SATURDAY NIGHT Trailer 2 (2024) Kaia Gerber, Dylan O Brien, Willem Dafoe

SATURDAY NIGHT Trailer 2 (2024) Kaia Gerber, Dylan O Brien, Willem Dafoe

SATURDAY NIGHT Trailer 2 (2024) Kaia Gerber, Dylan O'Brien, Willem Dafoe, Finn Wolfhard, J.K. Simmons, Saturday Night Live biopic (SNL 75)
© 2024 - Sony Pictures

Dylan O’Brien is keeping a pretty cool head after undertaking his latest role.

The Saturday Night actor said he “can’t wait” to meet Dan Aykroyd following his portrayal of the Saturday Night Live alum in the upcoming Jason Reitman-helmed film, which premieres nationwide on Oct. 11, the 49th anniversary of the NBC sketch comedy show’s first episode.

“I’m okay if my guy hates it. It’s acceptance. That was my method,” he joked to People about Aykroyd’s potential reaction to his performance.

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New ‘Saturday Night’ Trailer Sees Gabriel LaBelle’s Lorne Michaels Lean Into Opening Night Chaos
“I hear we’re very similar, in a way that I never knew,” added O’Brien. “I feel like we’re going to get along.”

Saturday Night takes place on October 11, 1975, as a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers change television forever. Formerly titled SNL 1975, the film tells the true story of what happened behind the scenes that night in the 90 minutes leading up to the first-ever broadcast of SNL.

Dylan O’Brien of Saturday Night poses at the Deadline Studio held at the Bisha Hotel during the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 8, 2024 in Toronto, Canada.
This week, Reitman told Deadline that Aykroyd was the “hardest to cast,” but O’Brien “saved” the film with his participation. “I feel like we spent a year looking for Dan,” he said.

“Dan is tricky,” added Jason, whose late father Ivan Reitman first directed Aykroyd in Ghostbusters (1984), Ghostbusters II (1989) and Evolution (2001). Jason also worked with the actor when he helmed the sequels Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024).

“He is brilliantly funny, verbose in a way that you just don’t find in other people, his head for detail and language and history. And simultaneously, surprisingly handsome and romantically charismatic,” he explained. “Dylan O’Brien walked in and saved us. I know Dan really well. I grew up with Aykroyd and I’ve now directed him, so I feel like I could write any scene for Dan Aykroyd at this point. I know his voice well enough. And when I gave Dylan a couple keys to find Aykroyd, suddenly it just clicked open and that was the final piece of the puzzle.”

Ella Hunt as Gilda Radner, Kim Matula as Jane Curtain, Cooper Hoffman as Dick Ebersol, Rachel Sennott as Rosie Shuster, Lamorne Morris as Garrett Morris, Josh Brener as Alan Zweibel and Gabriel LaBelle as Lorne Michaels in Saturday Night.
Sony
Saturday Night also stars Gabriel LaBelle as Lorne Michaels, Rachel Sennott as Rosie Shuster, Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase, Ella Hunt as Gilda Radner, Emily Fairn as Laraine Newman, Matt Wood as John Belushi, Lamorne Morris as Garrett Morris, Kim Matula as Jane Curtin, Nicholas Braun as Andy Kaufman/Jim Henson, Cooper Hoffman as Dick Ebersol, Kaia Gerber as Jacqueline Carlin and Willem Dafoe as David Tebet.

Meanwhile, SNL‘s milestone 50th season kicks off this weekend with host Jean Smart and musical guest Jelly Roll.

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Dan Aykroyd
Dylan O'Brien
Jason Reitman
Saturday Night
Saturday Night Live

So, here’s our first full-length trailer for Jason Reitman’s “Saturday Night.” I watched it over the weekend, and it’s basically Reitman’s riff on Inarritu’s “Birdman” — lots of long takes that exude constant tension.

One thing I will add is that the film is very funny, the cast is filled talent, and the one-liners keep coming at a feverish pace. There’s not much depth to the whole thing, but it’s a really entertaining 90 minutes that it just zips right by.

