Jason Reitman To Direct Movie Based On Behind-The-Scenes Accounts Of ‘Saturday Night Live’s 1975 Opening Night For Sony; Gil Kenan Co-Writing With Reitman

Justin Kroll
·2 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: After helping relaunch the Ghostbusters franchise for Sony Pictures, Jason Reitman is reuniting with the studio to tell the behind-the-scenes story of the premiere of one of the most iconic shows in TV history. Sources tell Deadline that Reitman is set to direct an untitled original screenplay for Sony based on the real-life accounts of the opening episode of Saturday Night Live. Reitman will reteam with his Ghostbusters: Afterlife co-scribe Gil Kenan to co-write the script.

The film will be set on October 11, 1975, where a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers changed television forever. This is the true story of what happened that night behind the scenes in the moments leading up to the first SNL broadcast, retelling chaos and magic of a revolution that almost wasn’t, counting down the minutes in real time to the infamous words, “Live From New York, it’s Saturday Night.”

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The screenplay is based on an extensive series of interviews conducted by Reitman and Kenan with all the living cast, writers and crew.

Reitman and Kenan are currently in production on Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the follow-up to Sony Pictures’ Ghostbusters: Afterlife that Kenan is directing. After the success of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Reitman and Kenan signed an overall producing deal with Sony Pictures.

Producing alongside Reitman and Kenan will be their longtime partners Jason Blumenfeld and Erica Mills, who are currently on the Ghostbusters: Afterlife sequel.

Besides Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Reitman is the director best known for his work on Thank You for Smoking, Juno, Up in the Air and Young Adult. As a producer, he produced Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash, Jean-Marc Vallee’s Demolition and the cult hit Jennifer’s Body from director Karyn Kusama.

Kenan has directed films such as the Oscar-nominated Monster House (a Sony Pictures release), City of Ember and last year’s A Boy Called Christmas.

Reitman is repped by WME and Alan Wertheimer. Kenan is repped by WME and Robert Offer.

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