Funny how you stumble on fairly obscure books once in a while. I was listening to a Curtis Sittenfeld interview about her new novel ROMANTIC COMEDY. The novel is about a writer working on a show modeled on SNL. She referenced several books that she read in order to understand the workings of the show and this was one of them. Jay Moehr was on the show from 1993-95 and recounts his experiences in GASPING FOR AIR. Apparently not having much success in either getting your scripts on air or on appearing on air quickly is very common. But Moehr doesn't seem aware of that and felt unsuccessful with the few appearances he made. The book details what various cast members and guests and the production wing of the show were like. At just 21, as many first-year cast members are, he was too immature to know how to hone his craft or wait it out.
Sittenfeld also recommended a documentary SATURDAY NIGHT (Directed by James Franco) which documents the making of an episode in 2008. This was fun to watch too--to see all the jockeying that goes on to get a script accepted for the show. Men during that period certainly seemed to have the upper hand. Witness Bill Hader, Fred Armissen, Seth Meyers, Will Forte, Jason Sudeikis
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This sounds really interesting, Patti. I can't say I've been a regular SNL watcher - not for a very long time. But the behind-the-scenes perspective is appealing.
Yeah, I haven't watched it regularly in 30 years but I found it interesting because it's the same show in many ways.
Even down to the sexual politics, etc. Founding and usual producer (except for a few years
around the turn of the '80s) Lorne Michaels always has been a kind of egomaniac, who plays all kinds of favorites while indulging in iron whims. The guy who ran the public access television and radio in Fairfax County, VA, in the years I volunteered there, was a consistent pain in the ass who moved on to the two Virginia public tv stations, which had offices and studios across the parking lot, and which became the core of the MHz Worldview broadcast network and the MHz multiplexed channels (and the continuing MHz Worldview streaming service, I think continuing)...he reminded me of a Michaels writ smaller, even down to the affectations.
I should go look to see what Mohr and his ex-wife Nikki Cox are up to these years...haven't seen too much from either of them. One wonders how much we'll be seeing of Franco in the next few years, at least, as well...
James Mohr, btw.
Or, rather, Jay Mohr! It's a name that demand misspselling.
I doubt Franco will ever recover from the charges levied against him. If Al Frankel couldn't....
Al Franken realized he was acting like a lecherous teen, as well as facing some pressure to step aside (now if we could remove the Diane Feinsteins and other neoliberal relics from their deathgrip on the party). I'm not sure Franco has that kind of self-awareness in him. I think Franken, if he had the energy, could probably be rested, pasty and ready, in the Minnesota version of the Nixonian chant.
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