008
If you follow this blog, you may know that I consider Zen in the Martial Arts, by Joe Hyams, to be one of the defining books in my childhood that encouraged my lifelong interest in the martial arts. I recently received a note from Lisa Hyams thanking me for a previous mention of her late-husband’s book. (Lisa I wanted to connect with you, but did not have contact information - thank you for taking the time to write me)
I had not realized that Mr. Hyams had passed a few years ago and wanted to take this moment to again share with you my favorite chapter of this book, “Beginner’s Mind”, where Mr. Hyams shares his first meeting with Bruce Lee. My wish is that you all have a chance to read this book and that it may touch you as deeply as it did me. It’s the best $7.99 you’ll ever spend.
FROM ZEN IN THE MARTIAL ARTS, “BEGINNER’S MIND”
The air was muggy and fetid in the Long Beach Sports Arena on that summer day in 1962. The air conditioning was malfunctioning and the crowd at the International Karate Tournament was getting restless after watching hours of matches. The Ed Parker, sponsor of the annual event, took the microphone and introduced Bruce Lee, who was to put on a demonstration of jeet-kune-do. There was an instant hush and all heads craned forward. Before his movie career began Bruce Lee was already legend among martial artists.
Bruce walked onto the elevated boozing ring wearing a simple, black, tailor-made kung-fu uniform. He spoke quietly for a few minutes about his art and then began the demonstration. It is always impressive to watch a large, muscular man perform karate, overwhelming the observer with the display of sheer, vibrant power. But to me, it even more impressive to see a slightly built man executing techniques with blinding speed, his motions as quick and elegant as those of a bird in flight. When Bruce finished there was a moment of silence and then shattering applause.
Some weeks later a friend arranged for me to meet Bruce, from whom I hoped to take private lesions. Bruce was highly selective about the students he chose to teach, and this meeting was to be a kind of audition for me.
Since he gave only private lessons and had no formal studio, the meeting was at my home. He arrived promptly and I went out into the front yard to meet him. At first glance he appeared even smaller than he looked on stage. He was wearing snug-fitting, full-length athletic pants and a green tank top shirt that revealed rippling muscles. He was smiling when we shook hands, but he quickly got to the point.
“Why do you want to study with me?” he asked. “Because I was impressed with your demonstration and because I have heard you are the best.”
“You’ve studied other martial arts?” he asked.”For a long time” I answered, “but I stopped some time ago and now I want to start over again.” Bruce nodded and asked me to demonstrate some of the techniques I already knew. We went out to my driveway and he watched intently as I went through the various katas, or exercise, from other disciplines. Then he asked me to execute some basic kicks, blocks, and punches on a bag hanging from a rafter of the garage. “Do you realize you will have to unlearn all you have learned to start over again?” he asked. “No,” I said.
Bruce smiled and placed his hand lightly on my shoulder. “Let me tell you a story my sifu told me,” he said.
“It is about the Japanese Zen master who received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen. It was obvious to the master from the start of the conversation that the professor was not so much interested in learning about Zen as he was in impressing the master with his own opinions and knowledge. The master listened patiently and finally suggested they have tea. The master poured his visitor’s cup full and then kept on pouring. The professor watched the cup overflowing until he could no longer restrain himself. “The cup is overfull, no more will go in.”
“Like this cup,” the master said, “you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup”
Bruce studied my face. “You want me to empty my mind of past knowledge and old habits so that I will be open to new learning”
“Precisely,” said Bruce. “And now we are ready to begin your first lesson.”
This does not mean that Bruce prevented me from applying a critical mind to his teaching. In fact, he welcomed discussing, even argument. But when challenged too long on a point his reply was always, “At least empty your cup and try.”
Later I learned that Bruce practiced what he taught. As a youth in Hong Kong he had studied wing-chun, a branch of kung-fu, under the celebrated master, Yip Man. When he came to America as a teenager he observed Ed Parkers’ kenpo-karate, taking from it many hand techniques that appealed to him. From tae-kwon-do he borrowed the devastating kicks that make the Korean style so formidable. He also studied other styles of martial arts, taking from all of them whatever he thought useful. Although considered one the best martial artists of his time, he was always learning, always in a constant process of change and improvement. He truly kept his cup empty.
Bruce had not only developed his physical abilities to a point of perfection, he had also honed his mind with the study of Zen. His den in Los Angeles was stacked ceiling-high with worn volumes of the Zen masters written in Chinese and in English.
It has been more than a decade since my first lesson with Bruce, and I am now in my mid-fifties. With half a century of life experience behind me, I sometimes get impatient with a new idea or technique. But when I feel impatient or act dogmatically self-assured, I remind my self of the lesson Bruce taught me, and I try to empty my cup to make room for new methods and ideas.
That was my first real lesson in Zen in the martial arts and its application to life-although at the time I didn’t recognize it as Zen. It was merely good sense-which is what Zen really is.
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Zen in the Martial Arts on Amazon.
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - If Conan O’Brien’s debut on Twitter is any indication Coco fever is stronger than ever.
In his first public comment since his final “Tonight Show” on February 12, O’Brien launched a Twitter account Wednesday afternoon, (at)conanobrien, and sent his first tweet. “Today I interviewed a squirrel in my backyard and then threw to commercial. Somebody help me,” he wrote on his page, which also includes his bio summed up as “I had a show. Then I had a different show. Now I have a Twitter account.”
What followed was a wildfire on the microblogging site. Within the first three hours, O’Brien had more than 100,000 followers, with 1,000 new fans signing up every minute.
