Saturday Night, Jason Reitman's film about the chaotic night of the 1975 premiere of NBC's now iconic live sketch show SNL, definitely generated plenty of buzz ahead of its Oct. 11 release but just how accurate is the film when it comes to what really goes on behind the scenes? Enstarz spoke to SNL's legendary cue card handler, Wally Feresten, who gave his take on the biographical film given his 35 years of experience working at Studio 8H.

The film is based on the true story of the 1975 premiere of the show, including creator Lorne Michaels' fight to get the daring show on air and the chemistry of the all-star - and very much unfiltered -- cast of the first season of SNL. The ensemble cast for Saturday Night includes Cory Michael Smith (playing Chevy Chase), Dylan O'Brien (playing Dan Aykroyd), Lamorne Morris (playing Garrett Morris), Finn Wolfhard (playing an NBC page), Nicholas Braun (playing Andy Kaufman), Kaia Gerber (playing Jaqueline Carlin) and more. Wally, who's famously appeared on camera multiple times and who's been a true staple of SNL for 35 seasons, says the cast did visit the set.

"Most of the cast came and were hanging out, like, between shows and watching and Jason Reitman came and I met him, they were so nice and he was so nice," Wally says of the cast and the director.

Wally also traveled to Atlanta to see the Saturday Night set, which he described as "surreal."

"It was crazy how close it was," he says of how the film's set compares to real life. "It's a wonderful movie, it's really a wonderful, wonderful movie. And the thing that I didn't expect to happen was when it ended, I had tears in my eyes and I got really emotional because I had worked on this show for over 35 years. It's been my life, it's supported my family and my kids and, you know, they grew up around the show and the ending is -- I won't spoil it but it was a choice, they weren't even going to air that show and it came down to the last second and they aired SNL and 50 years later, blah blah blah -- I wasn't expecting it. ... I started almost crying. This show has become my life. It's just really special. My son worked on it and seeing the cue cards and everything, I think they got a lot right."

"Of course, I wasn't there so I can't say, but the atmosphere is not as crazy now because obviously we have systems [in place]," he adds. "They were rehearsing sketches between dress rehearsal and air. We don't do that ... We don't rehearse anything. It was before systems were in place."

Wally notes the film isn't as anxiety-inducing as he thought it would be, given its premise and how up in the air the premiere was at the time.

"It was fascinating, it was great," he says of the film. "It was not as stressful as I thought it might be, but it was stressful enough where you can enjoy it."

As for how Michaels is portrayed in the film, Wally says the legendary creator's passion for the sketch show is still very much present today amid the entertainment industry currently being rocked by layoffs and uncertainty.

"He's fighting for the show and I can tell you, he's still fighting for the show 50 years later," Wally says. "It's his baby and he treats it like that, and he fights to get things done and on, and people on, and it's wonderful."

As for what's ahead for SNL's 50th season, there have already been some unexpected challenges -- for example, Oct. 5 host Nate Bargatze is color blind, which led to major cue card adjustments. But the season is also special given its an election year, which means the show is bringing back its iconic impressions from vets like Maya Rudolph (as Kamala Harris), Andy Samberg (as Doug Emhoff) and more. Wally says Michaels has been instrumental in bringing back past cast members.

"They're just killing it and it's really fun," he says of the much talked-about political impersonations.

Enstarz also talked to Wally's son, Matth Feresten, who worked on Saturday Night as a cue card consultant and in the props department. Matt said he treated the film like an actual SNL show, and that the cue cards aspect was definitely authentic and "flawless." Matt said he was also "blown away" when he was shown the set given how authentic it was.

"I felt like I was at SNL. I was there," he says.

Matt shares that Reitman and his writing partner, Gil Kenan, interviewed everyone they could who was present at the 1975 premiere of SNL and still alive, like Aykroyd. As for the ensemble cast of the film, he shares that they were all friendly and would often come on set even though they weren't scheduled to shoot that day.

"It was just very collaborative and friendships being made," he says. "I didn't want to leave work at night."

"This is once in a blue moon where you have a production that's not only fun to work on but it's like, something that is going to maybe have a lasting impact," he adds.

As for his own reaction to the film, he says he's still processing it given his close connection to the film both personally and professionally.

"I am kind of in that head space where I am still in a little bit of shock of, I'm very blessed, I'm very lucky to have had this opportunity and I just learned so much that I'm still taking it in," he says.

Saturday Night is in theaters now.

Tags
Saturday Night Live, Movies