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Conan O'Brien's approval rating is sky high. He may no longer host a late night show, but he remains, for a certain generation of viewers, the gold standard for how to make late night entertaining. Part of Conan's appeal lies in his ability to connect with his guests.

That said, the comedian is not infallible. He met his match during a 1996 episode of his first talk show, Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He welcomed on acclaimed director Abel Ferrera, who not only gave a bizarre, stilted interview, but literally tried to flee the set before he was welcomed on.

Abel Ferrera tried to flee the set in 1996

Conan recounted the whole ordeal during an appearance on the podcast Armchair Expert. He said that Ferrera had to be tracked down by producer Frank Smiley because he decided he didn't want to be on the show at the last minute:

He...

Being fired from “Weekend Update” was not the only fallout from Norm Macdonald’s relentless fixation on making jokes about O.J. Simpson, the late comedian’s longtime friend Conan O’Brien said during a special episode of his podcast this week.

O’Brien, in conversation with Andy Richter and “Late Night” and “Conan” producer Frank Smiley, said NBC once tried to bar Macdonald from appearing on “Late Night With Conan O’Brien.” The host said the directive came from former NBC executive Don Ohlmeyer, whose friendship with Simpson was said to be the reason for Macdonald’s earlier removal as “Weekend Update” anchor.

“The word came down. ‘You can’t book Norm Macdonald,'” O’Brien said. “It came from the top, from Don Ohlmeyer.”

(Ohlmeyer, who died in 2017, denied having anything to do with Macdonald’s “SNL” fate at the time.)

“I wrote a letter to Don that said, you know,...

The Writers Guild of America has just announced the nominations for their annual awards for Best Screenplays (by writers who are guild signatories). That’s right, before you get nervous thinking that your favorite may have been left off the list, you must remember that the WGA is the group that is not all-inclusive and leaves out several of the top contenders each year due to them not being part of the guild or not following their very specific rules. For this reason, you won’t see Inside Out, The Hateful Eight, and Ex Machina in the Original Screenplay category or Room, Brooklyn, or Anomalisa in the Adapted screenplay category.

Taking a look at what’s left over for the nominations, we find many that were expected to make a showing, including Spotlight and Bridge of Spies for Original Screenplay, though they apparently had to sink to really low depths...

The Writers Guild of America announced some of its nominees for its 2015 awards on Thursday, including television, new media, and radio, and among the TV nominees are series both new and old, and all beloved.

In the comedy series category, freshman Netflix show "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" scored a nomination for best series, as well as an overall best new series nod. "The Last Man on Earth" also landed in that latter category, and was singled out for its pilot episode writing, too.

On the drama side of the equation, lauded "Breaking Bad" spinoff "Better Call Saul" also got best series and best new series nominations, in addition to a an episode writing nod. Newly-minted Emmy winner "Game of Thrones" also scored a best drama citation, as well as an episodic writing nomination.

The full list of nominees released this week are below. Nominations in the theatrical and documentary categories will...

The Writers Guild of America, West (Wgaw) and the Writers Guild of America, East (Wgae) tonight announced the winners of the 2012 Writers Guild Awards for outstanding achievement in writing for screen, television, radio, news, promotional, videogame, and new media writing at simultaneous ceremonies at Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles and the B.B. King Blues Club in New York City.

Screenplay Nominees

Original Screenplay:

Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics

50/50, Written by Will Reiser; Summit Entertainment

Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig; Universal Studios

Win Win, Screenplay by Tom McCarthy; Story by Tom McCarthy & Joe Tiboni; Fox Searchlight

Young Adult, Written by Diablo Cody; Paramount Pictures

Adapted Screenplay:

The Descendants, Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash; Based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings; Fox Searchlight

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Screenplay by Steven Zaillian; Based on the novel by Stieg Larsson,...

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has announced the winners of the WGA Awards for outstanding achievement in writing. In the Screenplay category, "Midnight in Paris," written by Woody Allen, took home the Original Screenplay award while "The Descendants," written by Alexander Payne, and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemming, received the Best Adapted Screenplay award.

Winners of the WGA awards were announced Sunday, Feb. 19 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. Zooey Deschanel and Joel McHale served as hosts of the ceremony.

Here is the full list of winners (highlighted) and nominees of the 2012 WGA Awards (to see winners/nominees of other award-giving bodies, visit our Awards Avenue coverage right here)

Screenplay Nominees

Original Screenplay

50/50, Written by Will Reiser; Summit Entertainment

Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig; Universal Studios

*** (Winner) Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics

Win Win,...

Midnight in Paris, Young Adult, and the other nominations for the 2012 Writers Guild Awards have been announced. The 64th Annual Writers Guild Awards is “a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different Us labor unions: The Writers Guild of America, East (Wgae), representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi. The Writers Guild of America, West (Wgaw), representing TV and film writers in Hollywood and southern California.” The 2012 Writers Guild Awards will be held on February 19, 2012.

The full listing of the 2012 Writers Guild Awards nominations is below.

Screenplay Nominees

Original Screenplay

50/50, Written by Will Reiser; Summit Entertainment

Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig; Universal Pictures

Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics

Win Win, Screenplay by Tom McCarthy; Story by Tom McCarthy & Joe Tiboni; Fox Searchlight

Young Adult, Written by Diablo Cody; Paramount Pictures

Adapted Screenplay

The Descendants, Screenplay by Alexander Payne...

The Writers Guild of America, West (Wgaw) and the Writers Guild of America, East (Wgae) announced nominations for outstanding achievement in writing for the screen in both film and television for 2011. Winners will be honored at the 2012 Writers Guild Awards on Sunday, February 19, 2012, during simultaneous ceremonies in Hollywood and New York.

Categories for film include Best Original Screenplay, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Documentary Screenplay. The TV nominations are a little more extensive, offering awards for Best Drama Series, Best Comedy Series, Best New Series, Best Episodic Drama, Best Animated Series, Best Comedy/Variety Series, and Best Daytime Drama.

To find out what got nominated, check out our full list of nominees below.

Screenplay Nominees

Original Screenplay:

50/50, Written by Will Reiser; Summit Entertainment

Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig; Universal Studios

Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics

Win Win, Screenplay by Tom McCarthy; Story by...