NBC Late Night Mess: Animated In Chinese (And In English)

COMMENTS (17)

• He looks stupid, just like in real life.

  Comment by Jamie C — Wednesday January 20, 2010 @ 1:48pm PST  Reply to this post

• You know, Asians must see the world in a very different way than the rest of us. This is…odd to say the least. I actually don’t want to hear the translation, because that would just make it less odd.

  I think my favorite part is the vendor who is outdoors selling popcorn and Heineken and wearing a t-shirt with gibberish on it. I just hope he doesn’t have to walk too far to re-stock on popcorn. That one bucket probably won’t go too far.

  Comment by RB — Wednesday January 20, 2010 @ 1:53pm PST  Reply to this post

• Did anyone notice Zucker’s character bore a striking resemblance to Chairman Mao?

  Comment by Ten Percentowitz — Wednesday January 20, 2010 @ 2:07pm PST  Reply to this post

• Conan showed this last night and he said even he was confused about who some of the people are. Namely the men in the black and gray suits who enter the fight. My theory is that they are Jimmy (black suit) and Dave (gray suit).

  Comment by Clinton — Wednesday January 20, 2010 @ 2:26pm PST  Reply to this post

• This is not from NMA (Norm Marshal & Associate) in China, but Next Media Animation in Taiwan. Next Media is the publisher of Apple Daily, a trashy daily that prints bloody picture of murdered victims and animated rape sequence on their front page (sadly also the one with highest circulation), and has recently launched this “animated news reporting” on their website. Gibberish is not the only error on this clip, Conan’s severance price is quoted at US$300,000, now that would really compensate for the less than flattering animation of Zucker…

  Comment by this side of the pond — Wednesday January 20, 2010 @ 2:35pm PST  Reply to this post

• My Chinese is limited, but this is done as a straight news report. There’s very little commentary. It’s mainly an animated reenactment, which helps to explain it briefly.

  “Asians must see the world in a very different way than the rest of us.”

  Not sure how much different from what you’re saying since apparently you’re fixated on popcorn. I suppose it odd that they’re making an effort unlike our lazy news media.

  Comment by TimmyC — Wednesday January 20, 2010 @ 2:39pm PST  Reply to this post

• Conan showed a bit of this last night. He was wondering who the other guy in the suit was… well, clearly it is Letterman joining in the thrashing of NBC. Very funny. And I agree it would ruin it to hear the actually translation. Unless it was done it that halting, kind of stilted, staccato way that you often hear Asian languages translated into English.

  Comment by highcotton — Wednesday January 20, 2010 @ 2:40pm PST  Reply to this post

• Oh my god I love the Chinese

  Comment by Oliver — Wednesday January 20, 2010 @ 2:43pm PST  Reply to this post

• This company was actually trying to apply for a network TV license for an entertainment channel and a news channel, but got themselves into trouble when they did these kinds of animations to depict violent crimes like assaults and rapes.

  Comment by Kelvin — Wednesday January 20, 2010 @ 3:01pm PST  Reply to this post

• TOLDJA — YOU ARE ONLY A DAY LATE AND A DOLLAR SHORT FROM ALL THE OTHER BLOGS AND PUBS–DAVID CARR HAD IT WAY EARLY YESTERDAY…GET OVER IT NIKKI

  Comment by Nikki Picky — Wednesday January 20, 2010 @ 3:06pm PST  Reply to this post

• This is the single greatest moment in the history of entertainment journalism.

  Comment by cst — Wednesday January 20, 2010 @ 3:10pm PST  Reply to this post

• Stephen Colbert called…he wants his Captain America shield back

  But seriously the Chinese news coverage is all great fun until some of the lawyers get involved over the intellectual property violations on those cartoon characters being recast.

  Still I think the future of broadcast & anything controlled by a major media conglmerate is not for the elimination of actors in favor of 3D animation but to reduce the relevance of the execs to cartoons (Lord knows that’s the competence level Zucker’s been operating at for way too long now).

  Comment by VDOVault — Wednesday January 20, 2010 @ 3:18pm PST  Reply to this post

• Between this video and the Tiger Woods ones made, Chairman Mao Zucker should give Apple TV the nightly 10 PM slot in place of Leno.

  Comment by LouW — Wednesday January 20, 2010 @ 3:27pm PST  Reply to this post

• Wait a minute, that’s not Jay Leno…it’s Bill Clinton! Where’s Lewinsky? Bet she’d recognize the under part of the desk anywhere!

  Comment by Freelols — Wednesday January 20, 2010 @ 5:28pm PST  Reply to this post

• I’ve got a little background in Chinese–what you saw towards the end is Letterman (white-haired guy) and Jimmy Kimmel jumping into the mix when the whole thing degenerates to a smackdown.

  On a slightly tangential matter, in my opinion, the animators were a little too kind to the likeness of Jeff Zucker; they needed to add 30-40lbs… (and a set of horns)

  Comment by dmtien — Wednesday January 20, 2010 @ 6:08pm PST  Reply to this post

• This is just too precious for words… Thank you Nikki! Lord, I was laughing my head off & sending it all over to friends.

  Somehow, someway, you’ve got to get Zucker in a room with this showing on the computer, and then record his reactions. They’d be priceless, I’m sure (besides, I always wanted to see his head explode).

  Comment by Larry Brooks — Wednesday January 20, 2010 @ 7:36pm PST  Reply to this post

• I listened to the Chinese narration, and there is one glaring error. The narrator said that the settlement amount could be “as high as $300,000,” rather than, “as high as $30 million.”

  Comment by TKC — Friday January 22, 2010 @ 6:29pm PST  Reply to this post