The Colbert Report type TV Show

Last night The Colbert Report was the inaugural episode of cOlbert’s Book Club (it’s not an Oprah rip-off!) featuring a discussion about F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.

Colbert definitely read the book so he was all prepared for his scholarly chat with novelist Jennifer Egan with questions such as, “Great Gatsby or the greatest Gatsby?” But, as was obvious to the audience, he secretly didn’t read the book at all, so he met up with Carey Mulligan to compare notes on the famous tale — which should be easy for her, as she stars as Daisy in the movie.

Colbert — decked out as Gatsby, naturally — attempted to get Mulligan’s help with the plot. She names the characters Daisy, Nick and Gatsby, but when it comes to what, you know, actually happened in the book, things fall apart. “He is a movie stunt driver… who also drives getaway cars… who gets in trouble with these really bad guys and he hammers a nail into their head… and that’s the end,” she explained.

Note to high schoolers: This is the plot of Drive. Do not use this in your English papers. After that mishap, Mulligan was forced to confess she never read the book either, and also, she may not be able to read at all.

To say anything else would give too much away, but heads-up to Reading Rainbow fans — you’re going to want to check this out. Watch below:

Other segments of the full Gatsby episode included the aforementioned chat with Egan as well as an interview with Gatsby director Baz Luhrmann. Let’s cross our fingers that cOlbert’s Book Club is a recurring feature.

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