James Franco’s SATURDAY NIGHT to be released for a limited time only!
Do you love James Franco? Do you love to laugh? Do you still find SNL somewhat funny? Then you are almost certain to enjoy James Franco's documentary, SATURDAY NIGHT. As the name might imply, the doc is the first ever documented footage of the making of an episode of Saturday Night Live. Many a filmmaker before Franco have tried, and failed to crack the elusive shell of Studio 8H, Rockefeller Plaza, but Franco is the first to succeed. Speaking as someone who was lucky enough to see the film way back in March at SXSW, I can assure you it was worth the effort.
Well now, Franco has told Risky Business that Oscilloscope has picked the film up for a short run starting in February, 2011.
Apparently, the film came first as a school project assigned to Franco during his stint as an NYU Film student. Franco was told to build a 7-minute observational documentary on a person "to shape a character" around. Originally, he was to shoot with artist, Dan Cohen, but those plans fell through. Franco then turned his attention to SNL cast member and comedic genius, Bill Hader. Needless to say, Franco passed the assignment.
Honestly, I've lost love for SNL as of late, but to watch that many comedic minds of that caliber in one place was truly fantastic. The film covers an entire week- Sunday morning to Sunday morning, and takes a sharp eye to all aspects, including writing the sketches, read throughs, and cuts made by SNL Producer, Lorne Michaels. The film is educational and eye-opening as it is hilarious. If you are lucky enough to find yourself in a city where SATURDAY NIGHT is playing, do yourself a favor and go see it.
Also, read our SXSW review of SATURDAY NIGHT by our very own Will Schiffelbein.
Source: First Showing (via Risky Business)
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