Lorne Michaels

New SNL Digital Short for LASER CATS Goes Full-On Spielberg

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 15th, 2012 at 8:24 pm

The popular SNL Digital Short series Laser Cats got a new installment last night featuring none other than the legendary Steven Spielberg.  And with the Spielberg touch, just about everything in the short parodied the director’s most popular movies, or at least his popular popcorn movies.  Don’t expect to see any Saving Private Ryan or Schindler’s List references floating around.  Even though you won’t see anyone shouting “Give Us Us Free!” it’s nice that Spielberg decided to drop by and join in the Laser Cats fun even though he wasn’t promoting an upcoming movie or TV series.

Hit the jump to check out the short, which also stars Laser Cats regulars Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, and Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels.

Alec Baldwin Will Still Appear Occasionally on 30 ROCK After Leaving in 2012

by Ethan Anderton    Posted: August 10th, 2011 at 10:13 am

Back in November of 2009, actor Alec Baldwin dropped a bit of a bomb saying that he was going to walk away from acting after finishing the sixth season of 30 Rock in 2012. While there’s also been rumblings from Baldwin that the sixth season would also be its last,  executive producer Lorne Michaels recently said the show would continue with a seventh season with or without Baldwin playing Jack Donaghy. Now a recent article from The New York Times discussing Baldwin’s political aspirations says that even after Baldwin leaves the show as a series regular, he’ll still “appear occasionally in future episodes” while he’s enrolled in a master’s program in politics and government. If anything it sounds like Baldwin will still guest star from time to time, but I doubt it will be anything substantial. It’ll be interesting to see if the show can sustain itself without Jack Dongahy around, but as a longtime fan, I’m willing to see what they can do without Baldwin as a series regular.

Alec Baldwin and Melissa McCarthy Set to Host SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

by Ethan Anderton    Posted: August 3rd, 2011 at 12:38 pm

The 37th season of the staple late night comedy sketch series Saturday Night Live is just around the corner, and two of the new season’s hosts have just been revealed. In an interview with Lorne Michaels for The New York Times, the producer revealed Alec Baldwin will return for a record 16th time as host of the season premiere, and breakout Bridesmaids star Melissa McCarthy has been lined up to host the second episode. In addition, no one has been axed while on hiatus this summer as the show’s entire cast is said to return this fall. Baldwin hosting is always a treat and I’m eager to see what McCarthy does in a sketch comedy setting. Here’s hoping the writers come through for both of them and deliver some quality sketches.

BRIDESMAIDS Star Melissa McCarthy and Co-Writer Annie Mumolo Sell Pitch to Paramount

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 14th, 2011 at 10:11 am

The Judd Apatow-produced comedy Bridesmaids hits theaters this weekend, and it’s pretty much getting raves from everyone who’s seen it. One of the breakout stars of the film is Melissa McCarthy, and now McCarthy and Bridesmaids co-writer Annie Mumolo have sold a comedy pitch of their own to Paramount. Deadline reports that Lorne Michaels and John Goldwyn will produce the flick, which is being developed for McCarthy to star.

Originally hatched by McCarthy’s husband Ben Falcone (who also appears in Bridesmaids), the premise is described as follows: “When your husband is ill and his doctors are out of ideas, piling in the minivan with your pals to steal the Stanley Cup is one way to go.” McCarthy, Mumolo and Falcone are all Groundlings vets. If you’ve haven’t seen Bridesmaids yet, do yourself a favor and go see one of the best comedies of the year.

NBC Picks Up Comedies UP ALL NIGHT and WHITNEY, Steven Spielberg Produced Musical SMASH, and PRIME SUSPECT Remake

by Ethan Anderton    Posted: May 11th, 2011 at 9:11 pm

After last night’s huge influx of news from Fox about series pick-ups, renewals and cancellations, it’s now NBC’s turn to announce some of their new series that we can look forward to in the fall. As of now there seems to be some dissension amongst the news outlets online as to whether or not Wonder Woman will actually get picked up, and other potential series like The Playboy Club are rumored for a pick-up but we haven’t heard anything official yet.

After the jump, check out the four new series that have definitely been picked up to premiere sometime this fall including a new sitcom from stand-up comedian Whitney Cummings, another comedy from Christina Applegate, a Broadway musical series from producer Steven Spielberg, and the stateside remake of the British crime drama Prime Suspect.

Kenan Thompson to Star in PARTY STARTERS

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: March 23rd, 2011 at 1:36 pm

Kenan Thompson has been kicking around Saturday Night Live for six years now and he’s finally going to get a movie out of it.  Deadline reports that SNL‘s executive producer Lorne Michaels has set Thompson to star in the original high-concept comedy Party Starters.  SNL writer Bryan Tucker will pen the screenplay.  While I want to say that I’m grateful the movie won’t come out of Thompson’s recurring sketches, MacGruber has taught me not to write off an SNL movie before it’s fully cooked.  Classic MacGruber.

Thompson will be providing the voice of Greedy Smurf in the upcoming 3D live-action/CGI family flick The Smurfs.  To the surprise of no one, Thompson’s starring roles in Good Burger and Fat Albert did not launch his film career.

Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand Pick Up MY MOTHER’S CURSE

by Jason Barr    Posted: January 28th, 2011 at 5:22 pm

Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand have signed on to star in Paramount’s road-trip comedy My Mother’s Curse.  Anne Fletcher (The Proposal) will direct the Dan Fogelman (Cars) script which pairs Rogen and the two-time Oscar-winner as mother and son.  Per THR, Fogelman’s script tells the story of an inventor (Rogen) who “invites his mother on a cross-country road trip as he tries to sell his new product.”  As the story goes, in the process, Streisand’s character is also reunited with a lost love.

In addition to starring and writing respectively, Rogen, Streisand, and Fogelman will act as executive producers on My Mother’s Curse alongside fellow exec. producer David Ellison.  Lorne Michaels and Evan Goldberg will also act as producers on the film which is scheduled to begin shooting this spring.

5 Movie Clips from MACGRUBER Starring Will Forte, Kristen Wiig, Ryan Phillippe, and Val Kilmer

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: May 6th, 2010 at 6:10 pm

When Rogue Pictures first announced they were making a MacGruber movie, I’ll admit to thinking it might not work.  After all, MacGruber is based on a very short Saturday Night Live sketch and I wasn’t sure he could make the transition to the big screen.  But based on the reviews out of SXSW where the film premiered, my nervousness was unfounded, as people loved the film and it’s currently at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes!  What I heard was it’s incredibly stupid but incredibly funny.  With a May 21st release date, we’ll all know if the film is as great as people are saying soon.

But if you’d like to get a look at a few scenes now, we’ve been given 5 clips and you can watch them after the jump.

James Franco’s SATURDAY NIGHT Goes Backstage at SNL: Highlights from Screening with Franco, Will Forte, Kenan Thompson and Jenny Slate

by Ron Messer    Posted: May 5th, 2010 at 1:53 pm

James Franco (Spider-Man and Pineapple Express) showcased Saturday Night, his all-access documentary about SNL for a New York premiere& panel at the Tribeca Film Festival on Sunday at the Directors Guild of America.  The film (which debuted at SXSW in March) is a fly-on-the wall look at the show’s production week for the December 6, 2008 episode with host John Malkovich.

Hit the jump to hear audio from a very lively panel moderated by Entertainment Weekly’s Dave Karger with Franco (who’s hosted SNL twice) and cast members: Will Forte (MacGruber), Kenan Thompson (Fat Albert) & Jenny Slate (who joined the cast nine months after the documentary was filmed).  They give away several secrets, including how Franco got unprecedented access; a big dispute over MacGruber & why Kenan Thompson didn’t think Ludacris was the most supportive host.

Betty White Confirmed to Host May 8th Episode of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

by Christopher Gilbreth    Posted: March 11th, 2010 at 12:57 pm

Golden gal Betty White has been tapped by Lorne Michaels to host the May 8^th episode of Saturday Night Live.  USA Today reports that the Mother’s Day centric episode will also feature guest appearances by numerous SNL alums. Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Molly Shannon are set to appear, among others. Obviously well known for her hilarious roles in The Mary Tyler Moore show and The Golden Girls, Betty White has won six Emmy Awards and has been nominated an astounding 18 times. Recently, Betty White has appeared in The Proposal along with Ryan Reynolds and newly minted Oscar recipient Sandra Bullock.  Oh, and she can be seen currently in that hilarious Snickers commercial where she gets clobbered into the ground while playing football. If a Snickers candy bar can cure one of lackadaisical play on the field, has anyone tried feeding one to Oakland Raiders Quarterback JaMarcus Russell? That guy need’s a case of ‘em.

We’ve also received an official press release which you can check out after the jump.

New SNL Digital Short James Cameron’s LASER CATS 5

by Michael Sullivan    Posted: January 17th, 2010 at 12:35 pm

Sigourney Weaver hosted last night’s episode of Saturday Night Live, and a good friend of hers appeared with her in the evening’s digital short: James Cameron.  The sketch has Cameron pitching a film to SNL producer Lorne Michaels that is equal parts Terminator, Aliens, Avatar, and bad.  The short’s clever, and it proves Cameron knows how to make a little fun of himself and some of his bolder assertions (like telling anyone who’d listen that Avatar would be a film industry “game changer”).  Watch the sketch for yourself after the jump.

Poor Economy Pushes Ryan Phillippe and Val Kilmer to Co-Star in MACGRUBER

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: July 8th, 2009 at 11:07 am

In what is the definition of a “paycheck movie”, Ryan Phillippe and Val Kilmer, two men who both have acting ability (although certainly Kilmer more than Phillippe) are in negotiations to co-star in the totally unnecessary, completely ill-advised “MacGruber” movie, based off the SNL “sketch”.  I put “sketch” in quotations because calling it a sketch would be charitable.  It is a running-gag that helps break up the painfully long SNL broadcast.  It is humorous.  It is not a movie.  It is not even a TV show.  It is barely a sketch on a good day.

Hit the jump to read about the “plot” and what roles Phillippe and Kilmer would be playing.

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