Jason Reitman‘s ‘Saturday Night‘: A Chaotic Dance of Genius
Gather ‘round, folks! We’ve got a delightful dish served hot out of the cinema oven, and it’s sizzling with star-studded anecdotes and a sprinkle of nostalgia. Jason Reitman, the man with the cinematic lineage that would make even the most cautious of star offspring a little jelly, is back and he’s turning the spotlight onto a titanic moment in television history with his latest film, ‘Saturday Night’.
Now, if you’ve ever wondered what the chaotic blend of creativity feels like in the minutes leading up to greatness, Jason’s got your ticket! He’s promising a firsthand look at the ninety minutes leading up to the inaugural episode of ‘Saturday Night Live‘, a time when a gaggle of young, untested talents were about to change the course of comedy forever. It all went down on October 11, 1975 – history’s very own highlight reel!
“I point the camera at the moment of creation: what does it feel like when something brilliant enters our universe?” – Jason Reitman
Oh, and let’s not forget that his illustrious father was behind Ghostbusters! It’s almost as if the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. It rolled a bit, but that’s okay! Reitman, in an interview with Adnkronos, didn’t just stop there – he mused about a generation of creators who took the reins of television, much like a rebellious teenager commandeering the family car for an unsanctioned joyride. Without a map, of course!
Reitman calls this film his “most difficult and most rewarding” project. And who can argue? Creating such a frenzy of behind-the-scenes chaos must be like herding kittens while performing a magic trick – no small feat, I assure you. The magic lies in getting 80 actors to dance like a well-orchestrated flash mob while the camera pirouettes around them. Talk about a multitasking nightmare!
Now, let’s take a moment to admire the ensemble cast – a lineup that reads like a who’s who of future legends and current cult favorites. We have the likes of Gabriel LaBelle, Dylan O’Brien, and even Willem Dafoe, who, let’s be honest, could probably steal the show just by showing up with the right expression. Not to mention, there’s JK Simmons – who could quite possibly teach us all about ‘acting at a 10’ with that booming voice of his.
Reitman also says that while comedy may seem like a juggler’s act in a world increasingly cautious of political correctness, he believes that it’s more important than ever to embrace satire. What else do we have, if not to laugh at the absurdities of life? Without comedy, many conversations would wither away faster than a forgotten cat in a shelter.
So, as you gear up for a peak into the time capsule that brought us characters and sketches we still reference today, keep in mind – this film isn’t just about one moment. It’s about the sheer magic of collaboration that sparks something incredible. After all, it’s not just about the actors, writers, or comedians; it’s about that glorious chaos we call creativity.
Mark your calendars, everyone! From October 21 to 23, ‘Saturday Night’ will be hitting theatres, and I suggest you grab those tickets faster than a cat running from a bath. Who knows? You might just find a bit of that legendary chaos in your own life, and don’t we all need that?
“With ‘Saturday Night’ I talk about actors, comedians and writers who have made history, remembering how something great can be created by being in a group, be it a musical, a school play or a school trip. And it is in this sphere that our humanity comes out.” As Jason Reitman talks about his latest film in the Adnkronos interviewwhich takes its name from the well-known American show, premiered at the 19th edition of the Rome Film Festival. At the cinema as a special event from 21 to 23 October with Eagle Pictures, the Sony Pictures film recounts the ninety minutes that preceded the broadcast of the first episode of ‘Saturday Night Live’ on October 11, 1975. “I point the camera at the moment of creation: what does it feel like when something brilliant enters our universe?”, explains the director, who asks himself: ‘a moment before SNL aired for the first time this group of young talents, did you know that the culture would soon change?
For Reitman, son of the great director of ‘Ghostbusters – Ghostbusters’, “it was an opportunity to reflect on a generation that took television out of the hands of the older generation to create something revolutionary, which until then we had only seen in music with Woodstock”. ‘Saturday Night’ is the “most difficult and most rewarding film I’ve ever made,” admits Reitman. “The difficulty was creating this chaos behind the scenes that looks like a choreographed dance with 80 actors and the camera ‘danced’ with them”.
From the 70s to today the show has never betrayed its identity between comedy and chaos, becoming a cult: “today I believe that satire makes itself felt, despite political correctness. Without comedy we wouldn’t have the opportunity to talk about topics or characters we’re terrified of talking about”, concludes Reitman. The film boasts a cast of very young people and cinema icons: Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennott, Cory Michael Smith, Ella Hunt, Dylan O’Brien, Emily Fairn, Matt Wood, Lamorne Morris, Kim Matula, Finn Wolfhard, Nicholas Braun, Cooper Hoffman, Andrew Barth Feldman, Kaia Gerber, Tommy Dewey, Willem Dafoe, Matthew Rhys and JK Simmons.
