Saturday Night (2010)

In September 2008, actor James Franco was a guest host on the popular television comedy series Saturday Night Live. Franco was fascinated by the process in which a 90-minute broadcast was pulled together from scratch, and he approached SNL producer Lorne Michaels with the idea of making a behind-the-scenes documentary following the production of a typical episode, from first meeting with the writers to the final live broadcast. Michaels gave his permission, and in Saturday Night Franco and a small camera crew are on hand as John Malkovich joins the cast for the December 6, 2008 broadcast. Saturday Night features interviews with members of the cast, writing staff, and production team as well as a fly-on-the-wall view as an episode of Saturday Night Live takes shape; the writers pitch ideas to Michaels and Malkovich, the cast works to flesh out the sketches and make them work in front of an audience, and the crew tries to make it all look good on a tight schedule with an immovable deadline. James Franco's first feature film as a director, Saturday Night received its world premiere at the 2010 South by Southwest Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi