Lorne Michaels to Be Played by ‘Fabelmans’ Breakout Gabriel LaBelle in ‘SNL 1975’ Movie

Gabriel LaBelle, Cooper Hoffman and Rachel Sennott have been cast in Jason Reitman’s feature SNL 1975 about the early days of Saturday Night Live.

Reitman is directing the film for Sony Pictures about the debut night in October 1975 of the NBC sketch show that is currently airing its 49th season. LaBelle, who had a breakout role in Steven Spielberg’s 2022 semi-autobiographical drama The Fabelmans, is set to play SNL creator Lorne Michaels.

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Hoffman (Licorice Pizza) is attached as former NBC executive Dick Ebersol, while Sennott (Bottoms) will play Michaels’ ex-wife Rosie Shuster.

Reitman wrote the script with Gil Kenan, based on the pair’s extensive interviews with all of the show’s living cast, scribes and crew. Reitman and Kenan previously co-wrote Sony’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife and its forthcoming sequel, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, which hits theaters in March.

SNL 1975 counts Reitman, Kenan, Jason Blumenfeld, Erica Mills and Peter Rice as producers.

In addition to playing teenage filmmaking prodigy Sammy Fabelman in The Fabelmans — which earned him a Critics Choice Award — LaBelle was part of the cast of Showtime’s American Gigolo that launched its lone season in 2022.

Hoffman, who is the son of late Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, earned acclaim for his lead role in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2021 release Licorice Pizza. He appears in the Ethan Hawke-directed biographical drama Wildcat, which debuted at the Telluride Film Festival last year.

Sennott is known for her work in features Shiva Baby, Bodies Bodies Bodies and Bottoms, along with a recurring role on HBO series The Idol.

Reitman’s late father, Ivan Reitman, worked with a number of legendary SNL performers. This includes the elder Reitman having produced the John Belushi-starring National Lampoon’s Animal House and directed such Bill Murray vehicles as Meatballs, Stripes and the original 1984 film Ghostbusters.

During a recent interview, Michaels, 79, discussed his future with SNL and cited Tina Fey as a worthy successor to run the show when he is ready to retire.

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