Behind the Scenes Facts About Saturday Night (2024)
Let's go behind-the-scenes of a movie that takes us behind-the-scenes. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the things you didn’t know about the making of director Jason Reitman’s quote-unquote “comedy-thriller.”
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00:00Hey, free comedy show, plenty of seats, plenty of tickets left, guys, free show."
00:05Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're looking at the things you didn't know about the making
00:10of director Jason Reitman's quote-unquote comedy thriller, Saturday Night.
00:15So, big night.
00:19Gabriel Labelle was forbidden from speaking to Lorne Michaels.
00:22Okay, let's see if we can get through one of these skits.
00:24Sketches? Baby, please.
00:26Well, not legally or anything. But director Jason Reitman did discourage all of his Saturday
00:31Night stars from seeking out their real-life counterparts. So, in order to get into the
00:35head of a 31-year-old Michaels in 1975, actor Gabriel Labelle took a different approach.
00:41My name is Lorne Michaels. I'm the producer and creator of Saturday Night.
00:45We're excited because there's never been a television show like this.
00:49The Fableman star shared that an obscure Bill Murray anecdote helped to make everything click.
00:54Some years after Murray departed the show, he returned to host,
00:57and reportedly commented to Michaels, quote,
00:59"'Wow, you really figured out how to do this.'"
01:02Labelle further noted that, quote,
01:03"'He started it when he was 30. He's now 80 and has been doing it for 50 years.
01:08Nobody knows what to do when they first start.'"
01:10Did anyone ask Edison what a light bulb was before you harnessed electricity?
01:15Who are you in the metaphor?
01:17To prep, Reitman and Gil Cannon conducted extensive interviews.
01:20And now, Weekend Update.
01:24Good evening.
01:25While the history of the legendary sketch show has been widely documented in various forms,
01:30Reitman and his co-writer-slash-producer Gil Cannon followed in the spirit of the
01:33original SNL gang and threw the playbook away.
01:37I mean, more than 90 minutes of live television by a group of 20-year-olds
01:40who have never made anything.
01:42Okay, so this is a bit?
01:44That is to say, Cannon and Reitman forged their own path forward.
01:48Said Reitman, the filmmaking duo interviewed, quote,
01:50"'Every living cast member, every living writer, people from the art department,
01:55costumes, hair and makeup, NBC pages, members of Billy Preston's band, anyone we could find.'"
02:01"'Nothing from nothing leaves nothing. You gotta have something if you wanna be with me.'"
02:09These contributions would become integral plot points in Saturday Night,
02:12such as a story told by Lorraine Newman that detailed host George Carlin's
02:16objections to an Alexander the Great sketch.
02:18Lamorne Morris and Garrett Morris aren't related,
02:21although the new girl star might like you to believe that they are.
02:24I remember speaking with Garrett and against Jason's, uh, but I knew—
02:30But you met at an event, didn't you?
02:32Yeah, no, no, this was an accident. You were presenting—
02:35No, no, I spoke to him first.
02:36Oh.
02:36Lamorne, a diehard, lifelong comedy fan, recalled that as a kid,
02:40he would claim that he was Garrett's son because they coincidentally share a last name.
02:45However, after filming wrapped, the two Morrises developed a sweet rapport,
02:49with Lamorne sharing that, quote,
02:50"'He called me and said something about owing my mom a call because he's not
02:54convinced that he's not my dad.'"
02:56Part of his reasoning for not wanting you to speak to said person you're playing is
03:01because we really want to embody the energy of what they were going through on that particular day."
03:05Lamorne relished the challenges that came with playing Garrett,
03:08noting the latter's professional struggles around the time of SNL's premiere.
03:12These included being the show's only Black cast member,
03:15and the fact that Garrett was a decade older than his fresh-faced co-stars.
03:19Garrett was going through similar things that I find myself going through in my career,
03:24so it was kind of easy to relate to that fish-out-of-water feeling.
03:28It's funny, but don't call it a comedy.
03:31I've always been kind of enamored by these moments where
03:34moments of greatness come into the world, you know? It's like that Peter Jackson
03:38documentary about the Beatles. What was it like when certain songs were written?
