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WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Saturday Night.
Jason Reitman's new Saturday Night movie features several classic songs as well as an innovative original score by Jon Batiste. Saturday Night has one of the most stacked ensemble casts of 2024, including plenty of young star actors such as Gabriel LaBelle (The Fablemans), Rachel Sennott (Bottoms), Dylan O'Brien (The Maze Runner), and Emmy winners (The Americans), Nicholas Braun (Succession), and Lamorne Morris (Fargo). Oscar winner J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) and 4-time Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe (Poor Things) round out the talented ensemble in Saturday Night. Batiste also portrays legendary musician Billy Preston in the film.
Saturday Night opened in theaters on October 11, 2024, after it premiered at the 51st Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2024. The biographical comedy-drama premiered with a Certified Fresh Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (critic) score of 80% and an impressive Popcornmeter (audience) score of 92%. The film chronicles the true story events in the 90 minutes before the premiere of the first ever episode of Saturday Night Live on NBC, which happened at 11:30 PM on October 11, 1975. Although Reitman's depiction tends to deviate from factual accounts for the sake of entertainment and story cohesion, Saturday Night captures the chaos of the night and the steadfast vision of Lorne Michaels.
Saturday Night is now playing in theaters.
When Every Song On Saturday Night Soundtrack Plays In The Movie
Saturday Night reenacts guest performances by Billy Preston & Janis Ian
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"Right On" by Ray Barretto: This classic 1970 song by Ray Barretto appears around the 20-minute mark of Saturday Night. Billy Preston, portrayed by Jon Batiste, performs this track with his band during a soundcheck before the premiere of NBC's Saturday Night. Lorne Michaels is shown listening to the song through the sound mixer's headphones and complaining that the music wasn't loud enough. The sound mixer responds with, "one band, one mic" and Lorne is forced to roll with the punches.
"At Seventeen" by Janis Ian: This classic 1975 pop folk song by Janis Ian plays around 45 minutes into Saturday Night. Ian, who is portrayed by Naomi McPherson, performs the song during another soundcheck before the premiere of NBC's Saturday Night. Almost the entirety of the song is played in the film as Lorne Michaels deals with a frustrated host in George Carlin, a heated confrontation between Chevy Chase and John Belushi in the makeup room, and all the studio's speakers go out just 50 minutes before the show airs.
"Nothing from Nothing" by Billy Preston: This classic Billy Preston song is performed by Batiste and his band towards the end of Saturday Night as audience members are finally let into the studio just 10 minutes before the show goes live. The song sets a welcoming and fun-loving tone for the audience moments before the show starts and rids the room of its frantic and nervous energy. In real life, Preston and his band performed the song after the famous first sketch, "The Wolverines", featuring Michael O'Donoghue and John Belushi.
Who Made The Original Score Of Saturday Night
5-time Grammy winner & Oscar-winner Jon Batiste
5-time Grammy winner and Oscar-winner Jon Batiste composed the innovative original score of Saturday Night, which can be heard throughout the film. This marks the second original score for a feature film that Batiste has been a part of and the first of which he has composed entirely himself. He collaborated with the Oscar-winning duo Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) on the original score for Disney Pixar's 2020 movie Soul, which won Batiste his first and only Academy Award.
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Batiste was nominated for another Oscar in 2024, Best Original Song for his 2023 Netflix documentary American Symphony. Before he signed on to score Saturday Night, director Jason Reitman told Batiste he was looking for something that felt like "an anti-score" (via Yahoo). "It would have to be a completely different type of score than what we consider the paradigm for film scores. He wanted something that wasn't that, something that felt alive and raw," Batiste said. After days of filming, Batiste would work a double shift and compose the score in real-time with his band and record their live sessions. Much of the score is based on Batiste's outstanding capacity for improvisation.
Where To Listen To Saturday Night's Soundtrack
It's available on major streaming platforms
Jon Batiste's original score for Saturday Night is available to stream on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, and YouTube. The album consists of 23 songs and 34 minutes in total. The three aforementioned songs performed by SNL's first-ever musical guests are also available to listen to on popular music streaming services and websites. Performances of Billy Preston's "Nothing from Nothing" and Janis Ian's "At Seventeen" from SNL's actual first episode are available on YouTube and on Peacock, which has the entire first episode of Saturday Night as well.
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Saturday Night (2024)
Biography
Comedy
Drama
As the clock ticks down to the first-ever broadcast of "Saturday Night Live" on October 11, 1975, a group of young comedians and writers hustle behind the scenes, navigating chaos and creative pressures. Set in NBC Studios, the film offers a dramatic and comedic look at the birth of an iconic television show.
Director Jason Reitman
Release Date October 11, 2024
Writers Gil Kenan , Jason Reitman
Cast Finn Wolfhard , Willem Dafoe , Dylan O'Brien , J.K. Simmons , Ella Hunt , Rachel Sennott , Matthew Rhys , Lamorne Morris
Character(s) NBC Page , David Tebet , Dan Aykroyd , Milton Berle , Gilda Radner , Rosie Shuster
Main Genre Biography
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