Chevy Chase told Saturday Night director Jason Reitman he “should be embarrassed” by the film.
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The film tracks the behind-the-scenes story of Saturday Night Live‘s premiere episode on October 11, 1975, and was directed by Ghostbusters: Afterlife‘s Reitman.
Originally called SNL 1975, the film was re-named Saturday Night, which was the original title of the show during its first season, in July. It was released on October 11 – 49 years to the day that the show premiered on NBC.
Now, Reitman has revealed that one former SNL cast member wasn’t so fond of his portrayal.
Speaking to the podcast Fly on the Wall, hosted by former SNL cast members David Spade and Dana Carvey, Reitman recalled what Chase – who was played by Cory Michael Smith in the film – had to say after watching.
“So, Chevy comes in to watch the movie,” Reitman said. “And he is there with [his wife] Jayni and they watch the film, and he’s in the group, and he comes up to me after and he pats me on the shoulder and goes, ‘Well, you should be embarrassed.’”
Spade then added that Chase’s response was “an exact Chevy thing” to say, adding: “You couldn’t even write [the moment] better.” Carvey then suggested that the comedian had been trying to embarrass Reitman as he “knows that’s funny, like that’s the roughest thing you could say to a director in the moment, or right up there.”
Reitman then went on to say: “I’m trying to balance it, because, in my head, I know, ‘Alright, I’m getting my own Chevy Chase moment that’s 1,000 percent only for me right now.’
“And from a comedy point of view that’s really pure, and that’s kind of cool,” he continued. “But also, I just spent like two years of my life recreating this moment and trying to capture Chevy perfectly, and also even in the ego, find the humanity and give him a moment to be loved. No, none of that shit played. He’s not talking about that stuff.”
The star-studded cast includes Maze Runner‘s Dylan O’Brien, who plays Dan Aykroyd, Succession‘s Nicholas Braun as Muppets mastermind Jim Henson, Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard as an unnamed NBC intern and MUNA‘s Naomi McPherson, who makes their acting debut as Janis Ian.
Elsewhere in the cast are Gabriel LaBelle, who plays the show’s creator and producer Lorne Michaels, Rachel Sennott as Rosie Shuster, Ella Hunt as Gilda Radner, Kaia Gerber as Jacqueline Carlin and Willem Dafoe as David Tebet.
In other SNL news, Questlove is due to direct a music-themed documentary for the show’s 50th anniversary next year.
The documentary, titled Ladies & Gentleman… 50 Years of SNL Music, will include over 50 interviews with musicians from the last five decades who have performed on the hit sketch comedy show, including the likes of Mick Jagger, Dave Grohl, Jack White, Billie Eilish, Miley Cyrus, Olivia Rodrigo, Dua Lipa, Kacey Musgraves, Elvis Costello and more.
The three-hour feature will also include interviews with present and former cast and crew members include Fred Armisen, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Al Franken, Bill Hader, Eddie Murphy, Liz Patrick, Andy Samberg, Kenan Thompson, Maya Rudolph, Hal Willner and Bowen Yang.
As for Chase, last year he revealed he departed from his role on Community as the show was “not funny enough” for him.
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