Video: Celebrity interview train wreck of the year
posted at 2:59 pm on July 27, 2007 by Allahpundit
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So incredulous was I that this was real that I searched for it on the ABC website to make sure it was there. Yup, it’s there, although some of the longer pauses have been politely edited out. Your hostess for this journey into awkwardness is Merry Miller, the programming director for the Learning Annex who somehow, some way, ended up derailing this train while ABC’s cameras rolled. It slows down a bit after the first minute but stick with it — you wouldn’t want to miss the part at the end where she misidentifies which network she’s on.
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You have got to be f#$king kidding me…I couldnt get past the first 25 seconds…
doriangrey on July 27, 2007 at 3:01 PM
Ditto. Sometimes i watch clips and get more embarrassed then the people in it. This is one of those times. It’s so embarrassing it hurts.
madne0 on July 27, 2007 at 3:05 PM
I would like to hear what these two thought about the current strategy with regards to the Iraq war.
tarpon on July 27, 2007 at 3:05 PM
Train wreck? More like two cabooses trying to negotiate a dirt road.
kjspeedial on July 27, 2007 at 3:07 PM
I kept waiting for her to say, “Boom goes the dynamite.”
flip on July 27, 2007 at 3:09 PM
“Uh,Its my first day.”
ericire12 on July 27, 2007 at 3:11 PM
I’m sure she has begun filling out the unemployment paperwork by now. She got the premiere date of the show wrong (she said June 23rd vice July), as well as misnaming her own network. Add the allowed pauses, the dozen or more references to how much “WE LOVE” the show, the character, etc., and egads, just painful.
Freelancer on July 27, 2007 at 3:13 PM
There goes the networks’ blonde strategy.
Attila (Pillage Idiot) on July 27, 2007 at 3:15 PM
Huh?…what???….sorry I was paying attention to Ms. Hunter. There was an interview?
Limerick on July 27, 2007 at 3:15 PM
Wow! How did she get the gig? Oh, never mind.
stonemeister on July 27, 2007 at 3:15 PM
Completely embarrassing.Reminds me of a bad SNL parody.
amerpundit on July 27, 2007 at 3:16 PM
Lord.
Horrible questions. Silly answers. Long awkward pauses.
She’s ready to host the next Dem debate.
BacaDog on July 27, 2007 at 3:16 PM
What was this, open mike night on ABC? Gads, that was awkward.
Better question is who is she sleeping with to get an on-air spot? And now that the on-air spot flamed out spectacularly, are they still together?
Yes its sexist, but what is the more likely explanation here for putting someone on air that has no talent, experience or skill at reading a teleprompter?
BelchSpeak on July 27, 2007 at 3:16 PM
Ha! :)
BJ* on July 27, 2007 at 3:17 PM
“da lerning annex is paying me one million dollars!…”
jummy on July 27, 2007 at 3:18 PM
Video: Bionic mouthed Celebrity is interviewed
train wreckby Bionic Mouth Teacher of the year.posted at 2:59 pm on July 27, 2007 by Allahpundit
There, fixed the story title for you.
Well.
They are still learning how to use their mouth so that’s understandable.
Mcguyver on July 27, 2007 at 3:19 PM
Does she need glasses? Yikes. She makes an incredibly easy job look hard.
Zetterson on July 27, 2007 at 3:20 PM
Your FIRED
RobG on July 27, 2007 at 3:20 PM
Do you think she liked the show? I wasn’t clear on that point.
BathTub on July 27, 2007 at 3:20 PM
I just felt bad for the girl. I mean – that was painful.
Do you think that the teleprompter could have been screwed up, and she was getting a messed up script from the prompter?
nailinmyeye on July 27, 2007 at 3:23 PM
My feelings exactly. Part of me was laughing, part of me was cringing, part of me was picturing that ditzy girl curled up in a fetal position later, weeping hysterically, screaming, “Why, God? Why?”
She needs a hug.
And a brain.
Don’t fire her. Fire whoever hired her. Fire that guy twice.
Anybody know how she got a gig in television? I’ve seen better interviews from cute little elementary school kids. She made Leno’s “Ross the Intern” look like Peter Jennings.
Ouch.
Professor Blather on July 27, 2007 at 3:23 PM
That was horrible!
WisCon on July 27, 2007 at 3:23 PM
Ummm…Yea, it’s also my last day
HarryStar on July 27, 2007 at 3:24 PM
Reading is hard.
Professor Blather on July 27, 2007 at 3:27 PM
I think Holly did a pretty fair job considering the sheer vapidity of the questions.
Brian the sailor on July 27, 2007 at 3:29 PM
Painful and embarrassing to watch. Yikes.