The film is driven by its talented ensemble, including Gabriel LaBelle, Dylan O’Brien, Cory Michael Smith, Rachel Sennott, Lamorne Morris, Nicholas Braun, Finn Wolfhard, Jon Batiste, Ella Hunt, Cooper Hoffman, Andrew Barth Feldman, Naomi McPherson, Willem Dafoe, J.K. Simmons, and Kaia Gerber.

“Saturday Night,” which got fairly positive reviews at Telluride, is set to screen tomorrow at TIFF, and that’ll be followed by an October 11 theatrical release, via Sony Pictures.
Saturday Night

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Jason Reitman
Written by
Gil Kenan
Jason Reitman
Produced by
Jason Blumenfeld
Peter Rice
Jason Reitman
Gil Kenan
Starring
Gabriel LaBelle
Rachel Sennott
Cory Michael Smith
Ella Hunt
Dylan O'Brien
Emily Fairn
Matt Wood
Lamorne Morris
Kim Matula
Finn Wolfhard
Nicholas Braun
Cooper Hoffman
Andrew Barth Feldman
Kaia Gerber
Tommy Dewey
Willem Dafoe
Matthew Rhys
J. K. Simmons
Cinematography Eric Steelberg
Edited by
Nathan Orloff
Shane Reid
Music by Jon Batiste
Production
companies
Columbia Pictures
Reitman/Kenan Productions
Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
Release dates
August 31, 2024 (Telluride)
September 27, 2024 (Los Angeles, New York, and Toronto)
Running time 109 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $25 million[2]
Box office $638,249[3][4]
Saturday Night is a 2024 American biographical comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman, about the night of the 1975 premiere of NBC's Saturday Night, later known as Saturday Night Live.[5]

The script was written by Reitman and Gil Kenan, with both also co-producing it alongside Jason Blumenfeld and Peter Rice. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennott, Cory Michael Smith, Ella Hunt, Dylan O'Brien, Emily Fairn, Matt Wood, Lamorne Morris, Kim Matula, Finn Wolfhard, Nicholas Braun, Cooper Hoffman, Andrew Barth Feldman, Kaia Gerber, Tommy Dewey, Willem Dafoe, Matthew Rhys, and J. K. Simmons.

Saturday Night had its world premiere at the 51st Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2024, and had a limited theatrical release in the United States on September 27, 2024, before its wide release by Sony Pictures Releasing on October 11, 2024, on the 49th anniversary of the show's premiere, during the show's 50th season.

Premise
The film is based on the true story of what happened in the 90 minutes prior to the October 11, 1975 debut of Saturday Night Live.[6]

Cast

Gabriel LaBelle portrays SNL producer Lorne Michaels in the film.
Gabriel LaBelle as Lorne Michaels
Rachel Sennott as Rosie Shuster
Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase
Ella Hunt as Gilda Radner
Dylan O'Brien as Dan Aykroyd
Emily Fairn as Laraine Newman
Matt Wood as John Belushi
Lamorne Morris as Garrett Morris
Kim Matula as Jane Curtin
Finn Wolfhard as an NBC page
Nicholas Braun as Andy Kaufman and Jim Henson
Cooper Hoffman as Dick Ebersol
Kaia Gerber as Jacqueline Carlin
Andrew Barth Feldman as Neil Levy
Tommy Dewey as Michael O'Donoghue
Willem Dafoe as David Tebet
Matthew Rhys as George Carlin
J. K. Simmons as Milton Berle
Jon Batiste as Billy Preston
Naomi McPherson as Janis Ian
Taylor Gray as Al Franken
Mcabe Gregg as Tom Davis
Nicholas Podany as Billy Crystal
Billy Bryk as Carl
Abraham Hsu as Leo Yoshimura
Ellen Boscov as Mrs. Kaufman
Tracy Letts as Herb Sargent
Catherine Curtin as Joan Carbunkle
Rowan Joseph as Jim Fox
Leander Suleiman as Anne Beatts
Paul Rust as Paul Shaffer
Robert Wuhl as Dave Wilson[7]
Corinne Britti as Valri Bromfield[8]
Kirsty Woodward as Audrey Dickman[8]
Production

