Saturday Night Live | The New York Observer

Saturday Night Hives: How a Wart Ruined My Windows

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:54:47 -0500

What a week! Or, should I say, “Wart a week!”

Yes, a horrid wart! In full view of my public? Can you believe? That’s what I get for trying to avoid the H1N1 virus. What the hell am I talking about? I’ll explain all about Mr. Wart in just a moment. First, let’s talk about something more uplifting and festive:

The Barneys holiday windows! This year I have created, along with my elves,...

Items! David Remnick Scores Blago, S.N.L. Makes More Blind Jokes

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:16:16 -0400

Talk of the Town is over-pegging, say the Shadow Editors.

That Google books settlement is delayed.

Charlotte Gainsbourg says of Antichrist that she had porn-star body-double and found Lars von Trier to be like dad Serge Gainsbourg.

It was only a matter of time: S.N.L. again makes fun of David Paterson.

Here's One of Bright Star director Jane Campion’s early shorts, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1986.

Barack Obama...

Kristen Wiig Buys Veggie-Friendly $1.5 Soho Co-op

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 13:22:12 -0400

It's a well-known law of downtown New York City real estate that whenever one comedian or model or TV director moves out of his apartment, another one moves in nearby immediately. So it shouldn't be that surprising that a deed filed in city records Thursday showed that Saturday Night Live star Kristen Wiig bought a Soho co-op at Broadway and Broome Street from Mad Men and Sopranos director Alan Taylor.

Its listing is poetic but...

SNL Songstress Tries Serious Acting

Tue, 26 May 2009 19:13:46 -0400

Sitting in a quiet corner of the Mercer Hotel recently, Saturday Night Live alumna Maya Rudolph, curls demurely pinned back, was dressed in a soft pink sweater over a black dress that just barely showed the swell of her second pregnancy with her long-term partner, Paul Thomas Anderson, the director of There Will Be Blood. “I will be ordering breakfast throughout the day,” she warned.

Ms. Rudolph needs the energy. At 36, she is...

Tom Hanks Needs a Challenge

Mon, 18 May 2009 14:19:58 -0400

We had the unfortunate displeasure this weekend of sitting through Angels & Demons, Ron Howard’s tone-deaf anti-thriller that plods along for more than two hours before ultimately amounting to nothing (that Angels & Demons is a marked improvement on The Da Vinci Code should be all you need to know about the previous film). After the umpteenth faux-cliffhanger—Will another kidnapped Cardinal get brutally killed? Tune in three minutes from now!—we started to notice something...

Advocates for the Blind on S.N.L.'s Paterson Skit

Mon, 11 May 2009 12:26:00 -0400

ALBANY—Over the weekend, Saturday Night Live aired another skit making fun of David Paterson's blindness. The last time, Paterson expressed, in a public statement, a mix of sadness and disapproval. Today happens to be Legislative Disabilities Awareness Day, and advocates have set up tables in the atrium of the Legislative Office Building. I approached three people from the American Council of the Blind and asked for their thoughts. "It's Saturday Night Live, this is what they're like...

Economic Crisis: Where Can President Find an Adviser Who Gives Good Television?

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:00:00 -0400

Not long ago, President Barack Obama finally got around to filling three of the top jobs at the Treasury Department that had been vacant since his inauguration.

But even afterward, one top financial job was left conspicuously unfilled—namely, the role of Economic Surrogate in Chief.

A good economic statesman—somebody who can crunch budget projections by day and give good TV by night—can be hard to find. It’s a lesson that’s been driven home in Washington in...

Bernie Madoff Pleads Guilty; Heads Off to Prison

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 12:04:33 -0400

As you probably already know, Bernard Madoff is heading to jail.

The New York Times' Diana B. Henriques and Jack Healy report that Mr. Madoff pleaded guilty to Judge Denny Chin this morning at United States District Court in Manhattan. Taking "breaking news" to new heights, The Wall Street Journal and its News Corp. sister channel, Fox Business, is streaming live video from outside the courthouse. The New York Daily News—whose owner, Mort Zuckerman lost...

