48 | OCTOBER 10 • 2024 J
N

SNL MOVIE: 15 JEWISH 
CHARACTERS, ONE JEWISH 
ACTOR; APPLE TV+ AND HBO 
NEW SERIES
Saturday Night is a biographical 
comedy-drama that is set in 
1975. It follows the events 
leading to the premiere of the 
first episode of Saturday Night 
(later known as Saturday Night 
Live and/or SNL). The film was 
directed by Jason Reitman, 46. 
He co-wrote the script with Gil 
Kenan, 47. 
Saturday had limited theater 
openings on Sept. 27 and Oct. 
4. It opens “wide” on Oct. 11. 
Reviews by major critics are in. 
You can read review excerpts 
by 24 respected critics on 
Metacritic.com. There were 
some raves (Variety, Rolling 
Stone, others) and many 
“mixed, not so good” reviews 
(Hollywood Reporter, NY Times, 
others). 
Jason Reitman is the son of 
Ivan Reitman (1946-2020). Ivan 
directed many comedy film 
classics, including Ghostbusters 
and Kindergarten Cop. 
Jason Reitman’s big hits 
are Juno (2007) and Up in 
the Air (2009). His more 
recent films haven’t done that 
well. He and Kenan co-wrote 
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) 
and Ghostbusters: Frozen 
Empire (2024). Reitman directed 
Afterlife and Gil Kenan directed 
Frozen. (Afterlife bombed. 
Frozen got OK reviews and 
made a nice profit). 
As I read the SNL movie 
reviews, I was distracted by 
something I noticed before the 
film’s opening. If they gave an 
award for the most non-Jewish 

actors playing Jewish “real-
life” people, the SNL film would 
win hands-down. I counted 30 
named “real-life” SNL movie 
characters and 15 were/are 
Jewish. Only one of the 15 was 
played by a Jewish actor. 
Andrew Barth Feldman, 27, 
is that only “one.” He plays Neil 
Levy, a fairly minor character. 
Levy, 75ish, is a (not prolific) 
writer and producer who is a 
cousin of Lorne Michaels. 
Just below are the 14 “real 
Jews.” Some of the non-
performers are “big” characters 
in the film. If the person’s age is 
not noted, they are deceased. 
Played by non-Jews: Lorne 
Michaels, 79, the star character 
of this film, and the creator/
producer of SNL; Rosie Shuster, 
74. Michaels’ first wife and 
an SNL writer; Gilda Radner, 
original member of the six-
member cast; Laraine Newman, 
72, original cast member; Andy 
Kaufman, important guest 
star; Al Franken, 73, writer 
and sometime performer; Billy 
Crystal, 76. One skit of his 
aired during the 1975 season. 
Later, he starred in one SNL 
season (1980); Paul Shaffer, 74, 
musical director; David Tebet, 
top programming exec; Herb 
Sargent, top producer/comedy 
writer; Anne Beatts, top comedy 

writer who converted to Judaism 
because she loved Jewish 
fiction writers; Audrey Dickman, 
producer; singer Janis Ian, 73; 
and comedian Milton Berle. The 
last two were first season 
guests.
The “list of 14” will always 
cloud my feelings about this film 
and about the filmmakers. I don’t 
want to hear partially rational 
explanations why non-Jews 
played 14 Jews. The filmmakers 
should look within before issuing 
excuses. 
Just consider this: What if 
they made a major film and half 
the characters are Hispanic 
characters — and only one actor 
playing a Hispanic person is 
“really” Hispanic? 
Hell would break out today 
— even if the director and 
screenwriters were Hispanic. 
Disclaimer is a seven-
episode Apple TV+ series that 
premieres on Oct. 11. Premise: 
Cate Blanchett plays a journalist 
famous for uncovering others’ 
misdeeds. She receives a novel 
by an unknown author. This 
novel is really a list of all the bad 
things she’s done. She races to 
find out who knows her secrets 
— secrets that could destroy her 
career and her marriage. Sacha 
Baron Cohen, 52, plays her 
husband.

Catch Up Corner: The 
Franchise, an HBO comedy 
series, premiered on Oct. 6. 
The first season episodes (8) 
will be shown on successive 
Sundays. Here is an official 
press release: “The Franchise 
follows the crew of an unloved 
franchise movie fighting for their 
place in a savage and unruly 
cinematic universe. The comedy 
series shines a light on the 
secret chaos inside the world 
of superhero moviemaking, to 
ask the question — how exactly 
does the cinematic sausage get 
made?” 
Franchise was co-produced 
by Sir Sam Mendes, and he 
directed the series’ first episode. 
Mendes, 59, has been Oscar-
nominated four times for a 
directing Oscar and he’s won 
one (American Beauty). 
Two of the seven Franchise 
main cast actors are Jewish: 
Darren Goldstein, 50, and Aya 
Cash, 42. Goldstein has had 
many smallish TV and film roles, 
but none really stand out. Cash 
was a co-star of the acclaimed 
FX/Hulu series You’re the Worst 
(2014-19) and was a main cast 
member in Welcome to Flatch 
(2022-23), a Fox comedy. Cash’s 
father is Jewish; she was raised 
Jewish, and her husband, writer 
Josh Alexander, 50, is Jewish. 

CELEBRITY NEWS

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

ARTS&LIFE

JESSE GRANT VIA CANADIAN FILM CENTRE 

Jason Reitman
Andrew Barth Feldman

BROADWAY PODCAST NETWORK 

Aya Cash

MINGLE MEDIA TV 

