Saturday Night First Look Reveals SNL Biopic

The Saturday Night first look pictures mostly show us our first looks at the all-star ensemble cast in characters as some SNL legends. Creator Lorne Michaels is played by Gabriel LaBelle and can be seen in a first-look image standing alongside Ella Hunt playing Gilda Radner as Dan Aykroyd (Dylan O’Brien) holds back an angry John Belushi (Matt Wood). Another image shows Kim Matula as Jane Curtin, Emily Fairn as Laraine Newman, and Rachel Sennott as Rosie Shuster, an SNL writer and Michael’s wife.

According to the Vanity Fair spread, the Saturday Night biopic will give us more than just the perspective of Lorne Michaels as he puts together the first broadcast of his show. We’ll also see the perspective of the actors, writers, art department, and the rest of the crew, according to Reitman. This also includes the guest stars and the host of the first show, George Carlin, who is played by Matthew Rhys.

The first look images of Saturday Night show Rhys as Carlin, as well as Nicholas Braun playing double-duty as both Andy Kaufman and Jim Henson. Meanwhile, Jon Batiste is shown as the show’s first musical guest Billy Preston. Batiste also played double duty, as he composed the score for the film.

Another image shows Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase, looking uncannily like the controversial Saturday Night Live star, along with his girlfriend Jacqueline Carlin, played by Kaia Gerber. JK Simmons is also shown doing a cheesy showgirl bit as Milton Berle, which apparently causes some conflict between him and the rest of the SNL cast. Other famous figures who will show up during the film include Garrett Morris (Lamorne Morris), NBC exec David Tebet (Willem Dafoe), Billy Crystal (Nicholas Podany), and many more.

For fans of SNL or comedy in general, it seems like Saturday Night is going to be one of the most interesting movies of the year. Director Reitman and his co-writer Gil Kenan also did extensive research to bring the film together, with Reitman telling Vanity Fair they talked to over 30 sources about that night, saying, “We interviewed everyone we could find that was alive from opening night.” Reitman, who has worked on the latest Ghostbusters movies, also has some experience working with some SNL greats thanks to his time on those films.

Based on Reitman’s description as the “ticking clock” essentially being the “Darth Vader” of the film, it sounds like Saturday Night is going to be an extremely unique look of entertainment behind-the-scenes like Birdman, but this time it’s a real story. The cast alone is going to be worth the price of admission, but it wouldn’t be surprising if this film ends up getting quite a bit of attention. Make sure to check it out when it drops on October 11.

Source: Vanity Fair