The behind-the-scenes drama, the high-stakes potential for disaster, the tussling egos, the promise of cultural impact or risk of ignominy: it’s not surprising that live television holds an enduring fascination for film-makers. For the most part, however, it has been news events and weighty current affairs programmes that get the big screen treatment, in films such as Ron Howard’s Frost/Nixon, George Clooney’s Good Night, and Good Luck, and the excellent forthcoming September 5, by Tim Fehlbaum.
Jason Reitman’s latest picture, Saturday Night, argues that comedy can make history too, particularly if, as in the case of the very first edition of Saturday Night Live, the cast are fighting, the green room is awash with cocaine, the studio heads are threatening to pull the plug, and there’s a llama backstage and nobody can remember why.
