One of the buzziest 2024 movies to hit cinemas this weekend is Saturday Night, and it just received some major praise from the perfect source. Dan Aykroyd, who is portrayed by Dylan O’Brien in the movie about the preparations that went into the first SNL episode in 1975, has called it “a stand-alone masterpiece” that he hopes is on the way to Oscar glory.
Now that audiences can experience Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night for themselves, Aykroyd took to his X (formerly known as Twitter) page to share his thoughts on the movie. In his words:
Cracking a Head to applaud Jason Reitman's triumphant SNL film. Wow! What a propulsive, engaging, funny, beautifully cast and acted, suspenseful, adventurous, music-filled ride. A perfect window into the creative process at its highest level. Pretty accurate too. I was there that night and got to relive it wonderfully again. Congratulations Gil, Jason and Blumie. Don't miss it whether you know the show or not. It is a stand-alone masterpiece and surefire candidate for Best Picture.
Whoa, this is a huge stamp of approval for Saturday Night! As Dan Aykroyd expressed, and as shown in the movie itself, he was there for the premiere episode of SNL alongside other comedy icons like Chevy Chase, Gilda Radnor, John Belushi and Garrett Morris. If you're an audience member who goes into the movie feeling skeptical that it's anywhere close to the true story, someone who lived it has now shared that it's “pretty accurate.”
Aykroyd sounds like he truly enjoyed going back to memory lane over the history-making day that Saturday Night immortalizes. The movie specifically takes viewers through the nonstop 90 minutes right before the first episode of the beloved sketch show began. Dan Aykroyd’s presence on the premiere of SNL would turn into four years of his life (1975-1979) where he was part of some of the funniest recurring characters on the show, like The Coneheads, The Festrunk Brothers (with Steve Martin) and Irwin Mainway.
His time on SNL fed directly into his Hollywood career, working with John Belushi on The Blues Brothers, Bill Murray on the Ghostbusters movies, and Eddie Murphy on Trading Places. Aykroyd and the Ghostbusters cast were directed by Ivan Reitman, who is the father of Saturday Night’s filmmaker, Jason Reitman. (Jason Reitman also worked with Aykroyd on the two recent Ghostbusters movies.)
At the premiere of Saturday Night, Bill Murray introduced the movie as well. Actors from the early TV show giving this movie its props is a great sign, but Saturday Night is also getting great reviews from critics and audiences alike.
It sounds like the perfect tribute to the sketch show as it recently began its 50th season on NBC. Check out the SNL movie in theaters now and check out our Saturday Night exclusive interviews here on CinemaBlend.
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Sarah El-Mahmoud
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Sarah El-Mahmoud has been with CinemaBlend since 2018 after graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in Journalism. In college, she was the Managing Editor of the award-winning college paper, The Daily Titan, where she specialized in writing/editing long-form features, profiles and arts & entertainment coverage, including her first run-in with movie reporting, with a phone interview with Guillermo del Toro for Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water. Now she's into covering YA television and movies, and plenty of horror. Word webslinger. All her writing should be read in Sarah Connor’s Terminator 2 voice over.
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