Director/co-writer/co-producer Jason Reitman (left) and co-writer/co-producer Gil Kenan (right).
It was announced in May 2023 that Jason Reitman would be directing, co-writing, and producing a film about the creation of the series Saturday Night Live for Sony Pictures. He, alongside his Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024) collaborator Gil Kenan, conducted interviews with the living cast and crew of the premiere season in order to better develop the screenplay.[9]

In January 2024, Gabriel LaBelle was cast to portray Lorne Michaels, in his second major leading role following his performance as Sammy Fabelman in Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans (2022), with Cooper Hoffman, Rachel Sennott, Ella Hunt, Emily Fairn, Kim Matula, Dylan O'Brien, Lamorne Morris, Cory Michael Smith, and Matt Wood cast as Dick Ebersol, Rosie Shuster, Gilda Radner, Laraine Newman, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, and John Belushi respectively.[10][11][12] Nicholas Braun, Tommy Dewey and Nicholas Podany were added in March to portray Jim Henson, Michael O'Donoghue, and Billy Crystal respectively.[13] Additionally, Braun ended up cast to play Andy Kaufman as well. That role was originally supposed to be portrayed by Benny Safdie, but he had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts.[14] Andrew Barth Feldman, Kaia Gerber, Finn Wolfhard, J. K. Simmons, Billy Bryk, Joe Chrest, Taylor Gray, Mcabe Gregg, and Willem Dafoe joined the cast later that month.[15][16][17] Jon Batiste, who was hired to compose the score for the film, will also appear as Billy Preston.[18] In April, Naomi McPherson of the band Muna was cast to portray Janis Ian.[19] In June, it was reported that Leander Suleiman had been cast as writer Anne Beatts.[20]

Principal photography began in March 2024 in Atlanta and Fayetteville, Georgia, as locations, under the working title Wolverines.[21][22][23] Scenes were shot outside of Rockefeller Plaza on the weekend of March 9–10.[24]

Release
On July 30, it was announced the title was changed from the working title of SNL 1975 to Saturday Night, which was the original title of the show during its first season, since there was already a competing show at the time on ABC called Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell. It was also given the release date of October 11, 2024, 49 years to the day that SNL premiered on NBC.[25]

The film premiered at the 51st Telluride Film Festival and was selected to screen at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.[26][27]

Shortly after its Telluride premiere, Sony Pictures decided to make some changes to the film's release schedule, pivoting to a limited theatrical release starting in Los Angeles, New York City, and Toronto on September 27, 2024, expanding to more cities on October 4, and then a nationwide release on October 11.[25]

Reception
Box office
In the United States, the film made $270,487 from five theaters in its opening weekend; its per-screen average of $54,097 was the second-best limited opening of the year, behind Kinds of Kindness.[28][29] In its second weekend, it made $270,955 from 21 theaters.[30]

Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 78% of 92 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.0/10. The website's consensus reads: "Jazzed up by an excellent ensemble that captures the essence if not exact likeness of SNL's original cast and crew, Saturday Night is a frenetic and nostalgic celebration of one of showbiz's most auspicious debuts."[31] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 62 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[32]

Peter Debruge of Variety gave the film a positive review, stating that director Reitman "finds the right ensemble to capture the lunacy from which SNL was born".[7]

Benjamin Lee of The Guardian gave the movie an extremely negative review, summarizing it with the title "tedious 'SNL' origins tale is an unfunny misfire", with the subheadline reading "Jason Reitman's 70s-set comedy detailing the first-ever episode of Saturday Night Live is a dull and self-indulgent mess". He awarded the film only one star out of five.[33]