StephC on July 27, 2007 at 3:30 PM
“World News Tonight with Merry Miller”
kiakjones on July 27, 2007 at 3:33 PM
how’s this for stupid? i go looking for the katie couric “dead air” episode, and they’ve yanked all the vids for “copyright” violation.
jummy on July 27, 2007 at 3:33 PM
Good lord! She speaks like I spell.
Poorly.
TheSitRep on July 27, 2007 at 3:35 PM
Heart-ache: Learning Annex PD fails her own Telepromter Reading course on ABC TV; Raising Arizona rentals skyrocket.
ScottMcC on July 27, 2007 at 3:37 PM
Incompetence seems to be spreading like the plague.
HotAir is my refuge.
fogw on July 27, 2007 at 3:38 PM
Good lord. I’ll bet Holly wet herself laughing after the camera went off. This is one of the most embarrassing videos I’ve seen in a long time. That gal conducting the interview looked and sounded like high school kids doing their video yearbook.
By the way, Holly Hunter is smoking hot. She’s one of those women who get better looking with age.
jaleach on July 27, 2007 at 3:48 PM
(Please!) Sign Up for RIF’s Free eNewsletter, Merry. Please!
Teddy on July 27, 2007 at 3:51 PM
With apologies to Miss Julie Brown:
I never learned to read and I never learned to cook
Why should I bother when I look like I look?
I know lots of people are smarter than me, but I have this philosophy, “So what?”
Cause I’m a blonde yeah yeah yeah
I see girls without dates and I feel so sorry for them cause whenever
I’m around, all the men ignore ‘em
Cause I’m a blonde nyah nyah nyah
Cause I’m a blonde nyah nyah nyah
They say to make it you need talent and ambition, well I got a tv show, and this is my audition;
Umm. . . okay. . . what was it?. . . ummm don’t tell me. . . oh, yeah, okay “Duck Magnum, duck!”
Cause I’m a blonde yeah yeah yeah
Cause I’m a blonde yeah yeah yeah
I took an IQ test and I flunked it of course, I can’t spell VW but I got a Porsche
Cause I’m a blonde B-L-I-N-D
Cause I’m a blonde don’t you wish you were me?
I just want to say that being chosen as this month’s Miss August is
like a compliment I’ll remember for as long as I can.
Right now I’m a freshman in my fourth year at UCLA but my goal is
to become a veterinarian cause I love children–I think.
Cause I’m a blonde yeah yeah yeah
Cause I’m a blonde yeah yeah yeah
BigOrangeAxe on July 27, 2007 at 3:56 PM
I guess the ABC edited a lot out. From what I saw, Holly Hunter’s stuttering stuck out a little but nothing else did.
I wish Youtube wasn’t blocked at work.
Esthier on July 27, 2007 at 3:58 PM
I know it’s all in good fun, but those jokes still annoy me, especially as I watch my hair fade to light brown.
I used to argue with my fourth grade teacher about the dumb blond jokes and tell her the brunettes were really the dumb ones, which was actually true for that class.
It’s certainly immaturity on my part, but I suppose I never completely grew out of that. Maybe I’d have felt differently if I’d been a cheerleader instead of a band and academic decathlon nerd.
Esthier on July 27, 2007 at 4:02 PM
Guess what I won’t be watching.
Kini on July 27, 2007 at 4:02 PM
CBS could save money by hiring her, and probably still get better ratings…
urbancenturion on July 27, 2007 at 4:05 PM
“Journey into awkwardness” is right… Broadcast News was never like that, eh Holly?
Does Miss Merry still have an on-air job at ABC?
meh…nothing like a good wreck, gotta slow down and take a look!
JetBoy on July 27, 2007 at 4:08 PM
I watched the pilot episode and here it is in a nutshell. She is a drunk detective. In one scene her partner simulates a sexual act with her, fully closed which winds up with her kicking him out the door. Later and old guy who she appologizes to grabs her breast and tells her it will take more then an apology to which she decks him. Later the partner returns and they have real sex with the clothes off. Pretty daring for tv. She spends the show always with a bottle of booze handy.
I think they are trying to recreate the “Rescue Me” show with Denis Leary from FX.
LakeRuins on July 27, 2007 at 4:14 PM
I’ve stopped being amazed at the power of a lens. Sometimes when I’m shooting someone, I imagine myself as a superhero with the power to disarm anyone, instantly.
MM is immune, of course.
The Race Card on July 27, 2007 at 4:16 PM
Does Nick Nolte have a cameo?
BacaDog on July 27, 2007 at 4:16 PM
If i’d read only a transscript of this with the names blocked out, I’d have sworn that this was a Larry King interview.
