Lamorne Morris went against the wishes of “Saturday Night Live” director Jason Reitman when he met with original cast member Garrett Morris, who plays him in the upcoming film about the origins of the hit comedy show.
You see, Reitman wasn’t thrilled about the film’s massive cast—Gabriel LaBelle as Lorne Michaels, Rachel Sennott as writer Rosie Schuster, Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase, Ella Hunt as Golda Radner, and Dylan O’Brien as Dan Aykroyd—interacting with their on-screen counterparts before production. “Saturday Night,” which premieres Tuesday at the Toronto Film Festival, takes place entirely on the night of the premiere of “Saturday Night Live.”
“Garrett said he was going through similar things to what I was going through in my career, so it was easy to empathize with that ‘fish out of water’ feeling,” he said. “So, I wanted to make sure that was what Garrett was really feeling. I’m so grateful that I did what I had to do.”
Although only a few actors heeded this advice, Reitman, the director of “Juno” and “Up in the Air,” remains committed to his mission for actors.
“The homework was not to prepare, because at the end of the day, the idea is to capture one part of the character,” he said in Varieties Toronto Film Festival Studio, presented by J. Crew and SharkNinja. “You can’t really replicate a person 100% — especially in a group like this. The hardest thing is how do you get along as a group?”
“When I say, ‘Don’t prepare,’ I know everyone will already prepare a lot,” he adds. “I’m just trying to get them to back off to a certain extent.”
Saturday Night Live has a rich history, serving as a launchpad for some of Hollywood's biggest comedians and entertainers and lasting nearly 50 years, but the movie covers almost none of that. Instead, the film's countdown, set in 1975, covers the 90 eventful minutes leading up to Saturday Night Live's premiere.
“I've always been fascinated by these moments when greatness appears in the world. It's like a Peter Jackson documentary. [‘Get Back’] “About the Beatles,” Reitman said, “what was it like when some of the songs were written? And ‘Saturday Night Live’ is more than a cultural institution. I’ve always wondered… what was it like to be in that room while they were counting down to go live?”
LaBelle, 21, who portrayed a young Steven Spielberg in the director's semi-autobiographical film “The Fabelmans” before taking over as the famed executive producer on “SNL,” admits that required Michaels was supposed to talk to Wrightman, but declined because Wrightman “didn't think it was a good idea,” LaBelle added. “It took him a while to grieve.”
Hunt interjected, “Mourning Lauren's absence? Sorry.”
“Exactly. That was great,” LaBelle said, emphasizing his co-star’s rhyme. Instead, he turned to published scripts to flesh out the quiet comedy guru that fans have come to know. “I read books and interviews. The internet is full of stuff.” LaBelle eventually met Michaels, but not until after production wrapped. “My idea of Lorne was that he was in his 20s,” he said. “It was a relief that I didn’t have to meet him before filming and try to understand him in the present because he’s a different guy.”
Since “Saturday Night” takes place before Chevy Chase, Gilda Radner, John Belushi, Lorne Michaels and company were household names, the cast focused on capturing their moments on the brink of fame.
“It was liberating, not having to think about them 10 years later, or even about them once they were affected by fame,” Hunt said. Since Radner died of ovarian cancer in 1989, Hunt instead spoke with key collaborator and close friend comedian Alan Zweibel. He co-wrote one of Radner’s most famous characters, Roseanne Roseanna.
“Their writing partnership was so strong and loving,” Hunt said. “Best friends share a delicate sense of humor at times. There were things in Alan’s composure and the way Alan communicated with me that I thought about while playing Gilda.”
Sennott admits she reached out to Shuster, the writer who was married to Michaels from 1967 to 1980. The comedian, now 74, gave Sennott ideas on how to stay calm in the storm of live television.
“She’s so cool under pressure, and I’m not like that at all. I’m anxious, and I panic very easily,” Sinnott said. “It’s amazing to walk into a situation like that. All this chaos going on around you, [she’s] Like, “I don't care. Fuck this.”
In the end, it seemed that only a few stars responded to Reitman's request. “I didn't do much preparation,” O'Brien said, to the group's laughter. “Yeah, I was the only one who did homework by not doing homework.
Meanwhile, Smith was working “from a place of fear and terror” as he prepared to play Chevy Chase.
“I would have ruined my career if I tried to do that,” he said. “I just compulsively watched Chevy Chase for two months. There’s only so much Chevy I could watch. I could try to embody what he does and emulate it, but we spend so much time in this movie watching these people who aren’t performing, who are living.”
While filming “Saturday Night,” the cast did not have trailers, and gathered in a “large common area” equipped with 1970s-era furniture, ping-pong tables and board games, as well as dressing rooms designed specifically for their characters. There was also a TV on set that played the first season of “SNL” on repeat.
“Well, I wanted ’70s television in general to be what you watch while you’re there,” Reitman told his crew. He hoped they would unconsciously absorb the spirit of the actors who weren’t ready for live television. As the director saw it: “Gilda was magic dust, and Garrett was searching for his identity. Chevy is the ego that needs to be humbled. Aykroyd is this genius who’s like filtering a fire hose through a straw. Each one of them has their own spirit.” [actor] They had one thing to focus on and that was their journey.
