The Fabelmans star Gabriel LaBelle will play Saturday Night Live! creator Lorne Michael in filmmaker Jason Reitman’s upcoming movie SNL 1975. The film, penned by Reitman and Gil Kenan, is about the early days of the long-running late-night comedy sketch show, reported entertainment news outlet Deadline.
The movie will also feature actor Cooper Hoffman of Licorice Pizza fame as former NBC executive Dick Ebersol, while Rachel Sennott has been cast as Michaels’ ex-wife Rosie Shuster. Reitman wrote the script with Gil Kenan, based on the pair’s extensive interviews with all of the show’s living cast, scribes and crew.
On October 11, 1975, a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers changed television forever. SNL 1975 is the true story of what happened that night behind the scenes in the moments leading up to the first broadcast of SNL. It depicts the chaos and magic of a revolution that almost wasn’t, counting down the minutes in real time to the infamous words, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!” The screenplay is based on an extensive series of interviews conducted by Reitman and Kenan with all the living cast, writers and crew.
LaBelle, Hoffman, and Sennott are the only cast members announced thus far. Reitman and Kenan are producing the film.