The Chaotic True Story Behind the 'SNL' Movie 'Saturday Night'

10/12/2024 11:00 AM

“Saturday Night” hit theaters everywhere on Friday, taking fans back to the very beginning of one of NBC’s most famous shows. But, is it a true story?

Directed by Jason Reitman, the film tells the story of the 90 minutes leading up to the very first episode of “Saturday Night Live.” It’s total chaos, with the crew openly revolting against producer Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle), the content of the show itself still being nailed down, and studio execs simply counting on it to fail.

A lot of the film is rooted in reality, but, like many true stories put on screen, there is some fictionalizing that happens.

Let’s break it down what’s fact and what’s fiction in the “SNL” movie.

Is “Saturday Night” based on a true story?

On the whole, yes. Reitman talked to many, many people involved with the debut of “SNL” to get a real sense of what that first night was like. And of course, he has his own relationship with Dan Aykroyd thanks to the “Ghostbusters” films. Getting a true sense of everything was important to Reitman.

"When you love something as much as 'Saturday Night Live,' all you want to do is honor it," he recently told TheWrap. "Make a film out of love. You want people to feel what it's like to be on the floor of 8H, and to see the exhilaration of people as they walk out of the theater makes me really happy."

Which parts of “Saturday Night” are actually true?

Well, obviously, Lorne Michaels was indeed the creator and producer, and still is. But in the movie, he’s shown as the planned anchor for Weekend Update before he hands it off to Chevy Chase (Cory Michael Smith). That part is true. What isn’t true is that it happened just seconds before they went live; the switch happened much earlier.

It’s also true that John Belushi hadn’t signed his contract until right before showtime. In real life, it was five minutes before the show went to air.

In fact, most of the plot points of “Saturday Night” — including Garrett Morris singing a song about killing whities, Chevy Chase’s fiancé appearing in sketches, a love triangle between Dan Aykroyd, Rosie Shuster and Lorne Michaels, the hazing of Jim Henson, and more — are all based in reality.

They definitely didn’t all happen exactly in the 90-minute timeframe the movie is depicting, though.

Are any events in the film flat-out fiction?

There aren’t many, but yes. First and foremost, there’s no public record that Milton Berle, played by J.K. Simmons in the film, was actually hanging out in studio 8H on premiere night.

“The Tonight Show” host Johnny Carson also wasn’t rooting for “SNL” to fail, and he didn’t make a threatening call to Michaels. And speaking of Carson, there’s also no record that Chevy Chase was tapped to replace him.

Other than these, the film largely stays true to real life (albeit with some fudged timing and specifics, as we noted above).

“Saturday Night” is now in theaters everywhere.

The post The Chaotic True Story Behind the ‘SNL’ Movie ‘Saturday Night’ appeared first on TheWrap.