References
"Saturday Night". TIFF. Archived from the original on August 14, 2024. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
Malhotra, Rahul (September 29, 2024). "'Saturday Night' Nearly Breaks a Domestic Box Office Record in Debut Weekend". Collider. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
"Saturday Night". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
"Saturday Night – Financial Information". The Numbers. Archived from the original on September 30, 2024. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
Breznican, Anthony (August 7, 2024). "'Saturday Night' First Look: How the 'SNL' Movie Captures 1975's Wild Opening Night". Vanity Fair. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
Grobar, Matt (September 9, 2024). "New 'Saturday Night' Trailer Sees Gabriel LaBelle's Lorne Michaels Lean Into Opening Night Chaos". Deadline. Archived from the original on September 9, 2024. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
Debruge, Peter (September 1, 2024). "Saturday Night Review: Jason Reitman Finds the Right Ensemble to Capture the Lunacy From Which SNL Was Born". Variety. ISSN 0042-2738. OCLC 60626328. Archived from the original on September 7, 2024. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
Tapp, Tom (September 10, 2024). "Saturday Night Premiere: Red Carpet Photos Of The SNL Movie's Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on September 19, 2024. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
Kroll, Justin (May 1, 2023). "Jason Reitman To Direct Movie Based On Behind-The-Scenes Accounts Of 'Saturday Night Live's 1975 Opening Night For Sony; Gil Kenan Co-Writing With Reitman". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 19, 2024. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
Kroll, Justin (January 19, 2024). "The Fablemans Star Gabriel LaBelle To Play Lorne Michaels In Sony's SNL 1975, Cooper Hoffman And Rachel Sennott Also Join Ensemble". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 19, 2024. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
Kroll, Justin (January 26, 2024). "'SNL 1975' Movie Finds Its Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman & Gilda Radner". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 26, 2024. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
Kroll, Justin; D'Alessandro, Anthony (January 30, 2024). "'SNL 1975' Finds Its Garrett Morris, Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase And John Belushi". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 30, 2024. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
Kroll, Justin; D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 7, 2024). "SNL 1975 Origin Movie Finds Its Jim Henson, Michael O'Donoghue And Billy Crystal". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 7, 2024. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
Riccardo, Nick (July 26, 2024). "Report: Nicholas Braun Is Playing Both Jim Henson and Andy Kaufman in 'SNL 1975'". LateNighter. Archived from the original on August 8, 2024. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
Kroll, Justin (March 12, 2024). "'SNL 1975' Origin Movie Adds Andrew Barth Feldman, Kaia Gerber And Finn Wolfhard To Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 12, 2024. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
Kroll, Justin (March 25, 2024). "J.K. Simmons, Billy Bryk & Joe Chrest Among Final Additions To Jason Reitman's 'SNL 1975'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 25, 2024. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
Kroll, Justin (March 29, 2024). "SNL 1975: Willem Dafoe To Play David Tebet In Origin Movie". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 29, 2024. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
Gajewski, Ryan (March 28, 2024). "Jon Batiste to Score, Appear in Jason Reitman Film SNL 1975 (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 28, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
Gajewski, Ryan (April 12, 2024). "SNL 1975: Muna's Naomi McPherson to Make Acting Debut With Jason Reitman Film (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 12, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
Grobar, Matt (June 14, 2024). "Leander Suleiman Joins 'SNL 1975' As Comedy Writer Anne Beatts". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 15, 2024. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
"Seeking Core Background for Sony Pictures Feature Film SNL 1975". Lead Casting Call. January 28, 2024. Archived from the original on January 30, 2024. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
"Production Weekly – Issue 1391 – Thursday, February 29, 2024 / 178 Listings – 38 Pages". Production Weekly. February 29, 2024. Archived from the original on March 2, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
"Now Filming In Georgia". www.georgia.org. Archived from the original on November 22, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
Davids, Brian (March 13, 2024). "Finn Wolfhard Talks Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, The Grandeur of Stranger Things 5 and SNL 1975". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 13, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 30, 2024). "Jason Reitman's 'Saturday Night' Will Go Platform Before Wide Fall Expansion – Update". Deadline. Archived from the original on July 31, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 13, 2024). "TIFF Adds 20 More Movies To Lineup With 'Saturday Night', Jacob Elordi & Daisy Edgar-Jones' 'On Swift Horses', Max Minghella's 'Shell', 'Megalopolis' & More". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 13, 2024. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
Hammond, Pete (August 29, 2024). "Telluride Film Festival Lineup Includes 'Saturday Night', 'The Piano Lesson', 'Conclave' & 'Nickel Boys' World Premieres". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 29, 2024. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
"Domestic 2024 Weekend 39". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on October 1, 2024. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
Goldsmith, Jill (September 29, 2024). "Jason Reitman's Saturday Night Pops In Limited Opening That's Best In Months, In Top Two For Year – Specialty Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 1, 2024. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
"Domestic 2024 Weekend 40". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
"Saturday Night". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
"Saturday Night". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
Lee, Benjamin (September 12, 2024). Viner, Katharine (ed.). "Saturday Night review – tedious SNL origins tale is an unfunny misfire". The Guardian. eISSN 1756-3224. ISSN 0261-3077. OCLC 60623878. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
External links
Official website
Saturday Night at IMDb
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Jason Reitman
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Films by Gil Kenan
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Saturday Night Live
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Categories: 2024 films2020s American filmsAmerican biographical filmsAmerican black comedy filmsAmerican comedy-drama filmsColumbia Pictures filmsFilms about actorsFilms about comediansFilms about televisionFilms about writersFilms directed by Jason ReitmanFilms with screenplays by Jason ReitmanFilms with screenplays by Gil KenanFilms produced by Jason ReitmanFilms set in 1975Films set in New York CityFilms shot in AtlantaFilms shot in 16 mm filmCultural depictions of actorsCultural depictions of comediansSaturday Night LiveSony Pictures filmsFilms shot in New York CityFilms set in the 1970s
Saturday Night is a 2024 American biographical comedy drama thriller film[2] directed by Jason Reitman, about the night of the 1975 premiere of NBC`s Saturday Night, later known as Saturday Night Live.