03:41And Saturday Night Live is beyond a cultural institution. It's the birthplace for,
03:46you know, a countless number of the greatest comedians the last 50 years,
03:50not to mention musicians, entertainers, writers.
03:52Director Reitman has been open in saying that, despite Saturday Night
03:56chronicling a comedy institution's rise, it's not a comedy in itself.
04:00In fact, that's why the Juno and Up in the Air director claimed that the
04:04villain of Saturday Night is on par with Darth Vader from Star Wars,
04:07or Sauron from The Lord of the Rings.
04:10In the land of Mordor, in the fires of Mount Doom,
04:14the Dark Lord Sauron forged in secret a master ring to control all others.
04:20OK, to be clear, this is what he actually said.
04:23Quote,
04:23"'This is a movie where the villain is time. It's like our Sauron,
04:27our Darth Vader is a clock, and you feel its presence at all times.'"
04:31To emphasize this, Reitman referred to Saturday Night as a, quote,
04:35"'thriller comedy,' if you can call that a genre."
04:38I always wondered, what would it have been like to be in that room
04:41as they counted down to going live?
04:43Why Nicholas Braun Plays Two Characters
04:46The writers tied a belt around Big Bird's neck and hung him from my dressing room door.
04:51Eagle-eyed Succession fans might have noticed Emmy nominee Braun in the Saturday Night trailer.
04:56Braun, better known to Waystar Roy co-aficionados as Cousin Greg Hirsch,
05:01portrays Andy Kaufman, the loose cannon of comedy who had a reputation for making his
05:06act an endurance test for captive audiences.
05:08"'And they don't even want him!'
05:09"'That's logical, Dick! That's why they're paying us all to be here!'
05:11Interestingly enough, Braun wasn't initially slated to play Kaufman at all.
05:15The actor originally signed on to play Muppets creator Jim Henson. However,
05:19when original Kaufman actor and Uncut Gems co-director Benny Safdie dropped out at the
05:24last minute, Braun stepped in to play both real-life figures.
05:30"'Are you keeping your job?'
05:32"'Yeah, I am.'"
05:33How Ella Hunt Prepared to Play the Late Gilda Radner
05:36"'Getting Alan's window into Gilda, and also seeing,
05:41you know how best friends share a sensibility sometimes?'
05:44It goes without saying that Radner, who died of ovarian cancer in 1989, remains a towering figure.
05:51This isn't just for her iconic characters or comic skills, although those certainly help.
05:56It's the fact that Radner is a trailblazing icon for women who aspire to careers in comedy.
06:01Commenting on her experience playing Radner in Saturday Night,
06:04Ella Hunt shared that, since she was exempt from Reitman's no-contact rule,
06:08she reached out to Alan Zweibel, who was Radner's friend and SNL writing partner.
06:13Hunt mused that, quote,
06:14"'Their partnership in writing was so fiery and loving. There were things in Alan's
06:18composure and the way that Alan communicated with me that I thought about in playing Gilda.'"
06:23It was — he's magic. I'm kind of in love with Alan."
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06:42The Saturday Night cast followed in the footsteps of the OG SNL cast.
06:46"'Gilda' was the fairy dust, and Garrett is looking for his identity.
06:51Chevy is an ego that needs to be humbled. Ackroyd is this genius that's, like,
06:56filtering a fire hose through a straw."
06:58As Reitman has mentioned, Saturday Night is less of a hilarious hangout and more of a
07:03stressful thrill ride that exemplifies the punishing nature of working in television.
07:07Thankfully, it doesn't sound like Reitman's film was anywhere near as much of a headache to make.
07:11"'Ackroyd'? These can't be the right size."
07:14"'Yeah, you're right. They should be a little bit smaller.'"
07:19If anything, as reported by Variety just ahead of the film's premiere at the Toronto International
07:24Film Festival, it sounds pretty fun. The publication noted that, quote,
07:28"'The cast didn't have trailers, and convened in a big common area complete with 70s-era furniture,
07:33ping-pong tables, and board games, as well as dressing rooms that were specifically
07:38designed for each of their characters' personalities.'"
07:40"'We need to let the audience in.' "'Oh, you don't!'
07:43Are you looking forward to seeing Saturday Night in theaters?
07:45Let us know in the comments below."
07:47"'Just have to make it to air.'"
07:49"'Live from New York!'
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