Mig on July 27, 2007 at 4:17 PM
I’ve seen better interviews on kid type news interview things back when I was in school.
- The Cat
P.S. They should broadcast on an hour delay, it’s not like they have to have this thing live.
MirCat on July 27, 2007 at 4:22 PM
P.P.S. Get this girl some contacts or something. Squint squint.
MirCat on July 27, 2007 at 4:22 PM
***Listen very closely, right after she says “NBC” at the very end. You can hear one of the producers screaming and cussing her out from the control room!
I’m willing to bet we won’t be seeing her on anything short of Wayne’s World’s old time slot on Community Cable Access or in a magazine spread somewhere.
She’d better refill her depression meds. It’s gonna be a tough week.
russ2553 on July 27, 2007 at 4:25 PM
The buzz is too much crack pipe.
They must have hired her to fulfill the equal opportunity quota on white, blond air-heads.
The show sounds awful (drunken whore, goddess, mad woman), but should air in Pakistan just to get the locals in a twist.
Hening on July 27, 2007 at 4:28 PM
That poor girl is probably still crying. It almost seemed as if someone mixed up her cue cards.
But Holly Hunter is easy to look at.
Zorro on July 27, 2007 at 4:29 PM
Buzz
How apropro
EricPWJohnson on July 27, 2007 at 4:29 PM
Oooooh, Oooooh….More fun!
Go to the link above to the Learning Annex and check out the ‘video interview’ link with Miss Miller next to her picture. Hmmmm. Judging by her ‘I’m a very smart, talented lady’ attitude during her ‘me’ interview, I’m guessing she’s a little humbled after this.
russ2553 on July 27, 2007 at 4:36 PM
You wouldn’t say that if you saw her in this show.
LakeRuins on July 27, 2007 at 4:38 PM
What a moron.
They must have searched a long, long time to find someone so inept.
drjohn on July 27, 2007 at 4:42 PM
heh have had dates like that
William Amos on July 27, 2007 at 5:01 PM
Reminds me of this:
Chris Farley as Interviewer
nottakingsides on July 27, 2007 at 5:06 PM
“truetruetrue”
rosewaning on July 27, 2007 at 5:10 PM
Sorry, Esthier. I didn’t mean to offend you. That post was aimed at Merry Miller. Watching that video, I kept hearing that song in my head (among the many other voices).
BigOrangeAxe on July 27, 2007 at 5:10 PM
Haha! LMAO!
PRCalDude on July 27, 2007 at 5:11 PM
I am never hesitant to play the pig, but I just can’t believe that we’re finding Holly Hunter worth gazing at. Let this be the day that I finally established a minimum standard, and goofy-assed Holly Hunter doesn’t make the cut. (And I thought I had established the permanent low point by wondering if Pelosi had ‘em done…)
Jaibones on July 27, 2007 at 5:12 PM
reminds me of “boom goes the dynamite”
BillLalor on July 27, 2007 at 5:13 PM
I think we found a moderator for the youtube debate
PowWow on July 27, 2007 at 5:17 PM
Oh, that poor, poor girl. I felt myself die a little inside watching that.
Still, did anyone else find her fawning adulation really annoying, too? It’s Holly Hunter, not Jesus Christ, for crying out loud. Do those people really need that much stroking?
Kensington on July 27, 2007 at 5:21 PM
Yes
Jaibones on July 27, 2007 at 5:34 PM
It was just an inane interview guys. Why make a big deal about it?
duff65 on July 27, 2007 at 5:59 PM
Good grief! That was the real life, female, Ron Burgundy. Don’t you have a brain in you’re head? Are you not capable of independent thought? “Be careful what you put on the teleprompter because she’ll read it.” And without the teleprompter she’s lost!
srhoades on July 27, 2007 at 6:03 PM
Nonsense. Merely inane interviews don’t physically hurt to watch and don’t make you want to avert your eyes. Entertainment Tonight has merely inane interviews all the time. This was not merely an inane interview.
This was a fiasco. This was watching someone’s career going down the drain.
Kensington on July 27, 2007 at 6:12 PM
Further proof (as if we didn’t know already) that anchors and anchorettes merely read shit and have no idea what they’re reading or talking about and aren’t paying attention to what they’re reading. They just baaaaa out whatever is on the teleprompter.
No wonder the drive-by media is dying.
I do love Holly Hunter’s voice, though!
SouthernGent on July 27, 2007 at 6:14 PM
It seemed like the audio was messed up at the beginning. Might have thrown her off stride. Who knows about the teleprompter?
mikeyboss on July 27, 2007 at 6:18 PM
I couldn’t get thru the clip. Ouch.
Well, I guess she could always jump on the Gorebal Warming bandwagon and make a career out of that until Winter hits.
