In its attempt to capture the chaotic comedic alchemy leading up to the first-ever SNL broadcast, Jason Reitman’s SATURDAY NIGHT is carrying the weight of the show’s nearly 50-year legacy and its personification in protagonist Lorne Michaels. Whether it manages to get off the ground despite that is up for debate in the first half of this week’s discussion, before we bring in another tense evening in ’70s New York to see how ORIGINAL CAST ALBUM: COMPANY compares in its depiction of a late-night highwire act and the pressure to pull off a performance with many moving parts on a deadline, and what each depiction reveals about the nature of creative collaboration. And in Your Next Picture Show we offer a brief glimpse at an alternate-universe episode in which we paired SATURDAY NIGHT with Robert Altman’s final film, A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION. 

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ORIGINAL CAST ALBUM: COMPANY, SATURDAY NIGHT, and anything else in the world of film by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Next Pairing: Edward Berger’s CONCLAVE and Franklin J. Schaffer’s THE BEST MAN

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices