The film is a dramatic recreation of the late-night show’s first-ever broadcast in 1975
Jason Reitman‘s forthcoming film about the inaugural broadcast of Saturday Night Live, titled Saturday Night, will be released in theaters Oct. 11 — the same date the late-night sketch show debuted in 1975.
The movie, distributed by Sony, was directed by Reitman and co-written by Reitman and his Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire collaborator Gil Kenan. The script draws from interviews the filmmakers did with cast members, writers, and crew members who worked on the first broadcast of SNL.
Saturday Night is, according an official synopsis, “based on the true story of what happened behind the scenes in the 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast of Saturday Night Live. Full of humor, chaos and the magic of a revolution that almost wasn’t, we count down the minutes in real time to the famous words: ‘Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!’”
The cast includes Gabriel LaBelle as Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels, Dylan O’Brien as Dan Aykroyd, Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase, Ella Hunt as Gilda Radner, Rachel Sennott as Rosie Shuster, Matt Wood as John Belushi, and Lamorne Morris as Garrett Morris. Willem Dafoe, Nicholas Braun, Kaia Gerber, J.K. Simmons, Andrew Barth Feldman, Naomi McPherson, and Finn Wolfhard also star.
Jon Batiste is composing the score and will additionally portray keyboardist and singer Billy Preston, who was the show’s first musical guest alongside Janis Ian.
Saturday Night Live premiered on Oct. 11, 1975 on NBC and was hosted by George Carlin. Andy Kaufman also performed on the episode. The show will debut its 50th season this fall.