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Posts tagged as saturday night live

Lost Roles

The Lost 'SNL' Cast Members: Part 1 (1975-1995)

by | April 18th, 2013

"Lost Roles" is a weekly column exploring "what might have been" in movie and TV comedy as we examine close casting calls, abandoned projects, and other things that never came to be. This week, we're closing out the column after 2+ years by taking a look at bunch of comedians who almost became SNL cast members during the first 20 years of the show's history. The last "Lost Roles" column, tracking near-miss SNL cast members from 1995 to the present, will run next week.

Ever since Chevy Chase and John Belushi each starred in hit movies, Foul Play and Animal House, in the summer of '78, Saturday Night Live [...]

Reviews

'SNL' Review: Vince Vaughn's Forgettable Night

by | April 15th, 2013

It seems a little unfair how unexcited viewers were headed into last weekend's episode of Saturday Night Live, hosted by Vince Vaughn. The Swingers and Wedding Crashers star is a reliably funny guy, and his fast-talking wiseass personality really should have been enough to build a strong episode around. Sure, Vaughn doesn't have a movie coming out until the summer, but the cross-promotional component to SNL has never seemed important to us before.

Yet the night had the energy of the ninth hour of a telethon. Even Vaughn seemed to sense it based on the way he worked the room during the monologue, dishing out hack crowd-work schtick and holding one man's [...]

From the Archives

Watching 'Not Necessarily Television' Skewer 1985's Pop Culture

by | April 12th, 2013

The Paley Center for Media, which has locations in both New York and LA, dedicates itself to the preservation of television and radio history. Inside their vast archives of more than 120,000 television shows, commercials, and radio programs, there are thousands of important and funny programs waiting to be rediscovered by comedy nerds like you and me. Each week, this column will highlight a new gem waiting for you at the Paley Library to quietly laugh at. (Seriously, it’s a library, so keep it down.)

Not long ago on the site, writer Nell Scovell wrote about her early experiences in "the greatest Writer's Room you've never heard of," [...]

Reviews

‘SNL’ Review: Melissa McCarthy Breaks the Rules

by | April 8th, 2013

"Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels." – Former Texas Gov. Ann Richards at the 1988 Democratic Convention.

When it comes to SNL, we rarely delve too deeply into a host's delivery. There are so many moving parts to the production of an SNL episode — last-minute rewrites and prop construction and wardrobe quick changes — that a host has but a narrow range within which to succeed or fail. They either fit nicely into the machine, like Alec Baldwin or Justin Timberlake, or, like Justin Bieber or Jennifer Lawrence, they clatter around within it like a forgotten wrench under the [...]

Promos

Watch Melissa McCarthy and Taran Killam Promo This Week's 'SNL'

by | April 3rd, 2013

After nearly a full month off the air, Saturday Night Live returns this week with host Melissa McCarthy and musical guest Phoenix. Here's McCarthy goofing around with her fellow Groundlings alum Taran Killam to get the word out about the show and about how weird Taran Killam's running style is.

SNL

New Sketches in an Old Package: 22 Examples of New 'SNL' Content that Debuted in Reruns

by | April 17th, 2013

Reruns of Saturday Night Live are usually edited somewhat from the original live broadcasts.  These edits are often just minor fixes of technical issues and improvements to the sound mix, but throughout the show’s history, the reruns have also cut entire sketches, or replaced them with dress rehearsal performances.

On rare occasions, a repeat of Saturday Night Live will feature new content.  This usually happens when another segment is cut from the rerun, and something is needed to fill time.  In the earlier seasons, sketches would often be added from different week’s shows, but even as early as Season 2, original content has turned up in an SNL rerun.  [...]

comedy photography

Meet the Photographer Behind 'SNL's Opening Credits and Host Bumper Photos

by | April 12th, 2013

Ever wondered how they film they go about filming SNL's opening credits? Or those host photos that appear onscreen every time the show comes back from commercial? WBEZ has an interview with Mary Ellen Matthews, SNL's official photographer. She's been on the show since 1993 and dives deep into how the credits/photos for the show come together.

