An interview with humorist Simon Rich on comedy, writing stories for the New Yorker vs. writing sketches for SNL, and his new book Spoiled Brats.
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Posted inEditor's Pick
In Conversation: SNL’s Lorne Michaels
The producer reflects on how he keeps up with the Saturday Night Live schedule, and how Jimmy Fallon will handle the new Tonight Show: Conan was an easy decision for me. Both Jay and Dave were essentially my generation—they were boomers. I thought the smart move was to drop down a generation, but if you’re […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
The Truth About What Goes On at the 'SNL' After-Party
“If you had a good show you’re on cloud nine,” said Jon Lovitz, who had a lot of them in the mid–1980s. On the other hand, Mr. Lovitz recalled the forlorn night when he had appeared in only one sketch, and was sitting at the party with Phil Hartman, Dana Carvey and Mike Myers. “It […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
What Really Goes On at the ‘SNL’ After-Party
Paul Brownfield investigates ‘SNL’’s legendary New York after-parties, and whether they’re actually any fun: “If you had a good show you’re on cloud nine,” said Jon Lovitz. who had a lot of them in the mid–1980s. On the other hand, Mr. Lovitz recalled the forlorn night when he had appeared in only one sketch, and […]
Posted inNonfiction, Profiles & Interviews
Interview: Simon Rich on Guilt, Humor Writing, and Being the Worst Person Ever
“I’m certainly as revolting and privileged and narcissistic as any of the hipsters described in my book, if not more so. I mean, there’s nobody worse than me.”
Posted inUncategorized
An SNL Sketch Comes Down to the Wire
“As Rhys was watching down the final cut, he noticed two errors: one shot slipped into the cut without being ‘un-squeezed’ and another repositioned shot had lost its repo. We all know that these kinds of errors happen all the time, but they rarely happen when you are literally gun-to-the-head, minutes away from a live […]
Posted inNonfiction, Profiles & Interviews, Story
Interview: Simon Rich on Guilt, Humor Writing, and Being the Worst Person Ever
“I’m certainly as revolting and privileged and narcissistic as any of the hipsters described in my book, if not more so. I mean, there’s nobody worse than me.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
How an SNL Trailer Parody Gets Made: Wes Anderson’s ‘Midnight Coterie of Sinister Intruders’
Alex Buono, director of photography for Saturday Night Live’s film unit, offers an incredibly detailed post on how they shot the recent Wes Anderson horror-film parody, all the way down to the sets, color palettes, location scouting and lighting. He also reveals just how quickly the entire team needed to work in order to make […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
The God of ‘SNL’ Will See You Now
Current and former cast members of Saturday Night Live—and one who didn’t make it—reflect on what it’s like to audition for Lorne Michaels: “Marc Maron: I think I was a little high on pot. There were some pictures facing [Mr. Michaels], and in front of the pictures was a bowl of candy. It was all […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
Regrettable
What happened when the author re-reported Bob Woodward’s book on John Belushi: “Of all the people I interviewed, SNL writer and current Sen. Al Franken, referencing his late comedy partner Tom Davis, offered the most apt description of Woodward’s one-sided approach to the drug use in Belushi’s story: ‘Tom Davis said the best thing about […]
