Who’s Got the Hot Seat?

David Duchovny will be on “Late Show With David Letterman” Monday and “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” and “Late Night With Conan O’Brien” Tuesday to plug his new feature film “Playing God.” But “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” had him on nine days ago.

Cameron Diaz, on the other hand, appeared on Letterman recently to tout her new film “A Life Less Ordinary” and won’t be doing Leno at all.

Welcome to the world of talk-show juggling, where who appears on which programs, and in what order, is a complex transaction involving each program’s bookers and the stars’ publicists. There are many balls in the air: such diverse factors as geography, a show’s persistence, personal rapport between guest and host, ratings, demographics and, believe it or not, a sense of fairness.

Diaz, for example, likes both Letterman and Leno. She did Dave this time in part because she appeared on Jay for her last film, “My Best Friend’s Wedding”--but also because “A Life Less Ordinary,” from the director of “Trainspotting,” registers high on the “hip” scale, and so in theory does Dave, at least in comparison to Jay--although Jay is dominant in the ratings. And there was convenience: Diaz lives in New York, where Letterman tapes.

Duchovny is doing “everyone,” according to a publicist for Disney, the studio releasing “Playing God,” because “he’s a great guest, his appeal cuts across the board and, very simply, there’s no one who doesn’t want him.” The reason he appeared on Leno first was that he was in Los Angeles from Vancouver (where his TV series “The X-Files” films) for a press junket.

As any discerning viewer knows, most celebrities appearing on Dave, Jay, Rosie and Oprah are there for a reason, and it’s not to shoot the breeze or discuss health care. How they get there involves “a lot of back and forth,” says Sandy Rice, a publicist at Sony Pictures. “We may check with the show’s bookers to see where there is interest in our upcoming films. But the ultimate decision lies with the personal publicist. They’re the ones most often talking to the actors.”

And what the personal publicists are looking for is the exposure that best serves their client.

“We don’t look at those shows as anything other than promotional,” says Stan Rosenfield, publicist to George Clooney, Will Smith and Robert De Niro, among others. Ultimately, he says, it’s the strategy for whatever it is the celebrity is pushing that determines where he or she goes.

“I’m always trying to match whatever my client is promoting with a target audience,” agrees Marleah Leslie, who is on the phone every day with the talk shows discussing her 35 clients, who include Tim Allen, Jim Carrey and Pamela Anderson Lee. “For a Tim Allen family movie, it might be one show; for his book, yet another.”

The strategy behind the guest’s appearance begins months in advance as star, publicist and the marketing people behind a film, television show or record draft their master plan.

For heavy periods, such as summer and holidays for movies, and the fall and sweeps seasons for television, the negotiating starts particularly early. “Working far in advance can be a logistical nightmare--the actor may not know where he’ll be or if he’ll be working--so we let it be known we’ll try to be flexible and work around their schedules,” says Jeffry Culbreth, the chief talent booker on “The Rosie O’Donnell Show.”

Enter phrases like the “New York package” (combining Letterman, Rosie and maybe “Regis & Kathie Lee”) and the “NBC wheel” (“Today,” “Dateline”). Most “packages” behind a celebrity’s project will include one of the late-night shows--and if they are big enough, more than one.

“Our job is to go to these shows and (a) present them something we think is right for them and (b) make it easy for them to say yes,” says Brad Cafarelli, who represents Whoopi Goldberg, Vanessa L. Williams, Teri Hatcher and others. That may mean sending a sample tape appearance of the celebrity who may not have done the top shows before--to prove, Cafarelli says, that he or she can “be funny without being over the top and provocative without being tasteless.”

The question of whether Letterman or Leno gets a guest first is less a factor these days than in the early years of their competition, and than at other times in late-night history, as when Johnny Carson ruled the roost, or when Leno and Arsenio Hall were warring. “It used to be you did one or the other,” says a Disney publicist, “but not so with real A players, at least not in late night.”