Dear Lorne Michaels: Hire JT!

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 10:45:35 -0400

Given that Saturday Night Live will celebrate its 35th anniversary later this year, we doubt Lorne Michaels needs any advice from us about how to run a successful show. However, after watching this weekend's mostly harmless episode hosted by the charming Dwayne Johnson—note to studios: put him in a musical comedy co-starring Anne Hathaway post haste—we have a small suggestion: make Justin Timberlake a recurring cast member. As he does every few episodes, the...

The Lonely Island Gets On a Boat, Releases Album

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 08:24:46 -0500

When he first became a cast member on Saturday Night Live, Andy Samberg was easy to dismiss as nothing more than the watered down love child of Adam Sandler and Jimmy Fallon. Hell, his name even sounded like "Sandler"! (We can't be the only ones who called him "Andy Sandler" during his first year, can we?) But something happened before everyone could type cast Mr. Samberg into irrelevancy: he found a niche. While no...

Super Bowl XLIII Recap: One Good Quarter, One Good Commercial, One Michael Cera in a Loincloth

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 08:28:33 -0500

That turned out to be quite a game, huh? After nearly putting us to sleep through the first three quarters, Super Bowl XLIII lived up to its moniker with a fourth quarter that will most certainly be described as "for the ages." Meanwhile, from a viewing standpoint, the coverage was bloated, distended and rough around the edges. … Y'know, a typical Super Bowl. The highlight of the three-hour pregame show, Matt Lauer's interview with...

Steele In, Mr. Belvedere Out

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:33:23 -0500

In a classic SNL sketch, Chris Farley stands up at a meeting of the "Guy Who Plays Mr. Belvedere Fan Club" and delivers a halting tribute to the made-for-television British butler, concluding with this: "I think about him all the time, and … well, I'm wondering … should we kill him?"

The question is then put to a vote and fails—narrowly. Presiding over the meeting, Tom Hanks' relieved...

It Takes a Nation of Nerds to Make Jimmy Fallon a Late Night Host

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 13:38:08 -0500

Jimmy Fallon sure has been wooing the nerds recently. The former Saturday Night Live cast member/chronic giggler will take over Late Night from Conan O'Brien, who in turn is moving up to The Tonight Show starting March 2 (there's a countdown widget, if you're into that sort of thing), and he has been on the West Coast working the press for the past few weeks.

Last Friday, Mr. Fallon channeled his inner geek (he...

Jon Friedman Defends Palin Kids in Less Than a Minute

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 11:18:41 -0500

In his latest 42-second Media Web Minute, Jon Friedman goes all Chris Crocker and says what no other journalist or pundit would dare: Sarah Palin is right — leave her family alone.

According to Mr. Friedman, Sarah Palin, whom you might recall was once a candidate for the vice presidency of the United States, "[I]s fair game, of course, as a public figure. I think Palin is fine to be criticized and even...

Legendary! Neil Patrick Harris to Host SNL

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:05:12 -0500

Some bright news on an otherwise gray Monday afternoon: this coming weekend, Neil Patrick Harris will be hosting Saturday Night Live! We used to dream about Mr. Harris when he played Doogie (in fact, yours truly mentioned this in print a few years ago). We loved his speed-freak cameos in Harold and Kumar. These days we laugh so hard we cry at his portrayal of Barney Stinson, the over-the-top-but-still-believable womanizing scotch-swiller-catchphrase-maker on CBS's...

Amy Poehler, Post-SNL, Just Glad to be Meeting Debbie Harry

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 13:43:41 -0500

In the new film The Mystery of Claywoman, about a 500-million-year-old woman/prophet everyone seems to be looking for, Amy Poehler appears in a series of sketches for the film with Debbie Harry as her French lesbian lover who writes a book about Claywoman. The film, which was written and performed by Michael Cavadias and directed by Rob Roth, screened Sunday evening at the Wild Project in the East Village to a crowd that included...

