Jason Reitman | Photo credit: Richard Shotwell
Canadian-American filmmaker Jason Reitman’s film, about the inaugural broadcast of ‘Saturday Night Live,’ will hit theaters on October 11. DiversityThe release date is particularly notable as October 11 is also the initial air date of the iconic comedy show, which will begin its 50th season this fall.
The film’s official synopsis states, “A fiery troupe of young comedians and writers changed television forever.” The Sony film, officially titled “Saturday Night,” is based on the true story of what happened behind the scenes during the 90 minutes before the broadcast.
“Saturday Night” is directed by Reitman from a screenplay he wrote with “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” co-writer Gil Kenan, and uses a series of interviews with surviving cast, writers and crew members from the landmark production.
George Carlin hosted the first 1975 edition of ‘SNL’ on NBC, featuring musical guests Billy Preston and Janis Ian. The episode also featured Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, Michael O’Donoghue and Gilda Radner, as well as George Coe, who did not return as a cast member. Comedian Andy Kaufman also performed on the show. Dick Ebersol created the variety program and hired Lorne Michaels as show runner, who now oversees the long-running series.
Reitman and Kenan (whose overall producing partnership with Sony has previously produced the popular “Ghostbusters” sequels “Afterlife” and “Frozen Empire”) are co-producing the film along with Jason Blumenfeld and Peter Rice.
