STACK #244 February 2025

MOVIE FEATURE

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LIVE FROM NEW YORK… “It’s Saturday Night!”Those immortal words have been broadcast on American television for 50 years. C onsidered an institution in the U.S., Saturday Night Live is GENRE: Comedy drama RUN TIME: 1h 49m

• Saturday Night is out Feb 12

Lorne Michaels, who, now 80, still runs the show today. Speaking on the film’s promotional tour, Reitman highlighted SNL ’s generational impact: “It’s that moment when one generation ripped TV out of the hands of another generation. It’s the moment when people who are

the weekly sketch comedy show that launched countless Hollywood careers - including those of Eddie Murphy, Bill Murray, Adam Sandler, Kristen Wiig, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, and many more. Though SNL never aired on network TV in Australia, its

FUN FACT

The show was originally titled NBC’s Saturday Night due to the existence of Saturday Night with Howard Cosell , a variety show that debuted the same year. When Cosell's show was cancelled after one season, NBC acquired the rights to the name and officially adopted Saturday Night Live during the 1977-1978 season.

influence is undeniable. Most of us have experienced its comedy through viral clips and compilations, while those deeply invested in show business know its history well. Now, as SNL celebrates 50 years of laughs, director Jason Reitman ( Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Frozen Empire ) brings us Saturday Night , a feature film chronicling the final 90 minutes before the show's very first broadcast in 1975. Told from a fly-on-the-wall perspective, the film takes us behind the scenes of a ragtag group of future stars— John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, Rita Rudner, and Dan Aykroyd - led by a fearless young producer,

not getting along finally coalesce.” To ensure authenticity, Reitman conducted extensive research, speaking with as many original cast and crew members as possible: “We spoke to every living person we could find who had anything to do with opening night - every actor, every writer, members of the crew, the art department - anyone we could track down.” Whether you’re a lifelong fan or discovering SNL for the first time, Saturday Night promises a fast-paced, chaotic, and thrilling glimpse behind the curtain of one of television’s greatest institutions. Glenn Cochrane

OTHER FILMS BY DIR. JASON REITMAN

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024), Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021), Juno (2007), Tully (2018)

DIVE INTO TERROR Kim Spearman stars in this claustrophobic creature feature, alongside the late Julian Sands in his final onscreen performance. F rom Joachim Heden, the director of the criminally underseen 2020 film Breaking Surface , The Last Breath because the light in our masks shone back into our faces, it was kind of intense. GENRE: Horror Thriller RUN TIME: 1h 36m

Remembering JULIAN SANDS

A graduate of London’s Central School of Speech and Drama, Julian Sands began his film career with supporting roles in Oxford Blues (1984) and The Killing Fields (1984). His breakthrough came when he headlined the award-winning A Room with a View (1985), which launched his career and led him to Hollywood. There, he went on to star in numerous films, including Warlock (1989), Arachnophobia (1990), Naked Lunch (1991), and Leaving Las Vegas (1995). He also lent his voice to the character of DeFalco in Call of Duty: Black Ops II (2012).

• The Last Breath

is out Feb 5

is Julian Sands, who fully embraced his quirky, dishevelled

follows a group of wealthy college friends who talk their way into diving at the wreck of a recently discovered sunken warship - only to become trapped as great white sharks close in. Kim Spearman chatted with STACK about spending hellish months underwater and working with an icon of the screen, Julian Sands. “We were shooting for ten to 12 hours a day in the water for a couple of months,” she explains of filming inside a multileveled tank. “Because it was so dark down there, trying to navigate it was very difficult, and

“It’s a very insular environment and it was the most insane but incredible thing I’ve ever done.” Given the physical demands of shooting most of the film underwater, Spearman explains the extensive preparation required to get it right. “They sent us to Malta to train for a week as a cast. They sent us night diving, cave diving, and all sorts of things to get used to the claustrophobia of the tank we filmed in. And that was one of the most insane experiences of my life. One of the movie’s biggest draws

captain persona - a tribute to the iconic Jacques Cousteau, complete with a red knitted beanie. “He was fantastic,” she says, reflecting on her time with Sands. “He was very mischievous and very fun and positive. And he was so involved in the process from day one. You know, sometimes you meet someone who’s had this long career and worked with so many incredible people, and you kind of have an expectation that they might be a bit removed from the process. But he was so grounded.” Glenn Cochrane

MORE FIN-TASTIC JAW-DROPPERS

Jaws, Shark Bait, The Shallows, 47 Meters Down, The Reef: Stalked, Meg, Deep Blue Sea

24 FEBRUARY 2025

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