Governor Paterson (Rightfully) Hates Saturday Night Live

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 09:39:08 -0500

We guess after the year that Saturday Night Live had, it couldn't just go quietly into 2009 without some form of controversy. During this past weekend's final episode of the year, hosted gamely by Hugh Laurie and featuring a disastrous performance by Kanye West, one of the skits took dead aim at New York Governor David Paterson, and the governor is not happy. As the New York Post so sensitively put it: "Paterson in...

Noah Baumbach Directs for Saturday Night Live?

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 08:50:06 -0500

For a director who works as infrequently as Noah Baumbach, a misfire always adds insult to injury. It's been a little over a year since he disappointed us with the so-difficult-it-caused-migraines Margot at the Wedding, and yet if Mr. Baumbach were a prolific filmmaker like Woody Allen, we probably wouldn't have even noticed how bad it really was. (To wit: does anyone even remember Cassandra's Dream?) While the screenwriter half of Mr. Baumbach has been busy,...

Justin Timberlake Reveals SNL Template in 2 Minutes

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:01:14 -0500

If you think every single episode of NBC's Saturday Night Live was exactly the same (Another Digital Short about Laser Cats? Really?), you're not alone: So does Justin Timberlake, who offered an Evolution of Dance-esque two minute run-through of an entire episode of the 34-year-old comedy-variety show during 'Weekend Update.'

Call it celebrity lifehacking: Mr. Timberlake, who was scheduled to appear on next week's show but had to cancel, saved viewers 90...

Two New Saturday Night Live Ladies Look Pretty Funny!

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 06:57:56 -0500

Amy Poehler was such a titanic presence on Saturday Night Live that it's going to take two women to replace her. Starting with the broadcast this weekend, hosted by Paul Rudd, Michaela Watkins and Abby Elliot will be joining the cast in featuring roles. Both women have sketch comedy experience, having previously worked in Los Angeles--Ms. Watkins with The Groundlings, Ms. Elliot at the UCB Theater. And if their names ring a bell, that...

Sarah Palin: Northern Exposure

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 08:59:31 -0500

Now that the election is finally (finally!) over, we can rest easy knowing that Sarah Palin will return to the backwoods of Alaska never to be heard from again. Ha! As if! The Alaskan governor has come too far and gained too much notoriety to just simply accept running a non-continental state. As Tina Fey so hilarious stated last weekend, Ms. Palin is never going back. But while we aren't sure if the most...

The Week in DVR: A Good Woody and Best Bond Since Goldfinger

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 12:33:38 -0500

Monday: Saturday Night Live: Presidential Bash 2008
With the exception of Rachel Maddow, no one on television has benefited from the election cycle more than the folks at Saturday Night Live. Unfortunately, the expiration date on their cultural relevancy reads November 5th. As a going away party, Lorne Michaels and NBC are offering this compilation of the best political skits from the past year, with some original ones sprinkled in as well. If...

Don Draper Finally Shows His Funny Bone

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:32:47 -0400

It was a pretty good weekend to be Jon Hamm. The Mad Men star did some of his best work yet on the show's effortlessly brilliant season finale. Whether it was plaintively reading a heartfelt letter to wife Betty in voiceover or joking around with his children in a hotel room over burgers, Mr. Hamm has ever emboldened Don with such a comfortable humanity before. It might be time to start splicing together...

Lorne Michaels Is Having a Good Month

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 13:00:17 -0400

This has been a bellwether month for Lorne Michaels. Not only has Saturday Night Live seen its ratings rise some 161 percent from a year ago, but Mr. Michaels has been doing more interviews than the political figures his show regularly mocks. Lorne actually has talking points now! Seriously! He must have uttered the sentence "the audience cast Tina [Fey as Sarah Palin]" some thirty times to date. (Mr. Michaels says that...