“The ideal situation is the clients are welcome on both and we try to do both,” says Rosenfield. “But you have to know everyone’s ground rules and we have to be respectful of their wanting to be first. It’s their call on the window each needs between the time they’ve been on one to doing the other.”

“We once did the shows 10 days apart,” says Paul Shefrin, publicist to Don Rickles, a popular guest on both. “I asked if it presented a problem and they said it was OK. Don’s comfortable on both shows, though on Letterman when your part is done, you’re gone. When he’s with Jay, he’ll hang around and do his stuff on the other guests.”

Neither the Letterman nor Leno shows would comment on their booking practices and strategies. But publicists say those two are more gentle in their exclusivity threats than, say, the morning shows and the Barbara vs. Diane vs. Jane prime-time newsmagazines (if you do one, the others pass). Kevin Costner did Letterman first on “Waterworld” and Leno three weeks later, for example. But he did only Leno on “Tin Cup,” partly because of where he was at the time but also because they’d been second the last time around.

Arnold Schwarzenegger has done Letterman for other projects but only did Leno for “Batman”--”strictly because he wasn’t going to be in New York,” says his publicist, Catherine Olim.

The geographical factor can be paramount. “Leno being right over the hill [in Burbank] for most of these people is a huge advantage,” agrees Marleah Leslie.

Logistics matter even more when it comes to musical artists, especially for bands. “Getting five people in the same place with all their equipment is a major obstacle,” says Warner Bros. Records spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg.

And Bill Cosby, one of the rare entertainers who comes on to play, not just to promote, for example, shows up on Letterman much more than the competition. “Most of the time Bill is on the East Coast,” explains publicist David Brokaw, “so he’s 10 minutes away. Plus he likes where David has taken the show. I don’t feel any pressure from Jay and we have done his show too.”

It should be noted that Cosby and Letterman share the same network these days (CBS)--no small factor for the very loyal Cosby. “You do try to support your home base, as long as your home base supports you,” Brokaw says. “When Bill was at NBC, his first inclination was to do the ‘Today’ show in the morning, for example.”

Cosby and Letterman have a good rapport, something not everyone has had with the host. Tim Allen went on to promote a tool project and received a mostly demeaning response. As did Cindy Crawford when she promoted a beauty line. Allen stayed away for well over a year; peace was somewhat restored when he showed up to do a Top Ten list while shooting a movie in New York recently.

On the other hand, Letterman--whose underdog status has seemed to soften him--clearly clicks on stage with his share of heavyweights, such as Mia Farrow, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, Tom Hanks, Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger. “So much of this is about personal relationships,” says Pat Kingsley, whose powerhouse firm represents Jodie Foster, Moore and Candice Bergen, among others. “It’s about who the host’s pals are and who the star’s pals are.”

It can certainly give new shows a boost. Conan O’Brien’s first guest was John Goodman because the two are friends. Rosie O’Donnell’s was George Clooney, also because of a prior relationship.

Keenen Ivory Wayans, as host of his own show, and Quincy Jones, as executive producer of “Vibe,” certainly pulled out prior chits to fill their new late-night talk shows when they premiered last August (Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Samuel Jackson, Brandy). But most publicists feel, as Rosenfield says, “these shows will have to prove themselves first” before they’ll regularly land A players.

There is none of that hesitation during the daytime, where both Rosie O’Donnell and Oprah Winfrey have proved themselves.

“I truly think the floodgates opened after our very first show, which established exactly what ‘Rosie’ would be,” claims booker Culbreth. “We are a celebrity-friendly show that would be fun and easy to do, and we’re not looking to change that.”

“Rosie’s” success is due, in no small part, to Culbreth’s reputation among publicists. In the booking business for 20 years, she represents the best of the breed: tenacity, savvy, amiability.

“There’s a fine line between being aggressive and a pain in the butt, and I try to be the former,” she says.

