NEWARK, NJ - Stephen Colbert, host of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, hosted a lively on stage tete’ a’ tete’ with Samantha Bee, host of Full Frontal. The private conversation also included a sold out crowd of

art supporters.

Entitled ‘Sad! A Happy Evening with Stephen Colbert and Samantha Bee,’ this was the 7th annual fundraiser for Montclair Film, held Saturday at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

At the start of the evening, Montclair Film Executive Director, Tom Hall, humorously delivered the rules of

the Q & A which followed Colbert’s interview of Bee.

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“Stephen and Samantha are both happily married.” [not to each other] was offered as a way to dissuade the

audience from asking for dates.

Hall thanked the 1800 volunteers who support the organization and then invited the audience to two other

upcoming Montclair Film events.

‘A 70’s MixTape’ will be held Saturday February 4, 2018 at the Investors Bank Film & Media Center - 505

Bloomfield Avenue, Montclair. “Come to Montclair and dance with us. It’s an amazing night.” The 1970s

party will feature The Losers Lounge as well as musical performances by Stephen Colbert, Patrick Wilson,

Warren Zane and more.

The other event will be May 4, 2014 and is the showing of Taylor Mac’s “A 24 Decade of Popular Music”.

The audience was treated to a clip from the film which according to Mac’s website is “A 24-hour music

theater work about how communities are built as a result of being torn apart.

Colbert and Bee were seated on stage in a comfortable ‘heart to heart’ living room like setting. Raised in

South Carolina, Colbert lives in Montclair, New Jersey with his wife Evelyn and three children. Evelyn

Colbert is the President of the Board of Trustees of Montclair Film.





Bee was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. She now has dual citizenship and lives in the US.

After she was introduced by Colbert as “a voice for these specific times”, Bee said the key to the success of

the show was its ability to be ‘nimble’ and they were ‘bursting at the seams with content’ for the upcoming

show.

Colbert added: ‘It’s anyone’s guess how Monday will look.’

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee premiered in February 2016 on TBS. The popular show offers a satirical

take on weekly news and stories offering a perspective overlooked by traditional media outlets. Colbert asked Bee about her favorite piece from her time at part of Comedy Central’s: The Daily Show where she was the sole female correspondent from 2006 – 2008.

Bee shared the story of the gay penguins at New York’s Central Park Zoo to the delight of the audience. When asked to name who she would name as 2017 Woman of the Year, Bee replied it would be a woman she met in Mexico who ‘dived into the rubble to save people during the earthquake.”

Bee also shared stories from recent global trips as a correspondent and journalist. “In Russia we talked to

hackers and trolls before the election. I met people in disguises in secret locations who were worried about

being 'outed' in their jobs as trolls. And they have Netflix in Russia”

The dialogue turned to the past presidential election. Bee, who has dual US and Canadian citizenship said, “This was not a great first vote for me. We had a show planned around Hillary’s victory.”

Colbert asked about Trump’s presidency: “Has it been better or worse than you imagined?”

“So much worse!” replied Bee. “I’m not sure how we restore the norms.”

“I think all real hope for politics in America is local.” Colbert said. “Washington is the worse. Every time you

go there it’s like ‘oh my god, it got on me again.’ He continued, ‘it is like because of Trump, honesty

suddenly seems cool.’

When asked: ‘What does your show do?’ Bee replied: “Catharsis. It is really a collaborative environment. If

we show people a world they can understand, you can pull them into it.”

Regarding the recent sexual impropriety events Colbert said: “Guys are getting busted for whipping out their

[redacted]. One of my kids said: ‘If sexual impropriety were the weather, this is hurricane season.’

Bee added: ‘I am happy to be alive in a moment when people are feeling free to share their stories…I wish I

had a button under my desk that had sexual predators fall into a pit of crocodiles.’

Colbert brought up Bee’s tweet about a ‘fantasy indictment league’ and asked who would be on her team

and why. Bee replied: “I’m excited to hear the secrets of my best Elf on the Shelf Jared Kushner. With that

she added, “I’m sad by what gives us joy now.”

At 90 minutes into the show, the audience had an opportunity to ask questions. A member of NJ 11 for

change asked for advice on how to ‘fully throw herself into advocacy full time’ to which Colbert shared how

his involvement in his sister’s run for Congress changed him. Bee that ‘the moment we are living in requires

that you address things in the now. It’s all part of the decency conversation. Play somewhat within the rules

with some thoughtful out of the box thinking.’

Colbert added, “In the time of eroding standards, the time is not to abandon your own.” He then thanked the audience by sharing that doing shows like ‘Sad! A Happy Evening…’ gives them more

than an audience; “It gives us a community.”



For more information, visit Montclair Film - http://montclairfilm.org/