Palin Does SNL--Boy Were They Mean!

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:49:50 -0400

Sarah Palin's visit to Saturday Night Live didn't disappoint. Helped by appearances from Alec Baldwin, Oliver Stone and Mark Wahlberg, this weekend's edition, hosted by Josh Brolin and featuring the Alaskan governor in two skits, was the highest-rated Saturday Night Live in 14 years. Final numbers won't be out until later this week, but an estimated 17 million people tuned in for the first half-hour, and close to 14 million for the entire...

Lineup for October 15th, 2008

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 08:06:16 -0400

Felix Gillette and John Koblin attended a conference of media folks at Time Warner Center and saw, "dark days. Banks, churches, newspapers, the presidency—all in decline."

Don't forget publishing, since, according to Leon Neyfakh, "At hand is the twilight of an era most did not expect to miss, but will."

Plus: Oliver Stone... Mad Men... Saturday Night...

Boss Jim Downey

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:55:18 -0400

Q: For years now, shows like Meet the Press have been broadcasting clips of an SNL sketch, a spoof of political reality, to have a conversation with their audience about the actual political reality. How are you getting to the core ingredients of what’s going on in a way that people like Tom Brokaw can’t seem to articulate?

A: I think they’d like...

NBC Planning Separate SNL Web Portal

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:29:12 -0400

Tina Fey's Sarah Palin skits were viewed twice as many times online and via DVR recordings than in original broadcasts, according to a recent study by Integrated Media Measurement Inc. Now NBC and Saturday Night Live executive producer Lorne Michaels are in talks to develop a new on-demand video Website that would feature online clips from SNL, Broadcasting & Cable reports. According to their sources, the site would include a mix of original comedy...

Cindy Adams: Palin Will Do SNL

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:58:52 -0400

When we want news about Saturday Night Live, there’s only one person we go to… Cindy Adams! The New York Post gossip columnist reports via TV Tattle that Sarah Palin will indeed be appearing on the next new edition of Saturday Night Live, set for Oct. 25. According to Ms. Adams, it's a “done deal” and “sketches are already being written.”

The latter claim sounds a little off to...

Seriously, SNL, Can't You Manage Some Better Impressions?

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:16:31 -0400

It turns out Seth Meyers was right. Despite some last minute innuendos by Lorne Michaels, Governor Sarah Palin did not appear on Saturday Night Live: Weekend Update Thursday (could they squeeze a few more days into that title?). Instead, the first of three planned prime-time SNL specials featured appearances by former cast members Chris Parnell and Bill Murray.

While it's always nice to see Mr. Murray, who played an audience member during the...

No Palin On Saturday Night Live

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:05:29 -0400

For those of you who were looking forward to seeing Governor Sarah Palin lampoon her nemesis and expert mimic, Tina Fey, on Weekend Update Thursday, the special prime-time election edition of Saturday Night Live which premieres this week, we have some bad news for you. It's not happening.

SNL head writer Seth Meyers spoke with Newsday's television blog The TV Zone and put the story to rest, for now:...

Ratings Continue to Soar for SNL

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 11:22:01 -0400

Perhaps the failing economy benefiting someone: Saturday Night Live continued its ratings renaissance over the weekend, a surefire sign that no one is going out and spending money on Saturday nights. Or maybe everyone just loves Tina Fey.

The Anne Hathaway-hosted episode was seen in 7.4 percent of the Nielsen households, up 23 percent from last week and a whopping 42 percent from a year ago. The numbers were only slightly lower than...

30 Rock Snags Another Star: Salma Hayek

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:46:11 -0400

Doesn't it seem like we hear news about a famous actor or actress guest starring on 30 Rock at least once a week? The latest to join the Emmy winning show is actress Salma Hayek, who has been signed up for a two-episode stint at the behest of Tina Fey. Apparently Ms. Fey wanted Ms. Hayek so badly that she called the actress personally to get her to sign on. Ms. Hayek is joined...

