As the Saturday Night release date approaches this October, writer/director Jason Reitman showed the movie to the world for the first time at the 51st Telluride Film Festival last month. The world premiere was an especially sweet moment for one of the latest upcoming 2024 movies because he got Bill Murray on stage to help present the movie. As it turns out, there’s a sweet story behind how it happened.
Bill Murray Made A Surprise Appearance At The Premiere Of Saturday Night
If you wanted to see how Jason Reitman and Bill Murray presented Saturday Night while at the Colorado film festival, you can take a look below. Check out this TikTok via Variety editor Clayton Davis:
@byclaytondavis ♬ original sound - Clayton Davis
Jason Reitman had some sweet things to say about his time as a Saturday Night Live writer before talking about the making of the movie that embodies the chaotic nature of the sketch show’s first time on the air. Then, he introduced Bill Murray, who very kindly said his three seasons on the show was his “greatest work experience” before showing a lot of love to Reitman and his late father Ivan Reitman, with whom he made Ghostbusters, Stripes and Meatballs.
The Sweet Way The Saturday Night Premiere Moment Came About
So how did Jason Reitman nab Bill Murray for the premiere moment? As it happens, Murray was already at the festival for his drama The Friend. Here’s what happened, per Reitman:
It was my fifth movie to play Telluride, and I’ve had it go both ways there. I’ve been there when they love it, and I’ve been there for… not so much. I came into that screening, rehearsing my speech in my head when I get a tap on the shoulder and it’s Bill Murray. We didn’t plan any of that. He said, ‘Hey bud, should I go up there with you?’ I said, okay, who’s introducing who? And he goes, ‘why don’t you introduce me? That way I could say nice things about you.’ I had no idea what he was going to talk about, and he was really lovely.
While speaking to Deadline, Reitman shared that the moment actually happened on accident given the two Ghostbusters: Afterlife collaborators were both at the festival at the same time. Reitman also said this:
Tell you what I loved, was Bill saying it was his favorite job he’s ever had. Bill isn’t effusive that way, as you know, and you don’t always get that kind of overwhelming sincerity. He only says what he means, and he certainly meant that.
While Bill Murray is not portrayed in the movie given that he didn’t join until Season 2, his buddy Dan Aykroyd is portrayed by Dylan O’Brien, along with Lorne Michaels, Chevy Chase, Gilda Radner, John Belushi and more being portrayed in the film. As Reitman continued:
But what stuck with me the most was him talking about his time at SNL and how important it was to him. It echoed everything that I had heard from all the others about the importance, not only globally as Saturday Night Live changed culture, but for them individually being at the center of what you just described. The moment where an atom is split. For me, culturally, that’s what SNL is. It defines my sense of humor. It defines the way I look at the world. The screening went great, the audience really went for it in a way that I hadn’t experienced before. When Lamorne Morris goes up to sing, ‘gonna get me a shotgun’…the audience is actually cheering. I stepped out of the theater and the first thing I thought about was my dad.
Reitman also shared with the publication that the premiere was a tough moment for him because he realized that it's the last script of his his father read and the first movie of his he’ll never see. Ivan Reitman died at the age of 75 back in 2022 just months after he saw his son bring back Ghostbusters with 2021’s Afterlife. Amidst the bittersweet emotions Jason Reitman was feeling that night, what an amazing moment to be introduced by Bill Murray!
You can look forward to reliving the first night of SNL when Saturday Night hits theaters on October 11.
