“We’re 90 minutes of live television by a group of 20-year-olds who have never made anything. Did you ever stop and wonder why they said yes? A counterculture show starring total unknowns with zero narrative and even less structure. They want you to fail.”
That’s how producer Dick Ebersol (played by Cooper Hoffman of “Licorice Pizza”) describes the comedic experiment that was “Saturday Night Live” in the first trailer for Jason Reitman’s new movie “Saturday Night.” The film chronicles all the chaos, fighting, drama, and hilarity that unfolded behind the scenes before the premiere of what would become one of the most iconic comedy shows of all time.
When Vanity Fair debuted a first look at “Saturday Night” earlier this week, Reitman described it as a comedy-thriller where time was the villain, and that’s exactly what we get in the trailer you can watch above. There’s a literal ticking clock driving the tension in the first footage from the movie, as Gabriel LaBelle (who played a proxy for Steven Spielberg in “The Fabelmans”) stars as an inexperienced, panicked, but confident Lorne Michaels, the mastermind behind “SNL.” Surrounding him is all the immaturity and zaniness you’d expect from a group of comedians trying to put on a show that lacked focus. Of course, as we know today, it would all work out, but this is how the messy recipe for eventual success began, with all the Not Ready for Primetime Players you love, brought to life by what promises to be an outstanding ensemble cast.
Live, from New York, it’s pure chaos at SNL
The trailer gives us a glimpse into a bunch of different pockets of “SNL,” including the dress rehearsal, where lights and scaffolding collapsed on set. Jim Henson (Nicholas Braun) describes an unfortunate use of Big Bird by the writing staff, hinting at the famously tense relationship the Muppet creator had due to his recurring segment in the first season of the show. John Belushi (played by Matt Wood) looks perpetually frustrated, Gilda Radner (Ella Hunt) appears to be a delight, Chevy Chase (Cory Michael Smith) is the cocky jerk we love and hate, and even the show’s announcer doesn’t know how to pronounce the name Dan Aykroyd (played by Dylan O’Brien).
Other cast members include Rachel Sennott as writer Rosie Shuster, Lamorne Morris as Garrett Morris, Emily Fairn as Laraine Newman, Kim Matula as Jane Curtin, Taylor Gray as Al Franken, Mcabe Gregg as Tom Davis, Tommy Dewey as Michael O’Donoghue, Matthew Rhys as George Carlin, Nicholas Braun as both Jim Henson and Andy Kaufman, Nicholas Poldany as Billy Crystal, J.K. Simmons as Milton Berle, Willem Dafoe as NBC executive David Tebet, and Finn Wolfhard as a poor NBC page trying to convince people to watch a show that would eventually become the hardest ticket in town to get.
“Saturday Night” is slated to hit theaters on October 11, 2024, but it’s anticipated to premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.
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