No deal, says Conan

PASADENA, Calif. - No deal, says Conan O'Brien, releasing a slightly strange statement to the "people of Earth," saying there's no way he is going for NBC's idea to move him and The Tonight Show to 12:05 a.m. to make room for a shortened Jay Leno Show at 11:35 p.m., now that the network has decided that Leno is not working out weeknights at 10.

"I've been suddenly put in a very public predicament, and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision," he wrote, placing himself not as just some talk-show host, but as steward of "the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting."

He did note that he signed a contract six years ago to take over the show. "I . . . passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004 I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future. . . . I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction."

O'Brien acknowledged the speculation that he might go to another network, but said, "I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next."

Earlier in the day, ABC Entertainment president Stephen McPherson said that he had not spoken with O'Brien and that ABC had no plans to change its late-night lineup.

On Monday, Fox Entertainment president Kevin Reilly told reporters that a late-night show had "never been entirely off the agenda" at Fox and that the network, as part of ongoing business, had spoken to O'Brien's representatives, not about any deal but "mostly commiserating about the situation."

Fox would have problems scheduling a late-night show, since its affiliates already have lucrative deals in place for their own syndicated programming. Managers of several of them have expressed no interest whatsoever at voiding them to take on a transferee from NBC, and O'Brien now may be viewed as damaged goods. From his once-dominant position at 12:35 a.m., his move so far to 11:35 p.m. has been pretty much of a dud. CBS's Late Show With David Letterman trounces him in overall viewer ratings and has pulled even among the younger viewers favored by advertisers.

O'Brien, who makes about $25 million annually, reportedly has a clause in his contract that gives him upward of $40 million if NBC removes him from The Tonight Show. It will probably be up to lawyers to argue whether keeping the name but moving the time slot triggers that clause.

One thing seems certain: This soap opera has a way to go before it plays out.

"Get ready to scratch your head, America," said

Lost

exec producer Damon Lindelof.

Speaking to television critics in Pasadena, Calif., yesterday, Lindelof was paraphrasing actress Emilie de Ravin's assessment of the Feb. 2 premiere of the final season of the mysterious and addictive Lost.

But it's a pleasant confusion, said Lindelof's partner, Carlton Cuse, who promised you won't have to have been an unrelenting devotee to keep up. The producers are pretty proud of the catch-up clip-job special that will run before the premiere, and Cuse said a different narrative style (another one?) might make things a little easier for newbie viewers.

The actors themselves enjoy the uncertainty. "It's better to be in the dark groping around a bit, and not to be burdened with the future," said Michael Emerson, who plays the once super-evil and now not-so-bad (I think) Ben.

"It was easier to play whoever Locke is now, before I knew I wasn't playing Locke," said Terry O'Quinn, who plays Locke, or whoever he is.

The feeling is bittersweet for actors and producers, knowing that they have only seven more episodes to shoot.

"This last year, everyone is really getting nostalgic," said Josh Holloway (Sawyer). "There's camaraderie and a lot of magic, like the first season."

"We're feeling so much gratitude that we're getting to end something while anybody still cares," Lindelof said.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime, once-in-a-career experience," Cuse added, "this sense that I can't believe they're actually going to let us get away with this."

ABC Entertainment president McPherson told the critics that Evangeline Lilly, a native of Alberta, Canada, who plays the gorgeous, plucky Kate, almost didn't make it onto the show. She couldn't get a visa, and ABC was 24 hours away from picking someone else to play the part, and wouldn't that have been an awful shame?

"I'm going to cry like a baby when this show ends," Lilly said. "We've spent six years growing up together."