February 27, 2008

Jimmy + Ben sitting in a tree.....

First we had Sarah Silverman f***ing Matt Damon....

And then Jimmy Kimmel and Ben Affleck.....

But now, everyone who didn't get to be in the video feels bad....

"From the minute Sarah's video with Matt played, revenge has been percolating in Jimmy's mind," says Jill Leiderman, the show's executive producer. "The Friday morning after it aired, Jimmy came in and said 'I need Ben Affleck."'

Affleck's consent lead to Harrison Ford's involvement -- he was a fan of Silverman and Damon's video, apparently -- which then lead to Brad Pitt's cameo as the delivery guy who presents Affleck and Kimmel with a cake celebrating their love.

Head music booker Scott Igoe said that once Pitt was on board, he reached out to the musicians who had appeared previously on the show and had proven themselves to be good sports. Within 24 hours, he had the Maddens, Gray and Wentz on board -- and had really ticked off Ashlee Simpson, who wanted to participate but was unable to because she was on tour, he says.

"Basically, we devised the list: 'Who has been on the show in the past that we really like?"' Igoe says.

The music for the song was written by Kimmel's bandleader Cleto Escobedo, with the lyrics devised by Kimmel, Kimmel's brother, John, and the show's writing staff. The video was filmed in two days at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, and at nearby Henson Studios, site of the "We Are the World" session.

"Half the e-mails I've gotten the day after have been from publicists so disappointed that their clients weren't in it," Igoe says, mentioning Faith Hill, Tim McGraw and Paul McCartney.

Whether the song will be released as an official download is up to ABC, Leiderman says, but she promises they'll make the appropriate inquiries to see if they can get a single put out.

Igoe, meanwhile, has his sight set on a bling-ier outcome. "Hey, if 'D--k in a Box' can win an Emmy, why can't we?" he asks.

And of course, all this was just an excuse to post this:

Posted by caltechgirl at February 27, 2008 01:50 PM | TrackBack
Comments

I hadn't seen the Jimmy Kimmel videos... those were hilarious.

Posted by: Contagion at February 27, 2008 05:10 PM

I'll have to watch tonight. No speakers at work.

Posted by: wRitErsbLock at February 28, 2008 06:24 AM

I don't know what's better: Sarah/Matt and Jimmy/Ben, or DiaB!!!

Posted by: Amanda at February 28, 2008 10:46 AM

I heard Kimmel on Adam Carolla's radio show last week. They made mention of "the divorce"... Jimmy didn't want to talk about it. Heh..

I didn't know what they were talking about until Bou sent me those links!

Posted by: That 1 Guy at February 28, 2008 07:43 PM

That's funny!! :)

Posted by: Richmond at February 29, 2008 02:55 PM

... wow.... that just aint right......

Posted by: Eric at March 3, 2008 05:03 PM

that video never gets old! ROTFL!

Posted by: Greta at March 3, 2008 08:30 PM

Kimmel's video was hysterical. As for the SNL video, I think I like the gay Mahmoud one better.

Posted by: Da Goddess at March 7, 2008 07:16 PM