A scene from ‘Saturday Night’ | Photo Credit: YouTube/Sony Pictures Entertainment
jason reitman upcoming movie Saturday night offers an interesting glimpse into the birth of Saturday night LiveThe trailer for the highly-anticipated release, arriving in cinemas on October 11, showcases the frantic behind-the-scenes moments leading up to the debut of the iconic sketch show.
Directed by Reitman, the film focuses on the final 90 minutes before SNL’s inaugural broadcast on October 11, 1975. The trailer clearly shows the tension between Lorne Michaels, portrayed by Gabriel Labelle, and NBC executive Dick Ebersol, played by Cooper Hoffman. In a standout moment of the trailer, Ebersol challenges Michaels, questioning his guts for launching a counterculture show with an inexperienced team. “Lorne, 90 minutes of live television by a bunch of 20-year-olds who’ve never created anything? Have you ever stopped and wondered why he said yes to a counterculture show starring complete unknowns, with zero narrative and even less structure
The screenplay, crafted by Reitman and Gil Kenan, is based on interviews with surviving cast, writers and crew who witnessed the tumultuous launch of the show, which has since become a cultural cornerstone. The film, which was initially known as snl 1975Reitman is produced by Kenan, Jason Blumenfeld and Peter Rice, with Erica Mills and Joan Perritano executive producing.
The film’s cast includes Dylan O’Brien as Dan Aykroyd, Lamorne Morris as Garrett Morris, Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase, and Ella Hunt as Gilda Radner. Willem Dafoe, Nicholas Braun, Matthew Rhys, and Finn Wolfhard also appear in supporting roles.
