albert brooks

Maybe I'm reading a little too much into this, but the way it was presented, I don't think so.

David Letterman had Albert Brooks on the show tonight, and Brooks announced that he was a littlte sad that this was Letterman's last week. It was just a joke to set up a take-off on Bette Midler's farewell song to Johnny Carson in the early 90s (Brooks sang "Thanks For The Memory" to Letterman), but Letterman said something interesting during the exchange. He said that he wasn't leaving this week, that he actually had "2 or 3 years left." That got my attention, and he repeated the same exact thing about 30 seconds or so later.

Now, one could say that this was just a piece of dialogue to play along with Brooks' satire, but I don't think so. Letterman said it in a very even tone and played the straight man in the exchange, giving real information to correct Brooks' mistake on the date of his departure.

This wouldn't be exactly "shocking" news, since it has been rumored that Letterman might be moving every time his contract is up for renewal. And with Leno leaving in 2009, Letterman might time his departure for the same time. I'm really curious to see what exactly Letterman meant by the "matter of fact" statement.