First Look Photos: “Saturday Night”

By
Garth Franklin
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Sony Pictures

The first official photos are out from Jason Reitman’s SNL launch night project “Saturday Night” which will hit cinemas on October 11th via Sony Pictures.

Reitman directs from a script co-written with Gil Kenan and based on a true story. The real-time film follows the behind-the-scenes events in the 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast of “Saturday Night Live” in 1975.

Vanity Fair published the photos and Reitman says it’s not about the key cast but rather the whole production:

“This is about not only the first seven actors, but the writers, the art department, and everybody who came together at the last second to change television. What was so unusual about this show was not only that it was live, but the format was unlike anything anyone had ever seen before.”

The packed cast, many of which can be seen in the photos, includes Gabriel LaBelle (Lorne Michaels), Dylan O’Brien (Dan Akroyd), Cory Michael Smith (Chevy Chase), Rachel Sennott (Rosie Shuster), Lamorne Morris (Garrett Morris), Nicholas Braun (Jim Henson & Andy Kaufman), Jon Batiste (Billy Preston), Ella Hunt (Gilda Radnor), Cooper Hoffman (Dick Ebersol), Andrew Barth Feldman (Neil Levy), Naomi McPherson (Janis Ian), Willem Dafoe (David Tebet), J.K. Simmons (Milton Berle), Kaia Gerber (Jacqueline Carlin), and Matthew Rhys (George Carlin) among others.

Jason Blumenfeld, Peter Rice, Reitman and Gil Kenan produce. The film comes as the main series launches its 50th season this Fall. Reitman directs from a screenplay he co-wrote with Gil Kenan.