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Greg Gutfeld, ex-Maxim UK editor and the funniest and most controversial blogger in Huffington Post history, began last week hosting 'Red Eye' on Fox News. It's kind of a cross between a community-access version of 'The Daily Show' and a late-night dorm bull session, if your dorm looked like a drug kingpin's inner sanctum in an '80s direct-to-cable movie. Regular panelists are former Stuff / Shock editor Bill Schulz and pundit Rachel Marsden; guest ringers in the first week included Andrew Breitbart of Breitbart.com, Slate's Mickey Kaus, NYT's David Carr, and National Review editor Rich Lowry. Regular remote sessions include a mid-game ombudsman (Army vet/ex-Hollywood publicist Andrew Levy) critiquing the first half, and an end of show wrap-up from Gutfeld's 82 year-old mom.
Gutfeld's an interesting choice for an on-air host. He usually looks like he's about to break into a snarl, but never quite does. His nervous energy is constant and he resembles a slightly puffy Joe Strummer. All of which are compliments, by the way. If you're up at 2AM EST and feel like watching television, it is definitely more fun than the herbal penis enhancement infomercial that's usually on Comedy Central in that time-slot.
We spent last week trying to arrange a phone interview with Gutfeld, but he's a busy guy. Finally, we settled for an email Q&A, the last resort of scoundrels and bloggers on deadline. It's after the jump, but squeamish HuffPo readers might not want to look.
Update: Here is the promised clip from RedEye, which aired last week, featuring a special surprise appearance from the New York Post's Steve Dunleavy, plus Gutfeld's highly cogent commentary on global warming, not to mention that of his panel (Andrew Breitbart on the perils of being a runway model are especially lucid). Notice how the panel talks all over Rachel Mardsen as she tries to interject...when she finally speaks, judge for yourself whether it was worth the wait. — Rachel Sklar
Onward to the Interview!
ETP: What time of day do you actually shoot the show?
GG: It's on definitely at night. Can't you tell by the dark lighting, edgy music and fog machine? Actually, it's not really a fog machine. I just think it's a fog machine. I have cataracts.
ETP: There's something about the posture of you and your panelists which suggests that the seats on the set are, perhaps, not particularly ergonomic or comfortable. Any comment?
GG: Those chairs are specifically designed to keep us feeling awkward and full of discomfort. We learned this trick from watching reruns of the Dating Game, starring Jim Lange. I was a big fan of Mr. Lange. And I'm willing to bet you are too. So rather than hint at it, why not just come out and say you like Jim Lange? You're evasive. You're a coward. Here's your opportunity to speak truth to power and you blew it. The set, however, is designed specifically to confuse and confound expectations of our critics, who expect us to be beaming our show from under a rock in Bohemian Grove. The fact is, this set is actually designed to mimic the Bu$hitler Rovian mindset: dark, forboding and without exception: completely evil. The set not only is designed to make people racist, but homophobic and hopefully possibly add fuel to an race war between American Samoa and Jakarta.
ETP: Compared to other panel shows like, say, 'The View' or 'The McLaughlin Group,' your panel seems to mostly agree on everything. Don't you agree that disagreement would be more exciting?
GG: What we're aiming for is an audience of fawning imbeciles to HOWL with laughter and agree enthusiastically with everything I say - which seems to be the exact working model of the Huffington Post. Having said that, in our first week already, we've had David Corn, from the Nation, as well as David Carr from the New York Times. Of course, both their first names are identical, and so we could be accused of catering the "David-centric" crowd, and perhaps in this case, you would be right. However, we're more than happy to have all kinds of guests on the show - some named "Dale," and "Susie," - and especially Huffington post bloggers - provided they wear appropriate undergarments and don't comment on my wandering hands.
ETP: You have a lot of fun putting negative emails on the air, but, seriously, what's the praise-diss ratio in your inbox?
GG: Did you really just type "but, seriously," into that sentence? Reread it, it's extremely offensive. I would say the praise-diss ratio is maybe split 50-50, but i find praise boring. Check out the comments on any typical Huffpo screed, and you'll find nothing more than "bravo Cenk!" or "Amen Alec!" Some Huffies still even have the intense bravery necessary to attach the word "right" to "on," which creates the always amusing, "Right on!" I find that phrase highly entertaining and often touch myself while reading it.
The intriguing thing about the web, I find, is how people express themselves differently than they would in person. That's why I read the angry emails - because no one would ever say those things unless they were in the comfort of their padded pajamas, munching on stale crumbs found in their keyboard, merrily sniffing their fingers and hoping one day Deepak Chopra might respond to their fawning comments when he's not charging two grand per weekend for bogus spiritual enlightenment.
ETP: Jon Stewart's wardrobe is sponsored and provided by Ralph Lauren. Ditto Charlie Rose, I think. Who sponsors your wardrobe?
GG: Are you insinuating that my wardrobe is drunk? By the way, tell Arianna she owes me a phone call.
