Many veterans of Saturday Night Live have talked about the all-nighters and stress that often comes from putting on the weekly sketch show, but that was nothing compared to getting the first ever episode of the historic TV show to air in 1975, as depicted in Jason Reitman's new movie, Saturday Night.
The movie, co-written by Reitman and Gil Kenan, begins 90 minutes before Saturday Night (as it was referred to at the time) is set to air its first-ever episode on October 11, 1975. Young producer Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) must corral his motley crew of writers and actors, get the veteran production crew to help achieve his vision, appease the NBC affiliates itching for him to fail and ultimately define a show that at the time had few comparisons. In addition to LaBelle, bringing many of the iconic names to life are 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 (no relation), Kim Matula as Jane Curtin and Nicholas Braun as Andy Kaufman and Jim Henson. Others in the cast include Rachel Sennott, Cooper Hoffman, Willem Dafoe, Kaia Gerber, Tommy Dewey, Matthew Rhys, Catherine Curtin, Jon Batiste and J.K. Simmons.
