Albert Brooks, one of the funniest men alive, makes tonight what IMDb indicates is only his third appearance in the 18-year history of “The Late Show With David Letterman.” (His prior two appearances, according to the site, were Sept. 29, 1994 and Jan. 9, 2006.)
Brooks has two movies in the works: Judd Apatow’s next, untitled directorial effort (in which Brooks will play the father of the Paul Rudd character from “Knocked Up”) and “Drive,” the adaptation of James Sallis’ novel from the writer-director of “Bronson” (Brooks plays the deadly mobster Bernie Rose).
But Brooks appears on Letterman tonight to promote his first novel, the sci-fi tale “2030: The Real Story of What Happens to America.”
The New York Times says of the book, which goes on sale tomorrow:
With “2030” Mr. Brooks has made the nervy move of transposing his worrywart sensibility from film to book. Two things are immediately apparent about his debut novel: that it’s as purposeful as it is funny, and that Mr. Brooks has immersed himself deeply in its creation. “2030” is an extrapolation of present-day America into the not-so-distant future, and it is informed by the author’s surprisingly serious attention to reality. Unlike the fantasy writer who foresees a gee-whiz future full of alluring gimmicks, Mr. Brooks has dreamed up escapism about problems we cannot escape.
To get you in the mood, here’s Brooks’ perfectly hilarious “pro shop” Letterman appearance from 1983. Taped the year before “The Terminator” came out, this may be the first time a comedian ever decided to make sport of Arnold Schwarzenegger:
I stumbled upon Brooks’ feature directorial debut, “Real Life,” on Starz or Showtime or something the other night. I probably hadn’t watched in more than a decade, but MY GOD that’s a funny movie. It would make a great double feature if combined with HBO’s “Cinema Verite.”
11:35 p.m. Monday. CBS.
