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