Movie About SNL’s 1975 Premiere Casts Its Not Ready for Primetime Players — See Photos

Andy Swift and Ryan Schwartz
·2-min read

Live from New York, it’s… Jason Reitman’s SNL 1975.

The film, which was written by Reitman (who also will direct) and Gil Kenan based on first-hand accounts of the first-ever Saturday Night Live taping, has enlisted Gabriel LaBelle to play SNL honcho Lorne Michaels, our sister site Deadline reports.

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Best known for starring in Steven Spielberg’s 2022 film The Fabelmans, LaBelle also has several small-screen credits to his name. The young actor has appeared on ABC’s Motive, The CW’s iZombie, Netflix’s Brand New Cherry Flavor and Showtime’s American Gigolo.

From left to right: Gabriel LaBelle (Lorne Michaels), Ella Hunt (Gilda Radner), Emily Fairn (Laraine Newman) & Kim Matula (Jane Curtin) <cite>Getty Images</cite>
From left to right: Gabriel LaBelle (Lorne Michaels), Ella Hunt (Gilda Radner), Emily Fairn (Laraine Newman) & Kim Matula (Jane Curtin) Getty Images

Additionally, the following actors have been cast as the original Not Ready for Primetime Players: Ella Hunt (Dickinson) as Gilda Radner; Emily Fairn (Black Mirror) as Laraine Newman; Kim Matula (L.A. to Vegas) as Jane Curtin; Lamorne Morris (New Girl) as Garrett Morris; Dylan O’Brien (Teen Wolf) as Dan Aykroyd; Cory Michael Smith (Gotham) as Chevy Chase; and Matt Wood (SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical) as John Belushi.

From left to right: Lamorne Morris (Garrett Morris), Dylan O’Brien (Dan Aykroyd), Cory Michael Smith (Chevy Chase) & Matt Wood (John Belushi) <cite>Priscilla Grant, Jason Smith/Everett Collection, courtesy of Matt Wood</cite>
From left to right: Lamorne Morris (Garrett Morris), Dylan O’Brien (Dan Aykroyd), Cory Michael Smith (Chevy Chase) & Matt Wood (John Belushi) Priscilla Grant, Jason Smith/Everett Collection, courtesy of Matt Wood

As previously reported, Cooper Hoffman (Licorice Pizza) will play NBC executive Dick Ebersol, while Rachel Sennott (The Idol) will play SNL writer — and Michaels’ real-life spouse — Rosie Shuster.

As the title suggests, SNL 1975 takes place on Oct. 11, 1975, “where a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers changed television forever,” according to the film’s initial announcement. “This is the true story of what happened that night behind the scenes in the moments leading up to the first SNL broadcast, retelling 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!'”

Have thoughts on the casting of the original SNL crew? Drop a comment with your reactions to the movie below.

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