43/21
At 11:30 p.m. on October 11, 1975, a fierce troupe of young comedians and writers changed television forever. Find out what happened behind the scenes in the 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast of Saturday Night Live (1975). Check out the rest of the cast and their real-life counterparts as Matt Wood plays John Belushi on Saturday Night. Dan Aykroyd was the only original SNL cast member to read the script. When the show airs, John Belushi enters the frame 39 seconds late through a door. He actually entered the scene right away. Lorne Michaels: Look, my name is Lorne Michaels, I’m the producer of “Saturday Night.” Doorman: All night? Lorne Michaels: [sarcastically] Yeah, all night. The film opens with a quote from Lorne Michaels: “The show doesn’t go on because it’s ready, it goes on because it’s 11:30.” Appeared in Eddie Murphy, The Black King of Hollywood (2023). Ixoo ‘Chickenweed’ Chawz Written by Don Cento and Martin Garner Starring Don Cento and Martin Garner. SATURDAY NIGHT (2024) *** Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennot, Cory Michael Smith, Ella Hunt, Dylan O' Brien, Emily Fairn, Matt Wood, Lamone Morris, Kim Matula, Finn Wolfhard, Nicholas Braun, Cooper Hoffman, Corinne Britti, Nicholas Podany, Robert Wuhl, Jon Batiste, Willem Dafoe, Tracy Letts, Matthew Rhys, JK Simmons, Brad Garrett. Director Jason Reitman’s frenetic, lighthearted imagination of NBC’s iconic late-night comedy showcase unfolds in the hours just before its opening night broadcast, with ringleader producer/creator Lorne Michaels (LaBelle) in a flurry of activity, angst and hubris as the kinetic energy of the backstage drama unfolds. Eric Steelberg’s breakneck cinematography and sharp editing by Nathan Orloff & Shane Reid pushes the frenetic pace relentlessly with last-minute adjustments that round out its mostly game cast for the late, great John Belushi). While Batiste’s score keeps the film on track, it gets repetitive and stale after a while and Podany’s awkward performance as a worried Billy Crystal (the guy looks nothing like the comedian, which doesn’t help) is beyond annoying. There are plenty of Easter eggs for SNL fans, so that adds to the nostalgic joy ride.