Saturday Night Live creator, Lorne Michaels, likes to stay behind the curtain, kind of like the Wizard of Oz. But somehow, award-winning Documentary Director Morgan Neville (20 Feet From Stardom, Won’t You Be My Neighbor) was finally allowed to do just that…up to a point. Turns out, Lorne is totally camera averse. You’ll actually see him as he runs the other way. And for this documentary, he made sure personal parts of his family life were off limits. Even many of his regular players who were interviewed for this film seem to know little about his personal life.
Still, Neville was allowed to show Lorne meeting and overseeing past cast members who have since gone on to big careers, including Tina Fey, Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Conan O’Brien, Maya Rudolph, John Mulaney, Andy Samberg, and so many more who talk about how he works and what he looks for in SNL players. He’ll listen to a sketch for a minute and a half, and if he doesn’t think it works, it’s gone. You won’t see it on the show. Also, he’s not happy if talent breaks character and laughs during a sketch.
Neville peppers the film with interviews that give personal glimpses into the man, including his close friendship with long-time neighbor Paul Simon. And the director has cherry picked some of the funniest bits with Mike Meyer, Tina Fey, The Blues Brothers, Chris Rock, and Kristin Wiig, the quirky meetings with everybody sitting on the floor as he directs discussion of what and how to structure the show, and the order.
Lorne has more cred than just about anyone, discovering and guiding talented comedy writers and performers all through his 50 year stint. Neville goes back to show his previous jobs leading up to the creation of SNL. When Michaels took a 6 year journey outside SNL he came up with the formula that has endured despite sometimes faltering. But he was never afraid to change it up, with talent, social and political material, to see what worked. He practices what he preaches to the newbies he directs, “All life is reinvention.”
We eventually get his early background, born Lorne Lipowitz in Toronto, Canada, celebrating his Bar Mitzvah with his family at age 13, but his Dad died suddenly soon after. He changed his name years later to Michaels. We find out he has 3 kids, but no mention of his wife or wives. We learn that he goes to sleep at 4am and gets up at noon. He always orders the same dinner at his regular Italian restaurants near Rockefeller Center’s NBC Studios. But Lorne’s real happy place is his blueberry farm in Maine. He gifts various blueberry delicacies out to his staff and talent, apparently on a fairly regular basis.
Everyone he’s worked with has their own opinion of this popcorn popping talent scout who preaches “All of life is reinvention.” Chaotic and funny, much like SNL itself, this won’t get you up close and personal with Lorne. But Neville is thorough gleaning bits and pieces from his celebrity subjects to get enough of what makes this crusty legend of TV comedy tick or laugh.
Focus Features 1 hour 40 minutes R
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