Dive into the fascinating world of "SNL" with our breakdown of the most intriguing behind-the-scenes stories from the "SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night" docuseries. From wild auditions to backstage drama, we're revealing the untold secrets of this iconic comedy show!
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00:00At the time, I don't think anyone had any faith that that sketch would air.
00:04Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're looking at all the fascinating behind-the-scenes details revealed in SNL 50 Beyond Saturday Night.
00:12I purposely did that because I wanted him to fire me.
00:20Part of what makes SNL such a chaotic experience is its revolving door of hosts.
00:25The writers have to consider the hosts' strengths, what they're willing to do, and which topics are off-limits.
00:30They tell us what the host is interested in doing, and what they can do, what accents can they sing, can they dance,
00:38stay away from this topic, they would love to joke about this thing.
00:41So it's just giving us an idea of how we should tailor our writing.
00:46While some writers will tailor a sketch around a host's specific talents, others might try to get them to play against type.
00:52The choice of host absolutely influences the type of sketch you're going to write,
00:57and the best hosts, for my money, are the ones who come in and have moves that you maybe didn't understand they had.
01:06Hi.
01:09Whoa, Shrek.
01:11Yeah, I'm Shrek.
01:12Before that, though, the week will start with the writers gathering in a room with the host, pitching them ideas.
01:17Maybe you play a character called the Cocky Dyslexic.
01:21And, uh, so you're like, yeah, I'm a billionaire.
01:25Billionaire with a V.
01:28Of course, many of these ideas are made up on the fly.
01:31The meeting is essentially an exercise to make the host feel comfortable and have a few laughs.
01:37Even if everyone in the room is cracking up, what sounds funny in the pitch meeting may fall flat in execution.
01:43Most of the ideas you pitch are fake.
01:46If you actually did have a good idea, you would never pitch it because you would want the joke to be fresh at the table read, which isn't for another two days.
01:55Number nine, having a recommendation helps.
01:58Although Amy Poehler rose to prominence on SNL with her colorful characters, she auditioned with something more akin to a weekend update piece.
02:06How did I swing that?
02:08Did I ask for that?
02:09Did someone ask that of me?
02:10I don't know.
02:11I don't even want to watch it because I don't remember it.
02:15Looking back, Poehler had mixed feelings about the audition, but the producers already knew they were hiring her.
02:21We knew we were hiring her before she did this.
02:23This was more like formality.
02:25Poehler can't help but sense that Tina Fey played a major role in getting her the gig.
02:30While having somebody in your corner doesn't guarantee a spot on the show, a recommendation can go a long way.
02:36Jimmy Fallon suggested Andy Samberg, George Wendt called about his nephew Jason Sudeikis, and Gwyneth Paltrow championed her former classmate Maya Rudolph.
02:44There were people who went on that stage and they already had the job, and then others that came in the side.
02:49When Anthony Michael Hall was in talks for The Ill-Fated Season 11, he helped his best friend Robert Downey Jr. get an audition too.
02:56Michael Hall said to me, I'm going to go do SNL.
03:00I'm going to get you an audition, and I bet you're going to get yourself on the show too.
03:04So waiting for that bastard to repay a favor 40 years later.
03:07Number 8. New cast member growing pains.
03:10Well, this is it.
03:12You've weathered the grueling audition process and secured your place as an SNL cast member.
03:17The worst part is over, right?
03:18When Marcy Cline called me after to say like, I think this is going to work out.
03:23I remember saving it on my phone.
03:25I saved the call as best call ever, and it was best call ever.
03:29That's what numerous newcomers assume.
03:31But little do they realize that every week is essentially another audition.
03:36Just because you're a featured player today doesn't mean you won't be fired tomorrow.
03:40I walked in the first day and was like, you guys want to have a sleepover in the studio?
03:43No.
03:44Does everyone hate me?
03:45What?
03:46I'm going to get fired every day, I think.
03:48Cast members have to constantly prove themselves,
03:51which is only made harder when they aren't getting the best sketches.
03:54Oftentimes, cast members have to write their own material to make a name for themselves.
03:58Everybody's talented, man.
04:01You're in this institution because you're talented.
04:05So you just got to find where your talent lays, and you just got to maximize it.
04:10Pete Davidson wanted to be let go during his early days, feeling that he didn't belong.
04:14Lorne Michaels gave him some brutally honest yet encouraging words.
04:18The first three or four years always suck.
04:20I was like, all right, he was right.
04:22Number 7.
04:23That Time Francis Ford Coppola Directed
04:26Season 11 of SNL was a mixed bag, to put it generously.
04:30While many ideas didn't work, the season's experimental,
04:34times straight-up weird approach paved the way for some glimpses of true inspiration.
04:39A high point was when Francis Ford Coppola directed the episode hosted by George Wendt.
04:44You want to host Saturday Night Live?
04:47Francis Ford Coppola is going to direct it.
04:49I was like, yeah, I'm a huge fan, huge.
