2024-10-12 03:10:04
NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” seems like it’s been part of the entertainment firmament forever. The brainchild of Canadian comedy writer Lorne Michaels kicked off nearly a half-century ago, and yet improbably remains a consistent provider of laughs, controversy and rising stars.
But how did it all start? That’s the focus of “Saturday Night” (in wide release Friday), director Jason Reitman’s gloriously frenetic version of the 90-minute span before the first episode aired live on Oct. 11, 1975.
“It’s just about a group of people trying to totally revolutionize TV in 90 minutes,” Reitman says with a laugh.
Reitman’s movie plays like a comedy freight train just barely staying on the tracks, complete with crashing light rigs, pouting stars, sudden brawls and even an appearance by Milton Berle’s famously outsized member.
There’s no question that Michaels was fomenting nothing short of a genre-bending explosion in Studio 8H. But the high jinks seem so improbable that it’s fair to ask just how much of “Saturday Night” really happened on that fall night at New York’s Rockefeller Center.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
USA TODAY fact-checked some of the movie’s more outrageous scenes with the help of Reitman as well as stars Gabriel LaBelle (who plays Michaels) and Cory Michael Smith (Chevy Chase).
Critic’s take:‘Saturday Night’ review: Throwback comedy recaptures fabulous buzz of the first ‘SNL’
Did Chevy Chase and John Belushi come to blows just before the debut of ‘Saturday Night Live’?
“Saturday Night” depicts Chase and soon-to-be comedy icon John Belushi (Matt Wood) as two sharks about to rip each other apart just before showtime. And finally, they do come to blows and have to be pulled apart. But the fight never happened that night.
“Jason fictionalized that as a manifestation of the tension that’s there, but it’s also a reference to the fight Chevy famously had with Bill Murray when Chevy, who’d left ‘SNL’ after the first year, came back to host in year two,” says Smith. “It was an homage to that moment.”
Did a lighting rig really come crashing down on the Not Ready for Primetime Players?
No, says Reitman, although “the story we heard was that their famous camera crane, the so-called Chapman Crane that someone would actually ride, lost its brakes and plowed through the set.”
Mystery:Here’s the one thing ‘Saturday Night’ director Jason Reitman implored his actors not to do
Did John Belushi really balk at signing his NBC contract until showtime?
Yes, says Reitman. “He was nowhere to be found and refused to sign it until the very end. But, adds Reitman, “the point of showing that in the movie wasn’t about highlighting a contract dispute but to show how afraid he was about becoming a big star. John was aware of his own genius, but he feared things would get out of control if he became popular on TV.”
After leaving “SNL” to pursue movies, including his breakout role in 1978’s “Animal House,” Belushi died of a drug overdose at age 32 in 1982 at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood, California.
Was Billy Crystal a part of the original ‘Saturday Night Live’ cast?
Yes. The comedian was slated to be a part of the first show but as depicted in “Saturday Night,” his bit never made it on air and he eventually left, only to return as a very successful cast member during the 1984-85 season.
About the Author
