>> Stephen: GIVE IT UP FOR THE BAND, EVERYBODY.
LOUIS CATO AND "THE LATE SHOW" BAND.
THERE YOU GO. LOUIS.
GOOD TO SEE YOU. GOOD TO SEE YOU.
GOOD TO SEE ALL OF YOU. I KNOW WE'VE GOT A COUPLE GUESTS
TONIGHT. SOME OF YOU ARE OUT ON THE GIG.
LOVE SEE YOU ON THE KIT. >> GOT TO HOLD IT DOWN.
>> Stephen: COMING UP IN JUST A LITTLE WHILE, THE LOVELY,
TALENTED ACTOR JAMES MARSDEN IS GOING TO BE OUT HERE.
AND TAKING THE COLBERT QUESTIONERT, MR. NICOLAS CAGE
WILL BE RIGHT OUT. FOLKS, THERE'S ONE BIG STORY
THAT WE HAVEN'T TALKED ABOUT YET, PARTLY BECAUSE IT'S PARTLY
ABOUT US. FOR THE PAST FEW WEEKS,
THE WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA, WHICH IS THE UNION REPRESENTING
TELEVISION AND FILM WRITERS, HAS BEEN NEGOTIATING WITH THE MAJOR
STUDIOS FOR A FAIR CONTRACT. THESE ARE CLOSED NEGOTIATIONS,
SO WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING.
ALL WE KNOW IS THAT TONIGHT AT MIDNIGHT PACIFIC TIME,
THE OLD CONTRACT ENDS, AND, IF A DEAL HASN'T BEEN REACHED,
THE UNION COULD GO ON STRIKE. WHICH MEANS THAT WRITERS
MIGHT HAVE TO DO SOMETHING TOTALLY AGAINST THEIR NATURE:
GO OUTSIDE. HELLO.
THESE PEOPLE RIGHT HERE. THESE ARE OUR WRITERS,
THESE PEOPLE. THESE ARE OUR WRITERS,
AND THEY'RE SO IMPORTANT TO OUR SHOW.
THEY WRITE THE MONOLOGUE, THE "MEANWHILE,"
THE COLD OPEN. AND WITHOUT THESE PEOPLE,
THIS WOULD BE CALLED "THE LATE SHOW WITH A GUY
RAMBLING ABOUT LORD OF THE RINGS AND BOATS FOR AN HOUR."
THIS NEGOTIATION IMPACTS OUR WHOLE STAFF, WHO WORK
SO HARD TO BRING YOU THIS SHOW EVERY NIGHT.
WHICH IS WHY EVERYBODY, INCLUDING MYSELF, HOPES
BOTH SIDES REACH A DEAL. BUT I ALSO THINK THAT THE
WRITERS' DEMANDS ARE NOT UNREASONABLE.
I'M A MEMBER OF THE GUILD, I SUPPORT COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING. THIS NATION OWES SO MUCH
TO UNIONS. THEY'RE THE REASON WE HAVE
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE] UNIONS.
THIS IS TRUE. UNIONS ARE THE REASON WE HAVE
WEEKENDS, AND BY EXTENSION, WHY WE HAVE T.G.I. FRIDAYS.
NEXT TIME YOU ENJOY A WHISKEY GLAZED BLAZE BURGER,
YOU THANK A UNION. DEFINITELY TOOK A FEW TEAMSTERS
TO ASSEMBLE THAT THING. MIGHT BE A LITTLE SHAVE
JIMMY HOFFA IN THERE. BUT JUST IN CASE THERE IS
A STRIKE AND WE HAVE TO GO OFF THE AIR,
WE TOAY PUT TOGETHER SOME JOKES ABOUT NEWS STORIES THAT WE'RE
PRETTY SURE COULD HAPPEN IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS.
IN FLORIDA, DISNEY HAS PREVAILED
IN ITS FIRST AMENDMENT LAWSUIT AGAINST RON DeSANTIS.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE] AS PART OF THE SETTLEMENT,
DeSANTIS WILL PERFORM 3 MONTHS OF COMMUNITY SERVICE,
POOP SCOOPING AFTER SULLY FROM "MONSTERS, INC."
OVER AT THE WHITE HOUSE, JOE BIDEN HAS OFFICIALLY
ANNOUNCED HE'S RUNNING FOR REELECTION IN 2024.
YES, I KNOW HE ALREADY DID THAT, BUT HE KEEPS DOING IT,
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY PEOPLE ARE SO WORRIED.
THERE'S NEWS FROM THE REPUBLICAN SIDE.
ADDING TO HIS LIST OF LEGAL TROUBLES, THE FORMER PRESIDENT
HAS BEEN INDICTED FOR USING CHILD LABOR AT MAR-A-LAGO.
BUT IN HIS DEFENSE, IT'S NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND
ANYONE WILLING TO PLAY WITH ERIC.
IN THE WORLD OF ENTERTAINMENT, THE BARBIE MOVIE HAS BROKEN
BOX OFFICE RECORDS, THANKS TO A STEAMY FULL-FRONTAL SCENE
WHERE YOU CAN SEE ALL OF KEN'S SMOOTH LUMP.
JUST TO MAKE SURE WE COVER ALL OF OUR BASES, HERE'S A QUICK
RUNDOWN OF SOME TOP FUTURE HEADLINES.
CHATGPT HAS PASSED THE BAR BUT DECIDES IT REALLY WANTS
TO BE A DJ. KING CHARLES' CORONATION
IS POSTPONED BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T FIND A BATMAN PINATA.
AND THE MET GALA UNVEILS NEXT YEAR'S THEME:
EVERYBODY JUST DRESS LIKE ELMO. I'VE GOT ONE LAST PREDICTION.
AFTER THE BREAK, I GIVE NICHOLAS CAGE
THE COLBERT QUESTIONERT. WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK!