Jason Reitman’s ‘SNL’ Movie Debuts Footage

Live from New York, it’s the first Saturday night! The trailer for Jason Reitman’s “Saturday Night” has been released, and with it comes a nerve-wracking look at the chaotic 90 minutes that led up to the first “SNL” broadcast. Reitman and Gil Kenan penned the screenplay together.

The trailer for the film finds SNL executive producer Lorne Michaels, played by “The Fabelmans” breakout Gabriel LaBelle, fighting tooth and nail to get the show off the ground smoothly. It doesn’t seem to be going well. Standing in his way are unpredictable cast members and nagging studio executives. At one point Michaels yells with passion: “NBC is lucky enough to have something as relevant as this show!”

The first broadcast of “SNL” took place on Oct. 11, 1975. The episode was hosted by comedian George Carlin and featured musical guests Billy Preston and Janis Ian. Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, Michael O’Donoghue and Gilda Radner were all featured on the episode. George Coe, who did not appear as a cast member afterwards, also appeared on the show’s first episode.

Dick Ebersol developed the show and hired Michaels as showrunner. Michaels still produces, and “SNL” is set to air its 50th season starting in the fall.

Alongside LaBelle, the film’s ensemble cast includes Dylan O’Brien (Aykroyd), Cory Michael Smith (Chase), Rachel Sennott (Rosie Shuster), Lamorne Morris (Morris), Nicholas Braun (Jim Henson), Finn Wolfhard (an NBC page), Jon Batiste (Preston), Ella Hunt (Radnor), Cooper Hoffman (Ebersol), Andrew Barth Feldman (Neil Levy), Naomi McPherson (Ian), Willem Dafoe (David Tebet), J.K. Simmons (Milton Berle) and Kaia Gerber (Jacqueline Carlin), among others.

“Saturday Night” releases in theaters Oct. 11, 2024 from Sony Pictures. Watch the trailer below.