Saturday Night just took fans back to 1975 with a first look at the film’s cast. Vanity Fair sat down with Jason Reitman to talk about the Saturday Night Live movie. So many actors are doing the time warp in this project. Familiar faces like Dylan O’Brien, Lamorne Morris, Emily Fair, Cory Michael Smith, Matt Wood, Ella Hunt, and Kim Matula pose just like the legendary cast of the sketch comedy show. They’re all playing iconic comedians who have passed through Studio 8H. Names like John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, Garrett Morris, Chevy Chase, Laraine Newman and Jane Curtin. Of course, Gabriel LaBelle has the task of bringing Lorne Michaels to life as well.
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“We meet Lorne as he’s still forming. He is a genius, and he has a vision beyond anyone else there—and anyone his age. It’s a lot for an actor to carry,” Reitman says. “In this movie, everyone gets to kind of screw around except for Gabe, who has to be the metronome.”
The levels of authenticity here are staggering. Every effort was made to keep things as close to the genuine article as possible. “We interviewed everyone we could find that was alive from opening night,” Reitman shared. “Every living cast member, every living writer, people from the art department, costumes, hair and makeup, NBC pages, members of Billy Preston’s band—I mean, anyone we could find.”
Did Everyone Make It In?
Unfortunately for fans, Bill Murray isn’t in Saturday Night. (The beloved actor actually joined Saturday Night Live in Season 2 after Chevy Chase’s departure.) Murray told ET earlier this year that he had an unconventional choice to play him.
“I don’t know,” Murray smirked. “Of all the people that came after me, I think I really enjoyed… I think Kenan Thompson, he can play me. Or, Bill Hader, those two. Or Kristen Wiig, any of those three could play me. Or Amy Pohler.”
“Well, he’s been picking my brain about the SNL days since he was a grasshopper,” Murray chuckled when describing Jason Reitman’s approach to the movie. “So, he knows a lot of what I know. And, my friends. He’s an astute person, an astute person and a director. I’m blessed that this movie will be about the original six or seven, you know? The original seven. So, I get to be on the sidelines. I think my name gets to be mentioned, which is good.”
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