Directed by Jason Reitman
Written by Gil Kenan & Jason Reitman
Cast: Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennott, Cory Michael Smith, Ella Hunt, Dylan O`Brien, Emily Fairn, Matt Wood, Lamorne Morris, Kim Matula, Finn Wolfhard, Nicholas Braun, Cooper Hoffman, Andrew Barth Feldman, Kaia Gerber, Tommy Dewey, Willem Dafoe, Matthew Rhys, J.K. Simmons
Sony Pictures has launched a brand new trailer for Jason Reitman’s ‘Saturday Night.’

At 11:30 pm on October 11, 1975, a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers changed television – and culture – forever.

Directed by Jason Reitman and written by Gil Kenan & Reitman, the movie is based on the true story of what happened behind the scenes in the 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast of Saturday Night Live. Full of humour, chaos, and the magic of a revolution that almost wasn’t, we count down the minutes in real time until we hear those famous words…

The movie stars Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennott, Cory Michael Smith, Ella Hunt, Dylan O’Brien, Emily Fairn, Matt Wood, Lamorne Morris, Kim Matula, Finn Wolfhard, Nicholas Braun, Cooper Hoffman, Andrew Barth Feldman, Kaia Gerber, Tommy Dewey, Willem Dafoe
Matthew Rhys, J.K. Simmons. Also rounding out the ensemble cast are Jon Batiste and Naomi McPherson.

