James Corden did an amazing stunt the other night with David Blaine. What Blaine did was, of course, amazing…but Corden pulled off his end of it with equal skill. Steve Allen aside, I'm trying to think of a late night host who would even have gone along with the routine and so far, I'm blank. (At one point, he said, "Jimmy Fallon literally just stands there when you do this." They all would have just stood there. Actually, none of them would have let themselves get into that situation.)
Corden also managed to pretend very well that he didn't know exactly how things were going to go and what he was supposed to do. Obviously, he was briefed on what to do, what not to say, where to run, etc. That was no ordinary bottle of wine he brought back. (What if he'd brought one that didn't have an easy twist-off cap?) But he did it well…and so did the audio guys who apparently had waterproof microphones of some sort…and hand-held booms nearby.)