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SNL 50: Jane Curtin Didn't Originally Have High Opinion of Audience

With Saturday Night Live kicking off its milestone 50th season, original SNL cast member Jane Curtin admits she didn't originally have a high opinion on who would be watching.

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Jason Reitman's Saturday Night is certainly ambitious in trying to capture the chaos surrounding the premiere episode of Saturday Night Live in 1975. The biopic chronicles the struggles of creator Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) as he tries to organize the series with comedic unknowns and several creative challenges by NBC along the way. Co-written by Gil Kenan, the Sony Pictures/Columbia film cast Cory Michael Smith, Ella Hunt, Dylan O'Brien, Emily Fairn, Matt Wood, Lamorne Morris, and Kim Matula as the original "not ready for prime time players" Chevy Chase, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, Laraine Newman, John Belushi, Garrett Morris, and Jane Curtin. As one of the surviving cast members, Curtin, who hosted SNL's news segment Weekend Update from season two until five, spoke to The New York Times for the show's 50th season to reflect on the experiences she had in the premiere episode and the first season.

SNL Original Cast Jane Curtin Didn't Pay
Laraine Newman, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Gilda Ratner, Garrett Morris, Dan Aykroyd, and Chevy Chase in Saturday Night Live. Image courtesy of NBC

Jane Curtin Reflects Her Thoughts on Her Days on SNL and Not Thinking Much of the Audience

"I never really paid much attention to the audience," Curtin said. "I thought, well, anybody that's watching this must be really stupid. It gave me a lot of angst. So the way I dealt with it was, I was in this bubble, and we had a job to do within the bubble." As the show started seeing success, "You'd pass by people and they would shake. They had a physical reaction to you, because they could feel the energy behind what was happening at 30 Rock. And it was very, very exciting." The actress and comedian left after season five in 1980 going on to greater success on film and TV including memorable roles on CBS's Kate & Allie and NBC's Third Rock from the Sun. She's even reprised her recurring SNL sketch role as Prymatt in the 1993 Paramount film Coneheads and makes the occasional cameo for Michaels.

For more including how Curtin dealt with her lack of preparedness and pitching on SNL, you can check out the entire interview. Saturday Night is available in select theaters and everywhere on October 11th. SNL 50 premiered with Jean Smart as host and musical guest Jelly Roll on September 28th on NBC.

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Tom ChangAbout Tom Chang

I'm a follower of pop culture from gaming, comics, sci-fi, fantasy, film, and TV for over 30 years. I grew up reading magazines like Starlog, Mad, and Fangoria. As a writer for over 10 years, Star Wars was the first sci-fi franchise I fell in love with. I'm a nerd-of-all-trades.
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