Begrudging Respect

Zabadooo! The Comedy of Adam Sandler

by | April 10th, 2013

During interviews for the 2009 feature film Funny People Judd Apatow, who shared an apartment with Adam Sandler in Los Angeles during the late 80s before they made it, often said that Sandler was one of the funniest people he knew. So funny, in fact, that he started tape recording the prank phone calls Sandler would make to keep for posterity. It was one of those phone calls that Apatow used in the opening scene of Funny People.

In this brief clip, we see why Apatow was keen on capturing the moment and why he was so confident that Sandler would go on to be a big star. Adopting [...]

SNL

It Worked Better: Dress Rehearsal Replacements in 'SNL' Reruns

by | April 5th, 2013

The first Debbie Downer sketch on Saturday Night Live in May 2004 was a surprise hit, largely because of the cast’s inability to finish the sketch without breaking character, so it was expected that the character would be brought back for SNL’s season premiere in October. Unlike the first time around, the cast and host Ben Affleck managed to get through the sketch without laughing; the audience response was also comparatively tepid and the sketch came across as a disappointment. When the show was repeated, the rehearsal take was used, featuring the corpsing that made the first Debbie Downer sketch so enjoyable and a better response from the audience.

[...]
Interviews

Talking With 'SNL' Writer and '7 Minutes in Heaven' Host Michael Patrick O'Brien

by | April 2nd, 2013

Michael Patrick O'Brien is well into his fourth season as a writer for Saturday Night Live, a job he landed after spending years honing his comedy skills at Chicago's iO and Second City theaters. In addition to SNL and working on an upcoming sketch comedy album, O'Brien also hosts the popular web series "7 Minutes in Heaven," where he does bits and locks lips (or awkwardly tries to, at least) with stars such as Ellen Degeneres, Tina Fey, and the Insane Clown Posse. We had a chance to catch up with him about this season of SNL, specifically his appearance in the recent "Five Timers Club" sketch and [...]

TV

Lorne Michaels Isn't Leaving 'SNL' Anytime Soon

by | April 17th, 2013

"I’ll do it as long as I possibly can," said longtime SNL head honcho Lorne Michaels about his future with the show at a Radio and Television Society luncheon yesterday. He added, "I think that there will be a day when I’ll look at it and say I don’t have the edge I used to." SNL's current and previous head writer, Seth Meyers and Tina Fey, have each said recently that the long-running, iconic sketch show should end when Michaels eventually chooses to retire.

At the event, Michaels barely spoke about Jimmy Fallon's impending takeover of The Tonight Show, which he will produce. He only commented on [...]

Previews

Watch Vince Vaughn and Bobby Moynihan Promo Tomorrow's 'SNL'

by | April 12th, 2013

Vince Vaughn is hosting SNL tomorrow with musical guest Miguel, and here he is with cast member Bobby Moynihan trying to convince you to watch the show. An episode hosted by Vaughn's doppelganger Vinnie (Jay Pharoah) who only says Vince Vaughn movie titles actually sounds pretty awesome.

SNL

Saturday Night's Children: Jim Belushi (1983-1985)

by | April 9th, 2013

Saturday Night Live has been home to over a hundred cast members throughout the past 37 years. In our column Saturday Night’s Children, we present the history, talent, and best sketches of one SNL cast member each week for your viewing, learning, and laughing pleasure.

While he's recognizable for his raspy voice and portly Chicagoan frame, Jim Belushi will forever be stuck in the shadow of his legendary older brother. Jim's arrival at SNL was less than two years after John's death and at one of the worst times to join the cast, yet whether in spite of or because of his name, he came to SNL already armed [...]

SNL

Saturday Night's Children: Rich Hall (1984-1985)

by | April 3rd, 2013

Saturday Night Live has been home to over a hundred cast members throughout the past 37 years. In our column Saturday Night’s Children, we present the history, talent, and best sketches of one SNL cast member each week for your viewing, learning, and laughing pleasure.

While Rich Hall's biggest claim to fame to younger Americans is being the inspiring force behind the grumpy bartender Moe Szyslak on The Simpsons, for those old enough to remember watching Fridays, Not Necessarily the News, and Dick Ebersol's era of Saturday Night Live, Hall was a prolific young street performer-turned-writer/performer who skyrocketed the term "sniglet" to fame throughout the eighties and starred [...]

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