Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1532181
By Peter Tonguette C haos, commotion, contention, and a whole lot of comedy converged on the night of October 11, 1975. That night, NBC broadcast a sketch comedy program that boasted a cast of boundary-pushing, little-known eccentrics, multiple musical acts, one famous but un- happy host, the controversial presence of the Muppets, and language, subject matter, and innuendo that tiptoed over the line of what was decent (or, at least, what the network was willing to air). Oh, and it was all scheduled to air live. The mayhem may not have been visible to t h o s e w h o t u n e d i n to t h e p re m i e re episode of NBC's "Saturday Night" (SNL's original title), but it is at the center of one of the most distinctive releases of last fall's movie season. Director Jason Reitman's "Saturday Night" parachutes the viewer into the in- nards of NBC's Studio 8H on the momentous occasion of the airing of the first episode of the comedy series, which is presently in the midst of its 50th season. Back then, howev- er, the show's future classic status was far from assured. At every turn, Reitman, who co-wrote the screenplay with Gil Kenan, underscores the creative pandemonium that surrounded the effort to make the debut a success. Unfolding in the hour-and-a-half or so before Chevy Chase exclaimed "Live from New York — it's 'Saturday Night'!" to those who had tuned in, the film pokes around the nooks and crannies of Studio 8H. (The studio was recreated on a soundstage in Atlanta.) Inhabiting this space are a gaggle of memorable characters: future "SNL" stars, including Chevy Chase (Cory Michael Smith), Dan Aykroyd (D ylan O'Brien), Gilda Radner (Ella Hunt), John Belushi (Matt Wood), and Garrett Morris (Lam- orne Morris, no relation); producer Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) and his wife, writer Rosie Shuster (Rachel Sennott); and NBC executive Dick Ebersol (Cooper Hoffman). Adding to the bedlam are Mup- pets creator Jim Henson (Nicholas Braun), p e r fo r m a n ce - a r t i s t - s t y l e co m i c A n d y Kaufman (Braun, again), and that unhappy first host, stand-up comic George Carlin (Matthew Rhys). In time, the "SNL" cast would gain the moniker "Not Ready For Prime-Time Players," but to bring the antic vision of "Saturday Night" to the screen, Reitman relied on a group of very ready-for-prime- time postproduction professionals. C i n e M o n t a g e r e c e n t l y s p o k e w i t h several of the most important players on the team, including picture editors Nathan Orloff and Shane Reid; supervising sound editor Lee Gilmore, MPSE; supervising sound editor and dialogue/ADR editor Da- KILLER BEES: Gabriel LaBelle, center, and Matt Wood in "Saturday Night." P H OT O : C O L U M B I A P I C T U R E S 20 C I N E M O N T A G E F E A T U R E THE HEART OF 'SATURDAY NIGHT' BRINGING BACK THE MEMORIES OF 'SNL'S' ORIGIN