The Jason Reitman film Saturday Night gave us a look at the story behind the comedy institution that is Saturday Night Live and Lorne Michaels was presented as the unsung hero who brought all the difficult elements together right at 11:30 for a crude, but landmark culture bomb. This past year saw documentaries for comedy legends such as John Candy and Chevy Chase (and a Martin Short doc is also on the way), but Focus Features now brings us a rare look into the life of Michaels with the documentary Lorne.
The trailer touts that this is the first, last and only documentary that Lorne Michaels will ever do. Naturally, many of the interviews will feature a bevy of SNL cast members and writers. Morgan Neville directs and produces, while Lauren Belfer joins him as producer on the film. Check it out in the embed above!
The official synopsis reads,
“From Morgan Neville, Academy Award-winning filmmaker of 20 FEET FROM STARDOM and WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR, comes LORNE, an unprecedented, behind-the-scenes glimpse at the man who built the inimitable empire of comedy, shaping television and culture for generations. The documentary features exclusive footage, archival treasures, and candid interviews with the show’s most iconic cast members and writers including Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph, John Mulaney, Andy Samberg, Conan O’Brien, Chris Rock and many more.”
The Lorne Michaels documentary marks another collaboration between the SNL creator and Morgan Neville, after Neville executive-produced last year’s SNL: 50: Beyond Saturday Night, a Peacock series about the decades-old sketch comedy show. Michaels’ talents and contributions to the entertainment industry extend beyond Saturday Night Live, as he’s also the producer of The Tonight Show, Wayne’s World, Mean Girls, and The Three Amigos!, which he co-wrote with Steve Martin and Randy Newman. Additionally, Michaels produced The Kids in the Hall, the beloved Canadian sketch show that had a more abstract kind of humor for Gen Xers than something like Saturday Night Live.
Focus Features is set to release Lorne only in theaters on Friday, April 17.
Are you excited about this documentary? Will you be checking it out in theaters? Sound off below!
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