Also in trailers – “It sounded like an animal…” Teaser trailer drops for Leigh Whannell’s ‘Wolf Man’
"We're 90 minutes of live television by a group of 20-year-olds who have never made anything!" Uh oh. Ha ha. Sony Pictures has revealed a second official trailer for the Saturday Night movie, a new film from director Jason Reitman. This first premiered at the 2024 Telluride Film Festival last weekend to glowing reviews and it's also playing in Toronto right now. Don't write this off! Reviews are effusive so far! It's set to be one of this year's top comedies. At 11:30pm on October 11, 1975, a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers changed TV forever. Find out what happened in the 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast of Saturday Night Live. The cast features Gabriel LaBelle as Lorne Michaels, Rachel Sennott as Rosie Shuster, Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase, Ella Hunt as Gilda Radner, and Dylan O’Brien as Dan Aykroyd, with Emily Fairn, Matt Wood, Lamorne Morris, Kim Matula, Finn Wolfhard, Nicholas Braun, Cooper Hoffman, Andrew Barth Feldman, Kaia Gerber, Tommy Dewey, Willem Dafoe, Matthew Rhys, and J.K. Simmons. The more they show, the more excited I am to watch. A ticking clock look back at the chaotic moments before live comedy was about to change forever. "The revolution begins."

Here's the second official trailer for Jason Reitman's film Saturday Night, direct from Sony's YouTube:

Saturday Night Film

Saturday Night Film

You can rewatch the first trailer for Reitman's Saturday Night film right here or this behind-the-scenes.

At 11:30pm on October 11, 1975, a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers changed television – and culture – forever. Directed by Jason Reitman and co-written by Gil Kenan & Reitman, Saturday Night is based on the true story of what happened behind the scenes in the very last 90 minutes leading up to the very first broadcast of Saturday Night Live. Full of humor, and chaos, and the magic of a revolution that almost wasn't, we count down the minutes in real time until we'll hear those famous words... Saturday Night, formerly known as SNL 1975 while filming, is directed by acclaimed Canadian writer / filmmaker Jason Reitman, director of the movies Thank You for Smoking, Juno, Up in the Air, Young Adult, Labor Day, Men Women & Children, Tully, The Front Runner, Ghostbusters: Afterlife previously. The screenplay is written by Gil Kenan (director of Monster House, City of Ember, A Boy Called Christmas, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire) & Jason Reitman. Produced by​​​ Jason Blumenfeld, Peter Rice, Jason Reitman, Gil Kenan. This just premiered at the 2024 Telluride Film Festival and it is also showing at TIFF this fall. Sony Pictures will debut Reitman's Saturday Night movie in limited US theaters first starting September 27th, 2024, before expanding to theaters nationwide on October 11th, 2024 coming soon this fall. Still looking good?
Live from New York, it’s the first Saturday night! The trailer for Jason Reitman’s “Saturday Night” has been released, and with it comes a nerve-wracking look at the chaotic 90 minutes that led up to the first “SNL” broadcast. Reitman and Gil Kenan penned the screenplay together.

The trailer for the film finds SNL executive producer Lorne Michaels, played by “The Fabelmans” breakout Gabriel LaBelle, fighting tooth and nail to get the show off the ground smoothly. It doesn’t seem to be going well. Standing in his way are unpredictable cast members and nagging studio executives. At one point Michaels yells with passion: “NBC is lucky enough to have something as relevant as this show!”

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The first broadcast of “SNL” took place on Oct. 11, 1975. The episode was hosted by comedian George Carlin and featured musical guests Billy Preston and Janis Ian. Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, Michael O’Donoghue and Gilda Radner were all featured on the episode. George Coe, who did not appear as a cast member afterwards, also appeared on the show’s first episode.

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Dick Ebersol developed the show and hired Michaels as showrunner. Michaels still produces, and “SNL” is set to air its 50th season starting in the fall.

Alongside LaBelle, the film’s ensemble cast includes Dylan O’Brien (Aykroyd), Cory Michael Smith (Chase), Rachel Sennott (Rosie Shuster), Lamorne Morris (Morris), Nicholas Braun (Jim Henson), Finn Wolfhard (an NBC page), Jon Batiste (Preston), Ella Hunt (Radnor), Cooper Hoffman (Ebersol), Andrew Barth Feldman (Neil Levy), Naomi McPherson (Ian), Willem Dafoe (David Tebet), J.K. Simmons (Milton Berle) and Kaia Gerber (Jacqueline Carlin), among others.

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“Saturday Night” releases in theaters Oct. 11, 2024 from Sony Pictures. Watch the trailer below.

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Saturday Night