SNL Nabs High Ratings with Politics, Phelps

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:35:28 -0400

Here's a question that we found ourselves asking during the laborious season premiere of Saturday Night Live: after an entire summer off, this is the best they can come up with?

With the exception of the hilarious cold open, a press conference with Hillary Clinton (Amy Poehler, with clenched jaw perfection) and Sarah Palin (Tina Fey, predictably hilarious), the season premiere felt like a dress rehearsal. There wasn't one skit that followed...

'S.N.L.' Hasn't Decided Whom to Cast as Palin

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:45:32 -0400

Whether the Sarah Palin VP-pick ultimately pays off for John McCain remains to be seen. But for one group of Americans, Gov. Palin's sudden arrival on the national scene promises to be an instant boon: comics!

Judging from what's already made its way to YouTube (haven't you seen this, this or this?), the moose-hunting hockey mom is in for a ribbing. So who will Saturday Night Live pick to play the small screen version...

Phelps Kicks Off SNL Season: Here's Hoping for Some Funny!

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:16:02 -0400

A funny thing happened to Saturday Night Live during its 33rd season. After a few years of languishing as the television version of punching a clock, it became culturally relevant again. And as loyal viewers who still DVR the show week after week with the hopes of finding some hilarity when we re-watch it on Sunday mornings, we admit that we don't totally understand why.

Sure, we love the cast; they're...

Fallon's Late Night to Debut Online

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 10:45:40 -0400

Lorne Michaels told reporters Sunday that he plans to premiere Jimmy Fallon as the new host of Late Night on the internet. He plans five or six months of webcasts prior to the 2009 debut of Mr. Fallon's version of the show, according to TV Week.

The Observer interviewed Mr. Michaels about preparing Mr. Fallon for the dubious taks of replacing Conan O'Brien last May:

“When Conan came on in ’93, it was...

SNL to Honor George Carlin

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:14:45 -0400

George Carlin hosted the very first episode of SNL on Oct. 11, 1975. NBC will honor him by airing that premiere episode this weekend while HBO plans on playing specials of more than 30 years of his comedy shows starting this week.

Mr. Carlin's SNL episode featured the “Not Ready for Primetime Players,” including Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin and Gilda Radner. Musical guests were Janis Ian and Billy Preston,...

For Digital Video, Three Years Passes in a Lifetime

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 14:53:23 -0400

According to The Hollywood Reporter's Alex Woodson, Saturday Night Live executive producer Lorne Michaels received a "lifetime achievement award for the role that 'Saturday Night Live' has played in the development of online video" at last night's Webby Awards.

A lifetime moves pretty fast these days. Wasn't it just December 17, 2005 when SNL's first digital short, Lazy Sunday, debuted? And didn't NBC's legal team work furiously to pull it from video-sharing sites before deciding...

Morning Memo: Trump Charm School For Spitzer Sweetie? Heath's Relatives Continue to Keep Things Classy ...

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 07:45:41 -0400

Bittersweet Symphony? Ashlee Simpson may not be welcomed back to Saturday Night Live after her 2004 appearance exposed her lip-synching talents. Also, Page Six hears that the young Mr. Simpson was not exactly a hit with the show's producers. [P6]

The Aussie relatives of the late Heath Ledger continue to provide made-for-tabloid muck; now an uncle claims Matilda Rose Ledger may not be the actor's only offspring. [NY Daily News]

Donald Trump wants to send Ashley...

Morning Memo: Lindsay Lohan's New 'Partying' Method; 'Gay Gay' Clooney Pops the Question?

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 09:57:49 -0400

Did George Clooney pop the question? [Marie Claire UK]

All this while he avows that he is "gay, gay" (and not "gay, gay, gay"): "That third 'gay' was pushing it."[People]

Matt Damon's rep confirms he and his wife Luciana are expecting. [People]

Tina Brown finds Hillary Clinton "resolutely effective" and "inspringly pedestrian" but not "magically delicious." [Newsweek]

Lindsay Lohan and her little sister, Ali, "partied" at the penthouse of her new apartment building, the Atelier, Thursday night—if...

