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Leno crew tapes BSU’s finest talents
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The campus Quad was packed with students Thursday morning, as students sought to have their minute in the national spotlight. Producers from NBC’s ‘Tonight Show with Jay Leno’ chose BSU to film a variation of ‘Jay-walking’, a regular segment on the show.
Tom Patino, ‘Tonight Show’ production manager, said “This started out 10 weeks ago, when we had the idea to go to one university a week until we go to all 50 states. This is the tenth university we’ve been to.”
Instead of the normal Jay-walking, a segment in which Leno asks people questions, this variation is called side-walking.
A microphone is set up with a camera crew there to film while students and bystanders are encouraged to perform any special talent, express any gripes they might have, tell jokes, or vent about problems.
Patino said, “This version of Side-walking has been working really well. We tried it out last week at Colorado State University and the response was hilarious. We think we’ll switch back and forth for the rest of the states, just wait and see how it works.”
The crew filmed for about two hours and will edit the segment down to 5-6 minutes.
According to Patino, the piece would normally air on the show next week, but he said the footage shot in Boise probably won’t air until the week after.
Patino said he will keep Boise State informed of all updates in the schedule.
“The show will definitely air during May sweeps sometime. We’re slowly working our way east. Again, the plan is to hit all fifty states. I love Boise; it’s a beautiful town. This is a really nice campus in a great town.” Patino said.
A lot of universities have been hesitant to let the producers come to their campuses because they don’t want their students to look stupid, Patino said.
“This [side-walking] is a good alternative, with the open mic, the kids do everything themselves,” he said.
Yvette Bruce, a senior criminal justice major, showcased her bizarre talent of wiggling all of her toes, including the little one, in time with her friend’s humming.
“I’ve never seen anyone who could do this with their feet before. I’ve been doing this since I’ve been a little girl, and other people try, but they can’t do it. I thought that I might get my toes on TV,” Bruce said.
Several BSU communication students assisted the Burbank film crew.
Travis Owens, a sophomore communications major, said, “They take five students from every college that they go to to help set things up. It’s kind of cool to be a part of this.”
Patino said, “Not everyone that is trying out will be aired, but many will appear in quick sound bites. By condensing it, it makes it really fast paced. It’s silly."
Amy Wegner
