The only people who really know what it’s like to work behind the scenes on a powerhouse program like Saturday Night Live are the veterans who survived that particular “war.” There are so many stories about entertainment battle scars earned on SNL, with sketches behind cut as talented comedians work to find the best recurring characters or a bit that’s going to have legs as a viral sensation. Currently, Jason Reitman has a movie in theaters that tries to capture the magic that goes into bringing Saturday Night Live to life each week. And Rachel Sennott, co-star of Saturday Night, shares some insight of what it was like to be backstage on SNL during the creation of a legendary sketch. Here’s what she told us.
While interviewing the Saturday Night cast about their time working on the movie, I asked Sennott – who has experience as both a writer and a performer – which role she’d like to do on SNL for a full season. Sennott wrote the 2023 comedy Bottoms, in which she also starred, but is also known for appearing in Bodies, Bodies, Bodies (a vastly underappreciated horror movie), and 2020’s Shiva Baby. I wondered if she’d prefer to write or perform on SNL, and her answer involved one classic sketch from Ryan Gosling’s tenure on the show. Sennott told CinemaBlend:
As someone who sees both sides of the process, Rachel Sennott clearly prefers to work on the “kitchen” side of the equation, reveling in the process of HOW the sausage gets made, instead of delivering it to the hungry audience. Then again, when you are in the writers’ room for the development for something as bizarre and eye-catching as the Beavis and Butt-Head sketch on SNL, you probably catch a high off the creativity, and then chase that buzz for the rest of your career.
Ryan Gosling, somehow, was perfect to play a normal man who resembled Beavis on a Saturday Night Live sketch… one that went beyond a viral sensation and actually bled over into the actor’s promotion for The Fall Guy earlier this year. I think SNL co-star Heidi Gardner is still cracking up over the look of both Gosling and Mikey Day, who played a live-action Butt-Head.
Right now, Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night is entertaining audiences looking for laughs from an upcoming 2024 movie. As we drift into the Awards season, films tend to get more serious, so lighter fare is appreciated. And if you have seen Saturday Night already, then you have to read about this cool scene that Reitman stepped into. Or, skated into.
And if you want to hunt for more viral moments from SNL, keep watching the 50th season of the late-night institution. The next batch of hosts includes Michael Keaton (on October 19) and John Mulaney (November 2).