Montana on July 27, 2007 at 6:21 PM
Holly is a good looking gal.
csdeven on July 27, 2007 at 7:24 PM
Last time I remember a train wreck interview posted here was the one where Kiran Chetry, the most beautiful woman on earth, interviewed that brat who won the spelling bee.
Now just imagine this Merry Miller conducting that same interview…
radjah shelduck on July 27, 2007 at 7:31 PM
Perhaps the interviewer needs an introduction.
CyberCipher on July 27, 2007 at 7:44 PM
Amen to that. I only started to watch the series because she was starring in it. I am pretty interested to see where it goes and if she accepts the offer of redemption.
I was afraid to watch the clip because I thought the “train wreck” was because of Holly, and I didn’t want to be crushed. Ahh, she came through like a trooper.
Mallard T. Drake on July 27, 2007 at 7:55 PM
Merry? Miller “not just another pretty face” on the network news.
I’m sorry, but it just hasto be said here (I know you’re all thinking it).
Just what bigshot producer is
sleeping with…holding hands…talking to Ms. Merry for her to be permitted to be on a national MSM TeeVee news program? It can’t be simply talent. Or can it?Sgt Khe Sahn
1GooDDaDDy on July 27, 2007 at 8:30 PM
Do they audition their anchors “LIVE”…
Lou on July 27, 2007 at 8:34 PM
Too funny!
Yeah, this was horrible to watch. +1 with Radjah’s comment…much worse than that spelling bee interview.
PBoilermaker on July 27, 2007 at 8:44 PM
They couldnt get the PBS ladies from SNL, Molly Shannon and forgot the other woman’s name.
StuLongIsland on July 27, 2007 at 8:47 PM
I guess nobody thought my Farley video was funny……….whatever!
nottakingsides on July 27, 2007 at 9:04 PM
Dude, chill…
PBoilermaker on July 27, 2007 at 9:07 PM
I have never heard Holly sound dumber in my life! Anyone have a brick for my head? Fling it now……
sMack on July 27, 2007 at 10:36 PM
Ouch… Merry… at age 37, no blonde should be that blond.
T J Green on July 27, 2007 at 11:06 PM
In Vaudeville performers had years to perfect their shtick, as they moved from town to town. Once movies and eventually TV came in,”there was no place to be bad anymore.”
It’s not a blond thing. A couple of years ago on the weekend ABC early morning show a male ‘haircut’ was interviewing an actor from CSI. The ‘haircut’ was about as feeble as this Merry person, and the actor gave him hell for being so bad.
So it must be something in the ABC drinking water. Or possibly the other networks have producers who actually train their on air talent.
Doug on July 28, 2007 at 2:04 AM
I get douche chills just watching that.
JG2K6 on July 28, 2007 at 2:07 AM
She’s got to be some exec’s step-daughter. The wife caught him with the maid, again–ba-da-boom–Merry’s on TV!
I love Holly Hunter saying, “I couldn’t have anyone else do this woman but me.” Holly, if I had a nickel for every time I’ve thought those exact words…
RedCrow on July 28, 2007 at 2:54 AM
She’s Julia Sweeney and Cheri Oteri, plus Molly Shannon and Ana Gasteyer (the NPR ladies) and The Chris Farley Show’s Chris Farley (”Stupid! Aww, I’m an idiot!”) all rolled into one. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon in TV, just shocking that it was on a national broadcast.
You know it’s bad when it starts out, “You may know her as a Caduh-(pause)-my Award-winning actress.”
BTW, is anybody else sick of former big screen TV stars who aren’t top-tier box office anymore finding ways to justify accepting TV work because the characters/script/storylines are that good? (Richard “The Education of Max Bickford” Dreyfuss, anyone?)
Captain Scarlet on July 28, 2007 at 6:51 AM
Everyone now, the Merry Miller Christmas Song
“We wish you a Merry Miller
We wish you a Merry Miller
We wish you a Merry Miller
And a Happy, um – LINE!”
Captain Scarlet on July 28, 2007 at 6:53 AM
Somebody hit it.
And promised it a job if they could keep hitting it.
Not too hard to speculate that.
TheSev on July 28, 2007 at 7:08 AM
Holly Hunter sounds like she has a speech impediment.
Hilts on July 28, 2007 at 3:19 PM
Holly hunter is a great actress, even if she doesn’t do well on TV interviews.
Evidence: Raising Arizona, Miss Firecracker, A Life Less Ordinary. And her five minute cameo in O Brother Where Art Thou?
Doug on July 29, 2007 at 12:49 AM
okay…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vywPKkgs6Kc&feature=related
maybe hoax/acting.
eh on February 12, 2009 at 5:09 PM
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