Copyright 2010 Reuters News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
FOLLOW CONAN ON TWITTER HERE
We finished our last day of shooting yesterday in and around Downtown LA and Chinatown (look out for a coincidental “COCO Bakery” appearance). So now that it’s in post, we’re now about 2 weeks away from the Funny or Die Exclusive launch date of “Asian Conan”. If you have no idea what I’m talking about or why I’m wearing an orange wig with a Prada suit, you can read up on your Asian Conan history HERE.
1. CHOOSE STAIRS. Think about it…most of our daily elevator or escalator usage is really just to travel under four flight of stairs. So give yourself a little extra time and skip those awkward moments of staring at the floor buttons with complete strangers (who sometimes smell) and head for the staircase. In most cases they’re just a few steps away. I like to mix up my climb by doing fast single steps combined with slow double steps. If your final destination is the 89th floor, then stop at 85 and walk the rest of the way up. For the ladies in Jimmy Choos…go NYC style and carry an extra pair of small flats or tennies in your bag (a small price to pay for awesome calves).
2. DON’T SWEAT THE GREAT PARKING SPOT. Why are you spending that extra 10 minutes circling the parking lot for that special space that’s 10 feet from your destination? Bypass the parking rage and find a spot on a different level or a little further away. Avoid the dings, the arguments, and gain the benefits of some extra steps to your destination. If you found a dollar on the ground, I’m sure you’d pick it up, right? Take the extra steps…it all adds up.
3. WALK & TALK. If you’re stuck at your desk all day on the phone (or just like to talk a lot on the phone), take a walk & talk when you can. Handle those long, obligatory calls on a nice hike…as opposed to sitting on your sofa surfing Facebook.
4.QUICK BLASTERS. During downtime at work or at home, ditch the coffee, soda machine, or cigarette for a quick blast of push-ups, sit-ups, or even light set of hand weights. I’m not talking about anything that’s going to make you sweat or rumple up your clothes…just a 10-25 push-ups here and there. Again, it all adds up and is great for a mental break in the middle of the day.
Now I know you don’t expect to get in shape by following these fitness tips without combining them with a proper fitness and diet program. The purpose is to offer yourself tools to reinforce an overall healthy lifestyle that will keep you energized throughout the day.
Today was day two of our Asian Conan shoot for Funny or Die. Fox Newsreporter Suzanne Marques was kind enough to come straight from Good Day LA to play herself in the closing scene of our short. Think “April O’Neil” and you’ll have a good sense of where her character may be developing with the “AC”.
Thanks to Mike Mitchell and Paul-Brian McReynolds for lending their torsos for slo-motion stomach and chest punches by Asian Conan.
Tomorrow is our third and final day of shooting (main intro of AC walking the streets of Downtown). Josh Simpson (producer) and Bradley Schultz (director) should have a final edit ready to air in the next few weeks. Look for it on Funny or Die.
If you’re not familiar with “Asian Conan” you might think that I’ve lost my marbles. By now, everyone is obviously caught up with the Late Night drama and is aware that The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien was suddenly and dramatically removed from the NBC/Universal lineup.
So here is how and why Asian Conan started:
On January 18th, nationwide rallies were held in support of Conan O’Brien and Staff. The events were organized through artist Mike Mitchell’s “I’m with CoCo” Facebook page, and were covered by National news groups. TMZ ran live streaming footage of the Burbank rally throughout the day.
I’ve had the great honor of being a guest on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien three times in the short seven months of its history. During that time, I’ve grown very close to many of the staffers (big ups to my producer Rachel Witlieb-Bernstein) and wanted to do what I could to help and offer support for what was going on.
Not sure exactly how it happened, but Josh Simpson, Brad Schultz (from the humor website Funny or Die), Mike Mitchell, and I ended up with the fictitious character…“Asian Conan”.
[side note: Funny or Die is the humor website created by Will Farrell and Mike McKay - you should check out their celebrity-studded FOD Exclusives if you haven't yet]
The initial thought behind Asian Conan was to stage a mock street fight with “Asian Jay Leno” (played by Sam “Smokey” Looc) at the Burbank rally to help keep spirits high during the torrential downpour that hit Los Angeles that week.
What we didn’t realize was the tremendous internet reception the character would receive. So now that all content from the Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien has been pulled from the internet and Conan may or may not be able to make appearances and may or may not be negotiating a deal with another network for a new show, we thought we’d take Asian Conan to the next level and create a comedy short to keep support going during this blackout time.
This time around Asian Conan is a little darker and a lot more brooding. We thought this would be the best approach to spare you guys of my horrible Conan O’Brien impersonations. Think of an urban Kwai Chang Kane in Kung Fu wearing a nice suit and red wig and you’ve got the concept. Episodes of Asian Conan will be shown exclusively on www.funnyordie.com
Former Tonight Show staffers showed up in droves for our first day of shooting to lend helping hands as background actors and crew for this no-budget shoot. Pierre Bernard (who has a tour de force comedy performance as the lead villain) plays the main heavy, and LaBamba and Aaron Bleyaert make memorable appearances.
[spoiler alert: Aaron entered the location with two arms, but leaves with only one]
Also look out for a special cameo appearance by Los Angeles news reporter Suzanne Marques playing herself.
You can keep updated on Asian Conan news on the Asian Conan facebook pag. For super up to date info on whose cynical, unkind, lazy ass Asian Conan is going to serve, follow him on Twitter.
CLICK INDIVIDUAL IMAGES BELOW TO ENLARGE:
Special Thanks:
Nick Petronzio (my brother-in-law) for playing a “heavy” and also doubling as a set photographer for the day.
Nacho and Jose Saucedo at the Westside Boxing Club in Los Angeles for generously allowing us to use their gym as our main location.
All the friends and families of Team Conan who came out to lend a hand, add some laughs, play parts, and even do some stunts.
