Saturday nightNow playing in select theaters, is a perfect celebration of Saturday Night Lives 50th anniversary. With the latest season premiere and movie release coinciding, the NBC comedy spectacular is proving to be just as relevant to today’s pop culture as it has ever been. The movie is directed by Jason Reitman, who co-wrote it with his Ghostbusters: Afterlife partner Gil Kenan, and features a cast stacked with some of the most iconic names in early SNL history.
The central assumption of Saturday night It’s a race against the clock for the first episode to premiere at 11:30 PM on October 11, 1975. While young creator Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) runs wild trying to corral his comedians and present some semblance of a project worthy of NBC executives’ consideration , various cast and crew members are put through their own trials and tribulations. The ensemble includes Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase, Ella Hunt as Gilda Radner, Dylan O’Brien as Dan Aykroyd, Rachel Sennot as Rosie Schuster, Nicholas Brown as Andy Kaufman (and Jim Henson), Lamorne Morris as Garrett Morris (no relation), and Much more.
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Screen Rant Interviewed Hunt, Morris and Smith about their respective roles in Saturday night. The actors reflected on how they stepped into the shoes of legends such as Gilda Radner, Garrett Morris and Chevy Chase while also shouting SNL Icons of their own generation.
How to embody SNL legends like Chevy Chase & Gilda Radner
“It’s really important to create a performance that would honor the people.”
Screen Rant: I loved it Saturday nightBut I spent the whole movie wondering if you ever have moments where you’re like, “What does Chevy think of this? Is he okay with this?”
Corey Michael Smith: 100%! Yes. I think, for all of us, it’s really important to create a performance that would honor the people. I personally did not have the privilege of meeting Chevy, but he was always with me, and one of the things that was really important to me was to capture the Chevy that everyone knows and loves. He’s the confident, charismatic guy, but in the script you really need to see a nervous, vulnerable guy.
I was on the hunt for this man, and it was his first appearance on the Johnny Carson Show. He is humiliated at the top, and that was my in. I hope that when Chevy saw it – because he saw the movie – that he saw a real human version of himself and not just his public persona.
Screen Rant: Ella, Gilda Radner was an icon. Was there a moment in filming that you either learned something surprising or that you just felt that joy of what she was?
Ella Hunt: A real treat from someone with such a lasting impact, and not someone I knew before shooting the movie. I had the great pleasure of talking with Alan Zweibel, who was one of Gilda’s closest friends, and they wrote Rosana Rosanadana together. Hearing about Gilda’s kindness and generosity was really special to me.
Then, when I got to know her mannerisms and the way she moves her body and her voice work, what was really interesting to me was how familiar I was with it through comedians like Kristen Wiig and actresses like Emma Stone. It was quite the discovery for me to realize that I was impacted by Gilda long before I realized I was.
Lamorne Morris was always the future Emmy winner in the comedy skit
“I want to play it real, and I’m going to let the other person be stupid.”
Hunt turned to Morris for further thoughts on picking up the legacy of generations past, and the Fargo Actor Wisely explains his own connection to Garrett Morris. While the latter may not be as well known as his contemporaries in their heyday, his style of comedy has been passed down by the likes of Eddie Murphy, Dave Chappelle, and more.
Lamorne Morris: Yes! Garrett had his thing, and a lot of people didn’t really know too much about Garrett back then. But the comedians did it, and they would take a bit of it from him – whether you know you’re doing it or not, it just happens. And then before you know it…
I admire Eddie Murphy, but what I don’t realize is that Eddie Murphy took a little bit of Garrett, and that just goes on and on and on and on and on and on down the line. You know what I mean? You hear it all the time now, especially doing what we do, when people say, “Hey man, I grew up watching you,” and you go, “One, I’m not that damn old. Two, I’m very honored, but I Got my energy from [Dave] Chapel or from Eddy.”
Screen Rant: I love how Garrett is not only the straight man on set, but he’s also metatheatrically aware of being the straight man in the movie. Like, “What am I doing here?” And yet you bring the serious acting chops. Do you feel that pride in your talent is shining through?
Lamorne Morris: Yeah, a little bit. I just think Garrett and I have a very similar walk. Not just metaphorically, but also physically. But metaphorically, I am a fish out of water. A lot of projects that I do, a lot of times, even back in the Second City days, is like “do this bit, do this bit”. But you realize that I am also an actor. I want to play this one real, and I’ll let the other person be stupid.
That’s how I felt at times here in the movie, being the elder statesman. There are those moments where the kids are running around and I’m like that. [He pulls a face]
Ella Hunt: I would also often turn to Papa Lamorne for advice. Lamorne, tell me how to be funny!
Saturday night stars name what SNL icons define the series for them
Screen Rant: Last but not least, when I think of SNLI think of lonely island. What do you all think of?
Cory Michael Smith: I go back to when I was a kid and I was first watching it and watching Will Ferrell, Cheri Oteri, Molly Shannon and Ana Gasteyer. That was my introduction to comedy and certainly to SNL.
Ella Hunt: I think about Kristen Wiig turning off a light bulb. And I was late to SNL too; I didn’t grow up to see it.
Lamorne Morris: I think of Will Ferrell. I just think of Will Ferrell man, he’s so funny. Clocking that cowbell!
More About Saturday Night (2024)
On October 11, 1975, at 11:30 in the afternoon, a terrific group of young comedians and writers changed television – and culture – forever. Directed by Jason Reitman and written by Gil Kenan & Reitman, Saturday Night is based on the true story of what happened behind the scenes in the 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast of Saturday Night Live. Full of humor, chaos and the magic of a revolution that almost didn’t happen, we count down the minutes in real time until we hear the famous words…
Check out others Saturday night Interview here:
Source: Screen Rant Plus