Clinton on S.N.L.: Do I Really Laugh Like That?

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 09:04:06 -0500

In case you missed it, here's Hillary Clinton's appearance on Saturday Night Live, complimenting Amy Poehler's impression and asking for her earrings...

Yay for Tina Fey! SNL Posts Highest Ratings Since 2006

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 23:44:29 -0500

Over the weekend, the first new episode of Saturday Night Live to air since the end of the writers’ strike posted the show’s highest ratings since Feb. 4, 2006, easily topping seven million viewers, Variety reports. SNL hadn’t broadcast since the fall, which made Saturday’s show—the first in four consecutive weeks of new SNL episodes—with Tina Fey as host (see above), guest appearances by Mike Huckabee (he was on Weekend Update, too) and Steve...

SNL Can't Ignore Obama Anymore

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 11:39:35 -0500

So Saturday Night Live is finally addressing its Barack Obama problem. When last I spoke to SNL's writers and its creator, Lorne Michaels -- way back in the old days, when Hillary Clinton was still the consensus front-runner-by-a-mile -- they didn't think he was funny enough to lampoon. Now, I guess, they've got no choice....

Writers' Strike Grows on Conan O'Brien, David Letterman

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 13:11:12 -0500

In this week’s New Yorker, Ben McGrath writes a Talk of the Town about, well, beards. In days of yore, the piece points out, facial fuzz was de rigueur among a certain set of powerful gents—Confucius, Abraham Lincoln and Rasputin among them.

But now, it seems, there’s begun a resurgence of the bearded-bigwig milieu—particularly those ‘working’ in film and television. The reason for this trend,...

Chevy Chase Remembers Smooching Leonard Bernstein

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 12:35:33 -0500

Chevy Chase says he was asked to have a recurring role on Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update,” but that was before the W.G.A. strike. Recalling his recent debut appearance on the sketch show’s mock-news segment, for which he was apparently paid scale, the Caddyshack actor said he was disappointed by the poor writing. He also blames his poor performance on a standing ovation from the audience. “I didn’t want to...

The Saddest Strike Story in Town

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 16:46:46 -0500

This week’s New Yorker, on newsstands today, contains a “Talk of the Town” that tells the bittersweet tale of someone named Cara Hannah. She is, according to the petit profile, currently suffering the brunt of both the Writers Guild strike and the collective towel-throw of Broadway stagehands. After all, Ms. Hannah is a wig stylist. And she not only powders pate-rugs for The Phantom of the Opera, but also for the...

SNL and 30 Rock to Be Performed Live

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 16:43:30 -0500

The striking cast members and writers of NBC's 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live programs will present one-night-only live performances of the shows at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre this weekend. The (already) sold-out performances will benefit the Writers Guild strike fund.

Playbill reports:

"Saturday Night Live" will feature a collection of favorite sketches, hosted by Michael Cera, the young star of "Superbad." The musical guest will be Yo La Tengo. The entire current...

SNL’s Obama Challenge: He’s Not Goofy Enough

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 19:13:55 -0500

Over the past year, viewers tuning into Saturday Night Live have seen Hillary Clinton depicted as a ruthless, power-hungry, arrogant witch.

On the rare occasions that Barack Obama’s name is so much as mentioned, he receives gentle, if not admiring, treatment.

And so it only seemed to confirm the existing suspicions of political observers that the writers and actors of SNL harbor a soft spot for the underdog...

Obama-Less SNL Finds a Stand-In

Sun, 04 Nov 2007 20:52:59 -0500

In case you missed it, here's how the producers of Saturday Night Live found a solution—albeit a temporary one—to their Barack Obama casting dilemma....