“If you’re getting repeated calls from a show, if they stay in your face, you tend to be more attentive,” says publicist Brokaw. “It’s not unusual for us to get calls from the executive producer or the host of the show, and that resonates.”

“ ‘Rosie’ is a new player but a real one,” says Stephen Rivers, publicist for Kevin Costner and others. “Everyone likes her and her show’s hot. And the two shows may be competitive but they’ve also been very smart about going out of their way to be generous with one another. They seem intent, in large part, on avoiding the kind of pissing contests that occurred years back between Jay Leno and Arsenio Hall.”

The folks behind “Rosie” claim they don’t see themselves as being in direct competition with anyone, but some publicists beg to differ.

“Rosie and Oprah choose to be competitive among themselves,” says Rosenfield, “which is awkward for us because you have a very different set of circumstances than with Leno and Letterman. They’re on different times in many cities and their demographics are different. But they have the same set of ideas, and where Rosie might not care if your client does Leno, she will care if they do Oprah.” (She said no to Jim Carrey because he’d just done an hour on Oprah, for example.)

Still, the feeling is that there’s enough for everyone to go around, and for things to equal out in the end. For example, Madonna did an hour with Oprah because the latter flew to Los Angeles for the occasion; but Madonna also visited her old buddy Rosie when she went to New York. Julia Roberts brought the cast of “My Best Friend’s Wedding” along for an hour on “Rosie.” Two months later, she and Mel Gibson appeared on “Oprah” for an hour to talk up “Conspiracy Theory.”

One thing Rosie and Oprah have going for them is extreme likability, not only with their audiences but also with the celebrities. Guests know they are not going to get the hardball questions and, even if painful subjects come up, they’re handled painlessly. When Costner did “Oprah” last year, he refused to put any limits on what was discussed, saying he trusted the host enough.

The friendlier shows are a nice new option for musical artists who, as Warner Bros. Records spokeswoman Rosenberg says, “have often been treated as second-class citizens on talk shows . . . you’re OK to perform but not to talk to. The new phrase going around is, ‘Does she get cushion?,’ which means, ‘Does the singer get to sit down?’ ”

“Recording artists and their managers are very enthusiastic about ‘Rosie’ because it’s kind of like a valentine,” says Rosenberg. “We’ve had Madonna, k.d. lang and Cher on her show and they just had fun. Joni Mitchell had the greatest time on that show. Some feel intimidated by a David Letterman and are happy not to talk to him.”

Rosenberg says that ever since Rod Stewart appeared on Oprah and saw his record sales go through the roof, that show has become a dream appearance. The publicists are bombarded with information from the ratings services and from the guest-hungry shows themselves, telling them why they have the perfect demographics for a particular star’s particular project.

“Every week it’s broken down like a baseball box score, and we watch it that way,” says Brokaw.

“The Oprah Winfrey Show” has the largest audience--about 8.6 million viewers a day, compared to 6.2 million for Leno’s “Tonight Show,” 5.1 million for “Rosie O’Donnell” and 4.3 million for Letterman’s “Late Show.” But there are numerous ways to break down those audience figures: When “Rosie’s” “youth” index went above “Oprah’s” for the first time, for example, people noticed.

“We may have been told that Letterman is a little younger, more offbeat and things like that,” says publicist Olin. “But,” she adds, “in the end, they’re all just theories.”

So the negotiating and angling will go on, at least as long as the shows do and as long as there are celebrities who remain hard to get.

“I make three calls a week on Miss Streisand,” says talent booker Culbreth, “and I’d love to see Johnny Carson with Rosie.”

While Culbreth declares, “If Barbra does one, it’d better be us!” the truth is, grudges aren’t held too long between those who represent the talent and those with the shows they promote. “There is definitely a lot of ‘I’ll help you if you’ll help me,’ ” says Cosby’s publicist Brokaw, “and, in the end, everybody gets somebody sometime.”