The true story behind the Saturday Night Live movie

Saturday eveninga rousing account of the chaotic 90 minutes leading up to the first episode of Saturday Night Livewill be released in theaters nationwide on October 11th and is a nod to the October 11th, 1975 airdate of the comedy series' first episode, which was broadcast by NBC studio 8H. The film's release coincides with the series' 50th season, which began on September 28th.

Just as the social movements of the 1960s transformed every aspect of American life, the live comedy show was part of a revolution in television in the 1970s. But Saturday evening It's more about recreating a feeling than recreating actual events. “The goal is to make you feel what it feels like when you're about to hit the ground running in 8H, how it feels like there's no way the show is going to air because everything is so last second happened,” he says Saturday evening Director Jason Reitman. “They’re still painting the sets, hemming the dresses and wigs – it all happens right up to the last second.”

The filmmakers (Reitman also co-wrote the script with Gil Kenan) interviewed everyone they could who was on the set of the premiere, including SNL Creator and showrunner Lorne Michaels, actors, writers, people in the art department and even former NBC sites. And while the film may be more about capturing the spirit of the night than the exact events, many viewers may come away with some questions about a llama, a fire, and an aggressive censor. To take a look at which parts of the film were based on truth or fiction, TIME spoke with Reitman and James Andrew Miller, a writer for Live from New York: The Complete Uncensored Story of Saturday Night Live tells about its stars, authors and guests.

Read more: A who's who of famous faces in Saturday evening

How did it happen? Saturday Night Live arise?

NBC was looking for something to replace reruns of Johnny Carson's late-night TV show, and Carson (played by Jeff Witzke in the film) was all for it SNL Experiment.

Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle), a Canadian television writer, wanted to create a show for the generation that grew up watching television that reflected their fashion sense, musical taste and sense of humor. Reitman describes SNL as an “orphanage for a variety of artists and writers of all styles”. For example, the original cast was known as “The Not Ready for Prime Time Players” and included: Dan Aykroyd (played by Dylan O'Brien), John Belushi (Matt Wood), Chevy Chase (Cory Michael Smith), and Jane Curtin (Kim Matula) , Gilda Radner (Ella Hunt), Garrett Morris (Lamorne Morris) and Laraine Newman (Emily Fairn).

Al Franken (Taylor Gray), one of the first SNL Writer, remembers Live from New York: “We have written a perfect article for Saturday Night Live, a package of things we'd like to see on TV – a news parody, an advertising parody and a few sketches. Basically, we were hired.”

Saturday evening became Saturday Night Live in 1977.

Did Lorne Michaels really find one? SNL Writer in a bar?

Yes, as seen in Saturday eveningAlan Zweibel (Josh Brener) was discovered in a bar, although unlike in the film, this did not happen on the same evening as the first show. Michaels visited every type of nightclub looking for writers SNL. Accordingly Live from New York, Michaels walked up to Zweibel in a bar and said, “You know, you're the worst comedian I've ever seen in my life.” Zweibel said he wanted to have a wife and children one day, but they would starve if he didn't would find a job soon. Michaels asked Zweibel if he could look at his notes, and they arranged to meet again to talk more. Zweibel returned to his Long Island home that evening and said he stayed awake for two days, writing down every good joke he could think of during his job interview at the Plaza Hotel.

Michaels asked him how much money he needed to live, and Zweibel told him it would be great if he could make up the $2.75 an hour he was making at a deli. “But,” Zweibel recalls, “if there’s a damn mime on the show, I’m out of there.”

The first joke in the compendium Zweibel presented, the only joke Michaels read, was about how a new stamp commemorating prostitution in the United States costs a dime, but if the sender wants to lick it, then cost them a quarter. Chevy Chase made the joke on the first Weekend Update.

Why didn't John Belushi want to sign his contract?

In the film, Belushi avoids signing the contract for as long as possible. In the minutes before the show, Michaels finds him skating at the Rockefeller Center rink. It's true that Belushi didn't sign his contract until the day of the show. (Although it's unlikely he went ice skating.)

