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The SNL biopic Saturday Night tells the story of the 90 minutes leading up to the premiere of one of the best sketch comedy series. Leading its large ensemble cast is Gabriel LaBelle, who plays Saturday Night Live‘s creator and producer Lorne Michaels. Now, the actor is opening up about playing the icon, how he was able to score tickets to a taping of the real show, and what it was like meeting the man he played.
What’s kind of wild about Saturday Night is it’s a movie that’s about a show that’s still on the air. In fact, Lorne Michaels is still in charge of it. So, I imagine that getting to go to a taping when you are playing people who work or have worked there is wild. Gabriel LaBelle confirmed that during an interview with Indiewire as he opened up about getting to see an episode of the show filmed while they were working on their film. He said:
Our first two days of shooting were in New York, just to shoot outside of 30 Rock, and Lorne was super cool and invited us to watch the Josh Brolin episode live. And so a handful of us, those who live in New York and then those who were just in New York to shoot regardless, we were able to go and check it out. It was really great.
I’m sure it was really great to watch the Emmy Award-winning series live from New York. While they re-created Studio 8H and the events of the first taping for the film, I imagine witnessing the real show in action is a totally different experience.
Not only did Gabriel LaBelle get to see SNL host Josh Brolin and musical guest Ariana Grande live, but he actually got to meet a lot of important people after the show too. Among them was Lorne Michaels himself, as the actor said:
Lorne was there, and I actually got to speak with him briefly after the show. We didn’t say too much to each other. But [director Jason Reitman] was there. Peter Rice, our producer, was there. And Scarlett Johansson, who just did the cold open, was there. [Laughs] And I let them all have a conversation, and I didn’t really need to contribute too much.
I totally get what he’s saying, because if I were in his shoes, I also would have been an awestruck witness to the A-list people chatting amongst themselves.
Now that we know LaBelle saw Michaels at work, I’m wondering if SNL’s head honcho has seen the film. While The Fablemans actor admitted he had no idea if Lorne Michaels has seen Saturday Night yet, Jason Reitman confirmed last month that the SNL creator has not. However, if/when he does, I’d like to hear his thoughts on it, just like how the actor who plays him shared his observations from going to the taping of the sketch series.
So far, critics have had positive things to say about Saturday Night’s ensemble cast bringing these real-life show creators and cast members to life. Gregory Ellwood of The Playlist praised Gabriel LaBelle specifically and felt he “masterfully” carried the movie.
Not only is it cool to be the lead in a movie about SNL’s origins, but getting free tickets to see a live taping of the sketch comedy series and meet its head honcho is a major plus. I’m sure getting to see a live episode in Studio 8H during the production of Saturday Night was a great way for the cast to get inspired and connect with entertainment history.
To see Gabriel LaBelle as Lorne Michaels, you can catch the 2024 movie release in theaters starting October 11. To see what Michaels built and the era of SNL that the young actor got to witness while filming Saturday Night, you can catch Season 50 of Saturday Night Live as it airs on the 2024 TV schedule every Saturday at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC or with a Peacock subscription.