Warning: Spoilers ahead for Saturday night.
Jason Reitman’s new Saturday night Movie features several classic songs and an innovative original score by Jon Batiste. Saturday night has one of the most stacked ensemble casts of 2024, including many young star actors such as Gabriel LaBelle (The Fableman), Rachel Sennott (Batten), Dylan O’Brien (The Maze Runner), and Emmy winners (The Americans), Nicholas Brown (Succession), and Lamorn Morris (Fargo). Oscar winner JK Simmons (Whiplash) and 4-time Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe (Poor things) round out the talented ensemble in Saturday night. Batiste also portrays legendary musician Billy Preston in the film.
Saturday night Opened in theaters on October 11, 2024, after premiering at the 51st Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2024. Tomatometer (critic) score of 80% and an impressive Popcornmeter (audience) score of 92%. The film chronicles the true story events in the 90 minutes before the premiere of the first episode of Saturday Night Live on NBC, which occurred at 11:30 p.m. on October 11, 1975. Although Reitman’s portrayal tends to diverge from factual accounts due to entertainment and historical juxtapositions, Saturday night Capture the chaos of the night and the steady vision of Lorne Michaels.
When every song on Saturday Night Soundtrack plays in the movie
Saturday night reenacts guest performances by Billy Preston and Janice Ian
“Right On” by Ray Barretto: This classic 1970 song by Ray Barretto is around the 20-minute mark of Saturday night. Billy Preston, portrayed by Jon Batiste, performs the track with his band during a soundcheck before the premiere of NBC’s Saturday night. Lorne Michaels is shown listening to the song through the headphones of the sound mixer and complaining that the music is not loud enough. The sound mixer responds with, “One band, one mic“And Lorne is forced to roll with the punches.
“At Seventeen” by Janice Ian: This classic 1975 pop folk song by Janis Ian plays around 45 minutes in Saturday night. Ian, portrayed by Naomi Macpherson, performs the song during another soundcheck before the premiere of NBC’s Saturday night. Almost the entire song is played in the film as Lorne Michaels deals with a frustrated boss in George Carlin, a heated confrontation between Chevy Chase and John Belushi in the makeup room, and all the studio speakers go out just 50 minutes before the show . Air.
“Nothing From Nothing” by Billy Preston: This classic Billy Preston song was performed by Batiste and his band at the end of Saturday night As audience members were finally allowed into the studio just 10 minutes before the show went live. The song sets a welcoming and fun-loving tone for the audience moments before the show starts and fills the room with its frantic and nervous energy. In real life, Preston and his band performed the song after the famous first sketch, “The Wolverines”, with Michael O’Donoghue and John Belushi.
Who made the original Saturday night score
5 time Grammy winner and Oscar winner Jon Batiste
5-time Grammy winner and Oscar-winner Jon Batiste composed the innovative original score of Saturday nightwhich can be heard throughout the film. This is the second original score for a feature film that Batiste has been a part of and the first that he composed entirely himself. He collaborated with the Oscar-winning duo Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (The Social Network, The girl with the dragon tattoo) on the original score for Disney Pixar’s 2020 movie soulWhich won Batist his first and only Academy Award.
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Batiste is nominated for another Oscar in 2024, Best Original Song for his 2023 Netflix documentary American Symphony. Before signing on to score Saturday night, director Jason Reitman told Batiste he was looking for something that felt like “an anti-score” (via yahoo). “It would have to be a completely different type of score than what we consider the paradigm for film scores. He wanted something that wasn’t that, something that felt alive and rawAfter days of filming, Batiste would work a double shift and compose the score in real-time with his band and record their live sessions. Much of the score is based on Batiste’s outstanding capacity for improvisation.
Where to listen to the soundtrack of Saturday night
It is available on major streaming platforms
Jon Batiste’s original score for Saturday night is available to stream on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube. The album consists of 23 songs and a total of 34 minutes. The three aforementioned songs performed by SNL’s first musical guests are also available to listen to on popular music streaming services and websites. Performances of Billy Preston’s “Nothing Out of Nothing” and Janice Ian’s “At Seventeen” from SNL’s actual first episode are available on YouTube and on Peacock, which has the entire first episode of Saturday night too.