“Belushi completely disappeared that opening Saturday night,” says Reitman.

The actor had “nothing but contempt for television,” Miller says. “He thought it was inferior art. He thought there was a lot of crap on TV.”

Reitman explained his portrayal of Belushi: “I was deeply interested in Belushi's vulnerability and fears when he appeared on live television – how that would change his life and how that would define him from then on.”

Did the set really catch fire before that? SNL Premiere?

There was no fire. The set that caught fire is a dramatization of several mishaps leading up to the premiere. But there's a story in there SNL Lore about John Belushi accidentally setting Lorne Michaels' mattress on fire. After Belushi's fiancée, Judith, kicked him out of the house after an argument, he came to Michael's and ended up falling asleep with a lit cigarette.

However, it is true that on the SNL On set, Michaels kept asking for more lights – and that's what lights the fire in the film. Reitman explains, “He wanted the show to look as good as any other movie, so he kept adding sets, camera angles, lighting and things that had never been done before.”

Were sketches planned until the last minute?

Yes, the show lasted more than three hours until the dress rehearsal. In the film, Michaels receives the third degree of scrutiny from NBC executives who want to know what he's going to cut – and also what the show is even about. But Michaels never really gives them an answer. There's a reason for that, says Miller: “There was a lot of craziness, but Lorne probably didn't want to be restricted either. He didn't want to give them too much information. He wanted to have as much creative freedom as possible.”

How stoned was host George Carlin?

Carlin (Matthew Rhys) was invited. All sorts of substances fueled this SNL team over the years. It was apparently a miracle that he even made it onto the stage clothed. He made a fuss the night of the show because he wanted to wear a t-shirt on air, but NBC wanted him to wear a suit. Since the partners were not 100% on board with airing the show, the compromise was that Carlin would wear a suit and t-shirt instead of a tie. “It was a much bigger distraction than anyone can even imagine right now,” says Michaels Live from New York.

Should Lorne Michaels host Weekend Update?

That was the plan. At one point in the film's dress rehearsal you see him stumbling through his lines and not mastering the material. In reality, he had to choose whether he wanted to be one of the actors or one of the producers. He was about the same age as the actors. Reitman describes the decision: “Are you going to be one of the kids? Or will you be the father?”

But the role went to Chase. Reitman remembers Dave Tebet (Willem Dafoe), who was managing talent for the network, and immediately identified Chase as a star. “In Tebet’s eyes, Chevy represented the opportunity Saturday Night Live,“, as Reitman puts it. That's why Chase's character is so cocky in the film. Herb Sargent (Tracy Letts), one of the early writers, recalls a more humble encounter in the minutes before the first broadcast, when Chase said to him, “'What's going to happen to me?' Where do I go from here?” Sargent said, “You'll probably end up hosting a talk show.”

Why is there a llama backstage? SNL?

The llama in the film is said to represent the showrunners' early decision that – as a running gag – the audience would see a live llama, a showgirl and a man dressed as Abraham Lincoln every time the cameras went backstage. The joke has been a tradition for 50 years.

Who is the woman representing the NBC Standards department?

According to Reitman, the character played by Catherine Curtin is a composition based on several women who ensured that nothing X-rated was broadcast to NBC's family-friendly audience. According to the film, there was actually a woman in NBC's standards department who asked what a golden shower was. “Several people told me that they tried to hide things in the script to see what she would notice,” says Reitman.

Were there really Maurer on the set of the premiere?

Yes, they laid the bricks in the shape of a home base (like in baseball) and it was supposed to represent a street corner in NYC. “If you were watching from anywhere in America, you would see the home base and feel like you were being teleported to a gritty New York street.”

The image of people literally laying bricks is a metaphor for how groundbreaking the show was. Reitman says, “Lorne approached every part of producing a television show as if it never had to be done, like laying bricks, which no one would ever do on a television show.”