‘SNL’ Origin Film ‘Saturday Night’ Release Date & Trailer + Who Lorne Michaels Wants to Take Over the Show
A film about the origin story of the long-running sketch show Saturday Night Live is in the works. Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan wrote the script for the film Saturday Night, based on the behind-the-scenes accounts of the show’s opening night. Reitman is directing the movie and has now cast several of its stars. Gabriel LaBelle will portray SNL head Lorne Michaels while Cooper Hoffman will play Dick Ebersol and Rachel Sennott will play Rosie Shuster.
The film will showcase the chaos of trying to get the live show off the ground and running and the moments behind the curtain on October 11, 1975. The screenplay was written based on interviews with all of the living cast, crew, and writers from that night. In addition, Saturday Night has cast Ella Hunt as Gilda Radner, Kaia Gerber as Jacqueline Carlin, Andrew Barth Feldman as Neil Levy, Emily Fairn as Laraine Newman, Kim Matula as Jane Curtin, Lamorne Morris as Garrett Morris, Dylan O’Brien as Dan Aykroyd, Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase, Matt Wood as John Belushi, and Finn Wolfhard as an NBC Page. The film will be released in theaters on exactly the 49th anniversary of the show, October 11, 2024.
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There is a lot of buzz surrounding the cast, especially LaBelle as this is his first major studio film. His breakout role was in the 2022 film The Fabelmans, loosely based on the life of Steven Spielberg. As the news of the SNL origin movie came out, Michaels also opened up about who he’d like to eventually take over the show as he may be nearing retirement.
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Lorne Michaels replacement?
Producer Michaels has been running the show for almost 50 years and is starting to think about who could take over. When asked who his replacement might be, he revealed, “It could easily be Tina Fey.” Fey was a beloved cast member on SNL and was the creator of her own NBC show 30 Rock. He added, “There are a lot of people who are there now who are also, you know. Tina’s brilliant and great at everything. She’s a very important person in my life.”
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2025 will mark the 50th anniversary of the show and a three-hour primetime special has been announced to air on Feb. 16. Michaels said that he plans to be there for the anniversary and then will figure out his plans for the future. Stay tuned for more details on the SNL 50th Special as well as the future of Michaels as the producer.
1970s Fall TV
September 2023
Take a trip back to the ’70s by looking at the TV Guide Magazine Fall Preview primetime lineups.
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