All articles tagged with #lorne michaels
Five new SNL cast members from Season 51 share their audition stories, the culture shocks of moving to New York, how Lorne Michaels’ notes shaped their early work, and their goals for Season 52—keeping their jobs, breaking into the opening credits, and taking bigger swings together on live TV.
Sky has ordered 12 episodes for Saturday Night Live U.K.’s second season (up from eight), with a September 2026 start and run through early 2027. Lorne Michaels and Sky executives praised the show’s progress, and UTAS U.K. and Broadway Video are producing the new season.
Directed by Morgan Neville, Lorne pulls back the curtain on Lorne Michaels with a humorous, revealing 100-minute chronicle that gathers interviews from SNL alumni and collaborators, showing the creator's mystique, intense work ethic, and pivotal role in shaping the show's lasting impact.
A new Morgan Neville documentary about Lorne Michaels reframes the SNL chief as a hands-on, protective leader who shapes talent and the show’s live, fast-paced culture—featuring interviews with Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph, John Mulaney and Chris Rock—as it nears its 50th anniversary and contemplates the future beyond its creator’s era.
Lorne Michaels discusses the making of his new documentary Lorne, offering rare access to SNL’s process and his leadership approach, with appearances by Steven Spielberg and SNL alumni as the film opens in theaters April 17.
Morgan Neville’s Lorne is an intimate, puckishly playful documentary that reframes Lorne Michaels not as the mythic inventor of SNL but as the meticulous maestro behind the curtain—pulling back the curtain on his private spaces, recounting his tormented early years away from SNL and the 1980s revival, and showing how his ritualized control has kept the show vibrant while revealing the man beneath the myth.
Morgan Neville’s documentary Lorne, about SNL creator Lorne Michaels, is an entertaining portrait built largely from interview clips and archival footage. While it delivers laughs and features a star-studded lineup (Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph, John Mulaney, etc.), critics say it offers limited new insight into Michaels and relies on surface-level anecdotes rather than a deeperExploration of his life. Early reviews (e.g., The Hollywood Reporter, Boston Globe, SF Chronicle, The Wrap) describe it as an amiable, breezy tribute that fans may enjoy but doesn’t dig deeply into its subject. Rotten Tomatoes around 58% and Metacritic around 50 reflect the mixed reception.
Joanna Coles argues that Lorne Michaels built a lasting “talent lab” at Saturday Night Live that reshaped comedy and culture far more than Donald Trump’s Apprentice ever did, highlighting how SNL trains writers and performers to risk humiliation for brilliance, while Trump’s reality show produced few enduring stars; the piece uses Melania Trump’s Epstein-related moments to frame politics as theater and to suggest Michaels’ approach created a deeper cultural-and-media legacy.
Morgan Neville’s Lorne offers an accessible, star-powered portrait of SNL creator Lorne Michaels, blending behind-the-scenes footage with interviews from past and present cast and peers to reveal how he reshaped television comedy while remaining guarded, with insights into his personal life (like a Maine blueberry farm) delivered in an arm’s-length documentary lens.
At the Los Angeles premiere of Morgan Neville's Lorne, Michaels participates in a rare Q&A about the documentary, his leadership style, and SNL's ongoing reinvention after the 50th anniversary, including the show’s UK expansion and the importance of nurturing new talent within a forgiving, collaborative culture; the film chronicles nearly 50 years of the show and opens April 17 via Focus Features, with appearances by Spielberg, Mulaney, and other alums.
A sequence on Saturday Night Live had Paul Simon introducing Harry Styles for Styles’ second musical performance after Ryan Gosling interrupted Styles’ monologue, a move seen as friendly rivalry orchestrated by Lorne Michaels rather than a real feud.
Timothée Chalamet revealed that, while hosting and performing as SNL’s musical guest to promote his Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, Lorne Michaels initially balked at the idea. He persisted and ended up spending over six figures of his own money on the production costs, including the band and set, a move Entertainment Weekly noted was self-funded rather than label-backed.
Bowen Yang left Saturday Night Live despite being offered a large sum of money to stay, citing unhappiness and overcommitment outside the show as reasons for his departure, which was against the wishes of creator Lorne Michaels.
Pete Davidson expressed his willingness to return to Saturday Night Live as a cast member if Lorne Michaels asked, stating he owes Michaels his career and would do anything for him, having previously hosted and been a part of the show from 2014 to 2022.
After the 77th Emmys, producers discussed various behind-the-scenes details, including a surprise use of Lorne Michaels' cut-out during a 'Survivor' sketch without prior notice, the success of a Boys and Girls Club fundraiser, and the decision-making behind show order and guest appearances, highlighting the event's spontaneous and planned elements.