04:54I wasn't expecting him to really direct, but...
05:04Coppola was practically a co-host,
05:06making himself a constant presence throughout the show.
05:08Excuse me for asking, but is it true you're the boss now?
05:12Well, yeah, I'm directing the show.
05:14Thank God, finally someone who knows what they're doing.
05:17At the same time, Coppola didn't overshadow the cast.
05:20If anything, everyone felt like they were given a chance to shine
05:24during a season that hadn't utilized most cast members to their full potential.
05:27And when Francis came, he brought the whole cast together.
05:33It was the first time that that happened.
05:35While the episode saw a boost in morale and creative energy,
05:38it did little to improve ratings.
05:41In the show's 50-year history, though, there isn't another episode like it.
05:45Wait, wait, wait a second.
05:46You're not using live ammunition, are you, Mr. Coppola?
05:48Well, of course I'm using live ammo.
05:50It's live show.
05:52Number six, the evolution of More Cowbell.
05:55Will Ferrell is one of the most successful SNL alumni,
05:59More Cowbell being his magnum opus.
06:01It's definitely been a testament to trusting your gut where you're like,
06:05yeah, let's just try it.
06:06You know what? It's fine.
06:07Let's just do the thing.
06:08Early on, though, one critic called Ferrell the most annoying new cast member
06:12and hardly anybody wanted to do More Cowbell.
06:15Ferrell originally conceived the sketch with a woodblock in mind.
06:18Woodblock? I don't think it rolls off the tongue.
06:22After getting bumped from a Norm MacDonald-hosted episode,
06:25Ferrell rewrote the sketch for Christopher Walken.
06:27By the way, my name is Bruce Dickinson.
06:30Yes, the Bruce Dickinson.
06:33And I gotta tell you, fellas, you have got what appears to be a dynamite sound.
06:38Coming from you, Bruce, that means a lot.
06:40More Cowbell seemed unlikely to make the cut,
06:43being set up in the studio's supposedly cursed corner.
06:46Yet the sketch moved forward as more revisions were made,
06:49Ferrell's tight shirt being a late addition.
06:52After dress rehearsal, I went and changed my shirt and got into tighter clothes.
06:57I was like, give me the tightest.
06:59Do we have a size smaller of that shirt?
07:02Nobody was prepared when More Cowbell went live.
07:05They were even less prepared for the cultural impact,
07:08with Walken telling Ferrell that the sketch's popularity, quote, ruined his life.
07:12I went to see Christopher Walken years later in a play he was doing,
07:16and I talked to him backstage.
07:18He's like, you know, you've ruined my life.
07:23And I go, I have?
07:25He's like, every show, people bring cowbells for the curtain call and bang them.
07:33Number five, a naked man auditioned.
07:36Just because a comedian doesn't make it past the SNL audition process
07:39doesn't mean their career is over.
07:41Jim Carrey, Jennifer Coolidge, Mindy Kaling, Kevin Hart, Donald Glover, Jordan Peele,
07:46and Stephen Colbert are just some of the future comedy titans who didn't get cast.
07:50I watched that and I went, oh, good for you, buddy.
07:54It's gonna get better.
07:55Like, eventually someone will like that enough to hire you.
07:59Henry Zebrowski is a name you might not recognize, however.
08:02While his SNL journey ended with his audition,
08:04Zebrowski certainly left an impression on the showrunners.
08:07He came out from the wall and he was completely naked.
08:10Demonstrating how far he was willing to go, Zebrowski got completely naked.
08:15Producer Lindsay Shookus struggled to remember what Zebrowski did after he stripped down,
08:19which might have been the problem.
08:20Like, who remembers what he did, the naked guy?
08:23But he was the naked guy.
08:25Zebrowski ultimately wasn't hired, although according to Shookus,
08:28the nudity didn't factor into this decision.
08:31Zebrowski nonetheless found success in TV, film, and podcasting.
08:35I'm not putting words in your mouth or nothing,
08:37but you just said that everybody wants to get rich.
08:43Writing a sketch is like getting a bill passed.
08:46It's a lengthy process that may end with your work dying in committee.
08:50You have to live with the foreknowledge that,
08:53more than likely, your first draft is not gonna be very good.
08:57Gilda Radner described first drafts as, quote,
09:00They're usually garbage, but there might be some good ideas to cherry pick.
09:16As hilarious as a sketch seems on paper, the table read can be a wake-up call.
09:21During rewrites, lines get reworked, jokes will be scrapped,
09:25and hours may be spent dwelling on the smallest thing to produce the biggest laugh.
09:29You have to develop a thick skin, let's put it that way.
09:31I don't think everybody has a thick skin at first, but you have to develop one.
09:34At dress rehearsal, laughter from the audience will determine
09:37what will air first in the live show and what will get canned.
09:40Even if a sketch makes it this far,
09:42an unenthusiastic dress rehearsal audience can doom it right before airing.
09:46And that's how it's done.
09:56Joining the cast in season 11,
09:58Damon Wayans felt undervalued during his brief SNL stint.
10:02His ideas were regularly shot down, being restricted to small, stereotypical parts.
10:07Wayans purposely sealed his fate with the infamous Mr. Monopoly sketch.
10:12Wayans played a cop with only a few lines.
10:14Although everything went as planned during dress rehearsal,
10:17Wayans suddenly gave his character an over-the-top gay persona for the live show.
10:24Contrary to what some assume, SNL is rarely, if ever, improvised.
10:28Wayans knew the consequences of going off-script,
10:31Lorne Michaels indeed cut Wayans from the cast,
10:34but to show there was no genuine bad blood,
10:36he invited the former cast member back to perform stand-up on the season finale.
10:48Some potential SNL cast members bring props to their auditions.
10:51Others do impressions or stand-up.
10:53In any case, everyone is given a chance to impress.
10:57This leads some to believe they blew it,
10:59making it all the more surprising when they get that life-changing phone call.
11:03If an audition is truly successful, it may even inspire future sketches.
11:08Sometimes you'd see something in an audition and you'd be like,
11:10that could be me, that could be me, that could be me, that could be me.
11:13But if you're not sure what you're doing,
11:15you can always ask the casting director for advice on what to do next.
11:18If you're not sure what you're doing,
11:20you can always ask the casting director for advice on what to do next.
11:23Sometimes you'd see something in an audition and you'd be like,
11:26that could be me, that could be me, that could be me, that could be me.
11:28Will Ferrell performed the now-classic get-off-the-shed routine at his audition.
11:37Kristen Wiig showcased an assortment of eccentric characters
11:40that would appear on SNL in the years to come.
11:53God, I hope someone walks up soon so I can say welcome to Target.
11:56I just want to say welcome to Target to somebody. Welcome to Target!
11:59Five minutes isn't much time, but it can say everything about a performer.
12:04Before we unveil our top pick, here are some honorable mentions.
12:09During the first season of SNL, everyone embraced the carefree 70s.
12:14We were very, very young and having a good time.
12:19Props are made quickly.
12:20Many go unused, but there's no shortage of severed heads.
12:24And I keep all my severed heads because they'll call me that morning and say,
12:29you don't have a Mikey Day severed head.
12:31You know, I just happen to have a Mikey Day severed head just laying around.
12:34You never know when they need it.
12:36Chevy Chase wasn't very nice to the season 11 cast.
12:39Of course, he wasn't always nice to the season 1 cast either.
12:42He would say, well, it'll never be what it was in the beginning.
12:46Can I ask you one more question?
12:47I'm afraid I don't have any time.
12:49Thanks, Marger.
12:50Relationship between writers and censors.
12:53Writers sometimes submit things they know will be cut to get something else on the air.
12:57And they go like, you can't do that.
12:59And we go, what do you mean?
13:01Argue, argue, argue, argue.
13:02OK, but can we do that?
13:04Oh, yeah.
13:05There are two studios, one for the live show and another for pre-taped material.
13:16I like that.
13:17I feel like ending on the performance is nice.
13:19Cool.
13:20Also, because this was at 3 in the morning.
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13:39Number one, season 11 was almost the end.
13:43With SNL on the chopping block after season 10,
13:46Michaels was brought back in a last ditch effort to save the show.
13:49When I think back on it, I think that the viewers had some questions.
13:53Why did Lauren leave?
13:55Why did he come back?
13:57And where were all their favorite funny people from the previous season,
14:01like Martin Short and Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Billy Crystal?
14:05While the previous season had a few standouts like Billy Crystal,
14:08Lauren decided to clean house with a new cast.
14:11Despite having several notable names like Randy Quaid, Nora Dunn and Joan Cusack,
14:16everyone felt overshadowed by the clear favorite John Lovitz.
14:19He was like the hero.
14:21And like me and Robert Downey were like, this liar character again.
14:26This was reflected in the season finale,
14:28where the cast is left to perish in a fire with Michaels only sparing Lovitz.
14:33What are you doing?
14:34I gotta wave goodbye.
14:34Don't ask any questions, John.
14:36Just go downstairs to my limousine and wait for me there.
14:39Writers, writers.
14:41Amid disappointing reviews and ratings,
14:43NBC executive Brandon Tartikoff essentially canceled SNL.
14:47Initially ready to admit defeat,
14:49manager Bernie Brillstein was motivated to call Tartikoff back,
14:52begging for another chance.
14:54So I called Brandon back and I said, we have to talk.
14:57You can't cancel it.
14:58You gotta give Lauren another year.
15:01Season 12 was thus greenlit and the rest is history.
15:05What's the most interesting detail you learned from SNL 50?
15:08Let us know in the comments.
15:09And I'm laughing too, but I have the benefit of wearing a beard.
15:13So you can't quite tell that I'm breaking as hard as they are.
15:17Do you agree with our picks?
15:18Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
15:20And be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.