Gabriel LaBelle had played Steven Spielberg as a teenager in the autobiographical film by the famous director, The Fabelmans. In Saturday Night, directed by Jason Reitman, presented at the Rome Film Festival and released in cinemas, he plays a young Lorne Michaels, the comedy writer who created the television show Saturday Night Live, which aired for the first time on October 11, 1975 on the national channel NBC, and launched the career of legendary comedians such as Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Bill Murray, and many others during the following 50 years to date.
You can read on Best Movie exclusive interview by Elisa Leonelli with Jason Reitman, here in English translation.
Gabriel LaBelle (c) Eric Charbonneau/Sony Pictures
You’re only 22. Did you know the famous comedians on Saturday Night Live before you were cast for this movie?
I’ve always watched the films of Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, I’ve seen on video the best of Will Farrell and Chris Farley. As a Jewish child who grew up in a city in Canada, Vancouver, I knew by heart the song “Hanukkah” written by Adam Sandler. When my parents finally allowed me to stay up until 11.30pm to watch Saturday Night together, while I was already in my pajamas, ready to go to bed, in the cast there were Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Will Forte, Maya Rudolph, Seth Meyers. I was old enough to understand this kind of humor, and I knew that if your parents laugh, it means you can laugh too.
What details did you discover about Lorne Michaels while researching to prepare to play him?
In 1970 and 1971, Lorne had written and starred with Hart Pomerantz in 10 episodes of The Hart and Lorne Terrific Hour, but it was broadcast by the government-run Canadian national channel CBC, so the executives did not allow him to do political satire. This time Lorne was the producer and wanted to put his vision of comedy on television in a show where the writers and comedians of this new generation had the decision-making power, to create this earthly paradise where they could create in complete freedom. The stakes were high and if he failed it would be the end of his dream. Lorne had a clear vision in which he believed wholeheartedly what he wanted to create with these other young artists, even though he couldn’t put it into words with NBC executives. The film only examines those frantic 90 minutes of preparation, when they do not know for sure whether the show they have been preparing for weeks will be broadcast or not.
What did you learn from experienced filmmakers like Steven Spielberg and Jason Reitman?
I didn’t expect to be able to play these two roles in three years, and to work with brilliant, intelligent artists like Steven and Jason, who know exactly what they want, work fast and efficiently, and at the same time create this familiar environment where everyone is grateful to be on set. It’s crazy that I was in the right place at the right time, and I learned a lot from these two filmmakers, who are also the most likable people on the face of the earth. It’s the best thing that could have happened to a young actor like me.
Written on October 18 for Voilà Facebook. Read here original Italian text