The premiere of Saturday Night Live was far from easy, as depicted in the newly released trailer for Jason Reitman’s upcoming film about the iconic NBC sketch show’s beginnings.
Sony Pictures has unveiled the first trailer for “Saturday Night,” set to hit theaters on October 11. Reitman’s film dives into the behind-the-scenes activities leading up to SNL’s debut broadcast on October 11, 1975.
The trailer captures the turmoil experienced in the 90 minutes leading up to that historic first episode, featuring a dramatic moment between series creator Lorne Michaels, portrayed by Gabriel LaBelle, and NBC executive Dick Ebersol, played by Cooper Hoffman.
In the trailer, Ebersol questions, “Lorne, 90 minutes of live television by a group of 20-year-olds who have never made anything? Do you ever stop and wonder why they said yes to a counterculture show starring total unknowns, with zero narrative and even less structure? They want you to fail.”
Lorne responds, “We just have to make it to air.”
The screenplay, co-written by Reitman and Gil Kenan, is based on interviews with cast members, writers, and crew who were involved during the show’s launch, which is now gearing up for its 50th season. The producers of the film, previously known as “SNL 1975,” include Reitman, Kenan, Jason Blumenfeld, and Peter Rice, while Erica Mills and JoAnn Perritano serve as executive producers.
The cast portraying the original SNL players includes Dylan O’Brien as Dan Aykroyd, Lamorne Morris as Garrett Morris, Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase, Matt Wood as John Belushi, Ella Hunt as Gilda Radner, Emily Fairn as Laraine Newman, and Kim Matula as Jane Curtin.
Additional cast members featured in the film are Willem Dafoe as David Tebet, Nicholas Braun as Jim Henson, Matthew Rhys as George Carlin, Kaia Gerber as Jacqueline Carlin, J.K. Simmons as Milton Berle, Jon Batiste as Billy Preston, Andrew Barth Feldman as Neil Levy, Naomi McPherson as Janis Ian, and Finn Wolfhard as an NBC page.
Gabriel LaBelle, who plays Lorne Michaels and is known for his role in “The Fabelmans,” shared insights in a recent Vanity Fair article about embodying Michaels. He noted that Michaels “started SNL when he was 30. He’s now 80 and has been doing it for 50 years. Nobody knows what to do when they first start.”