Aahana Swrup
‘Saturday Night‘ is a comedy-drama film that chronicles the 90-minute window before the broadcast of ‘Saturday Night Live,’ the unconventional live show that hit the late-night television scene of 1975. Jason Reitman’s dramatized telling of the historical story follows producer and creator Lorne Michaels, who must tackle a plethora of issues that one wouldn’t usually expect to be left to the last hour, such as the finalized script and talent contracts. Nonetheless, before the clock strikes 11:30 p.m. at NBC studios—which is overridden with a chaotic troupe of young and wild comedians—Lorne must pull all the strings together to put on one of the most important shows of his life.
The film presents a riot of an ensemble cast who take on the on-screen roles of comedy legends from the 1970s, such as Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Garrett Morris, and more. Among these comedians, a few writers and producers are also sprinkled into the mix, including Neil Levy, a talent coordinator who assists Lorne around the set.
Neil Levy Was Lorne Michaels’ Cousin Who Was Involved in SNL Production
For the most part, ‘Saturday Night’ presents a realistic story of the events leading up to 11:30 p.m. on October 11, 1975, when ‘Saturday Night Live’ first aired. While the occasional creative liberty is equipped to add a cinematic or humorous touch to certain instances, the film doesn’t stray far from reality when it comes to its characters. As such, even Andrew Barth Feldman’s character, Neil Levy—mostly seen behind the camera—is based on a real person. The actual Neil Levy was Lorne Michael’s cousin, who was involved with the production of the live sketch comedy show.
Levy was a part of the ‘SNL’ crew as the production assistant and talent coordinator from 1975 to 1985. He also served as a writer on the show from 1977 to 1978 and contributed to a total of sixteen episodes that aired. As such, considering his presence on the show during its early days, it’s likely that Levy was a part of the first production crew that laid down the roots for ‘Saturday Night Live’ on the night of its first broadcast. Reportedly, as a talent coordinator, Levy has had to handle a pesky situation with some guests, such as Kris Kristofferson and Broderick Crawford. As the story goes, both guest hosts on the show were a little drunk while on set. Therefore, his on-screen depiction of handling characters like flight risk John Belushi and easily irate George Carlin seems pretty close to reality.
Neil Levy Got High on Set—But Not on Opening Night
In the film, one of the more memorable scenes involving Neil’s character arrives when he has to help Lorne in searching for John Belushi, who has recently taken off in a fit of annoyance. As the young assistant embarks on the search, he crosses paths with some cast members who are smoking marijuana. Naturally, curiosity wins out, and Neil takes a hit of their joint, which paves the way for a striking first-time trip. As a result, he gets overwhelmed and locks himself in a room. In the end, he has to be coaxed out of the room by some of the comedians, including Chevy Chase, Gilda Radner, and Dan Aykroyd.
While this storyline revolving around Neil Levy is partially fictionalized, it isn’t entirely devoid of reality. As per Levy’s account, he did get high on the ‘Saturday Night Light’ set and freaked out so much that he locked himself into a room. Afterward, the real Dan Aykroyd helped him out by cracking a few jokes that relaxed Levy enough to get him out of the room. However, this did not take place on the night that ‘SNL’ was set to have its first-ever broadcast. Therefore, the film’s depiction of the real-life Neil Levy remains accurate—even if chronologically out of order.
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