Latest news with #sketches
News.com.au
22-06-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
The dark history behind SNL: The US TV show that launched countless careers
A launching pad for Eddie Murphy, Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler and Tina Fey, among many others, Saturday Night Live has a long and proud history of turning unknown comics into global superstars. Created by Lorne Michaels in 1975, SNL has also become the place for Hollywood actors and music chart-toppers to showcase their comedy chops, offer political commentary, and – in the case of Scarlett Johansson and Emma Stone – even find love. Stone met her now husband David McCary while he was a director and writer on the show and she was hosting for the third time, while Johansson – who has served seven stints as host – fell for Weekend Update anchor Colin Jost. The Jurassic World: Rebirth star told Access Hollywood that she relishes the SNL gig because the cast has come to feel like family. And Stone gushed: 'I have made so many memories here and so many friends, and I even met my husband here at SNL,' as she was hosting for the fifth time in 2023. Even stars who haven't found true love on set line up to do the show. Melissa McCarthy has been on five times, Tom Hanks 10, Steve Martin has hosted 16 times (plus giving the opening monologue at the recent 50th anniversary special SNL50), while Alec Baldwin is the reigning king of emcees with 17 appearances. And little wonder. With sketches that regularly go viral (think Ariana Grande as an off-key singing bridesmaid, Baldwin's Donald Trump impersonation, and Ryan Gosling as a man with an uncanny resemblance to the cartoon character Beavis, friend of Butt-Head), appearing on SNL is a great way to be part of the zeitgeist. And yet, in addition to being a blessing for those who take part in the weekly silliness, there is also a long-rumoured curse that hangs over the sketch show. Talk of the so-called SNL curse began with John Belushi's overdose in 1982 at the Chateau Marmont hotel in Los Angeles. He was just 33. An emotional Dan Aykroyd, who worked alongside Belushi on the first seasons of SNL before making their cult movie The Blues Brothers, still thinks about his friend every day, and believes the comic would have gone on to be a successful Broadway director had he not died. 'I learned that when friends reach out to you, you better get back to them quick, because I missed a phone call from John,' he said in an interview with Dan Rather in March. 'He left a message on my answering machine and I was in a period when I didn't really want to speak to him because he was being so uncompliant with what his wife wanted and with what we wanted. So, I let a day go by without responding – and it was too late by the time I heard the message. He was gone. So, when friends reach out to you, get back to them pretty quick. That's the lesson.' Other members of the original line-up have also died in tragic circumstances. Andy Kaufman (who was portrayed by Jim Carrey in the biopic Man On The Moon) and Gilda Radner both died from aggressive forms of cancer. And Jim Henson, who made regular appearances with his puppets in the inaugural season, died in 1990 when a bad cold escalated into toxic shock syndrome. Show regular Phil Hartman, who also voiced many popular Simpsons characters, was murdered by his wife in 1998, while Black Sheep comedian Chris Farley overdosed on drugs in 1997. Sandler remains close to Farley's family. During his 2022 stand-up tour, the Happy Gilmore star performed a musical tribute to his old friend for fans. Although it's not easy, Sandler enjoys talking about his late friend. 'I love hearing the crowd go nuts for Farley. Every show I do, by far the biggest applause of the night is talking about Farley,' he told the Happy Sad Confused podcast. Appearing on the SNL50, Sandler became visibly emotional while performing a tribute song about the series that launched his career, pausing to compose himself after mentioning Farley and Hartman. Not all cast members forged firm friendships during their tenure, though. Chevy Chase and Bill Murray famously came to blows just before the show went to air in 1978, as Chase was set to return as a guest host after departing SNL to make movies. He later blamed his old co-star Belushi for the infamous backstage showdown. 'Billy Murray and I came to fisticuffs, but we never really ended up hitting each other,' Chase told Esquire in a 2010 interview. 'We tried, but Belushi got in the middle and we both ended up hitting John. And if anybody deserved to be slapped in the forehead, it was John for instigating it all.' Chase and Murrary put their differences aside to make Caddy Shack together in 1980, and were both in attendance at this year's 50th anniversary celebrations. Murray even gave props to Chase's contributions to the show during his segment with Jost. The anniversary special brought back many of the show's most famous alumni from across the decades to perform sketches, along with a who's who of Hollywood stars. Meryl Streep and Woody Harrelson joined Kate McKinnon for a hilarious sketch about alien abduction; Kristen Wiig resurrected her Dooneese character alongside Kim Kardashian; and Rachel Dratch dusted off Debbie Downer for a stand-off with Robert DeNiro. For Eddie Murphy, who joined the series when he was 19 in 1980, the reunion was a happy reminder of having been part of an 'American Institution'. 'It was a trip,' Murphy told talk-show host Jennifer Hudson. 'Because everybody was real old.' Check out these movies featuring SNL alums: Daddy Day Care (2003): When Charlie (Murphy) and two pals are made redundant, they come up with the unorthodox plan to make some cash and keep their kids happy. Lost In Translation (2003): While spruiking whisky in Tokyo, an ageing Hollywood star (Murray) strikes up an unlikely friendship with a philosophy graduate (Johansson), bonding over their shared feeling of displacement. That's My Boy (2012): Sandler and Andy Samberg lead an all-star cast that includes James Caan and Susan Sarandon in this comedy about a deadbeat dad attempting to reunite with his estranged son.
CTV News
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Regina Poet & Artist launches new Sketches
Regina Poet & Artist launches new Sketches In honour of pride month, Regina Poet and Artist Zachari Logan launches a new collection of sketches and essays . Get to know more about his projects here.
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Amy Poehler Admits ‘I Misappropriated' with Certain ‘SNL' Sketches: ‘We All Played People' We Shouldn't Have
Amy Poehler knows that certain 'Saturday Night Live' sketches during her time on the series haven't aged well. An 'SNL' cast member from 2001 to 2008, Poehler portrayed public figures such as Japanese artist Yoko Ono and former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il during her time at Studio 8H. Now, Poehler has reflected on what she learned from potentially problematic sketches. More from IndieWire 'KPop Demon Hunters' Finds Music That Slays (Monsters) Watch the 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' Writers Discuss How They Have Become Experts at 'Pivoting' Poehler said during her 'Good Hang' podcast in the below video that 'getting older and being in comedy is you have to, like, figure out, 'Oh, it's like everything has an expiration date.'' Poehler returned earlier this year to NBC's 'SNL' stage for the 50th anniversary event, which included an 'In Memoriam' segment for such sketches. 'There was even on the 50th, when they had that segment which was like, 'Here's all the ways we got things wrong,' and they showed way inappropriate casting for people,' she said. 'We all played people that we should not have played. I misappropriated, I appropriated…I didn't know.' Poehler added, 'It's very real, and the best thing you can do is make repairs, learn from your mistakes, do better. It's all you can do.' During the 50th anniversary show, Tom Hanks introduced the 'In Memoriam' segment, saying, 'Even though these characters, accents, and let's just call them ethnic wigs were unquestionably in poor taste, you all laughed at them. So if anyone should be canceled, shouldn't it be you, the audience?' Poehler previously recalled being part of the star-studded 'SNL50' special. 'It was a night of famous alumni and people,' Poehler said on the 'Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend' podcast. 'There were so many people that people had to share dressing rooms, so I was sharing my dressing room with Meryl Streep. Just like a fan, I was taking a picture of the door that said my name and 'Meryl Streep,' and it was really cool.' Poehler added '[Meryl Streep] was getting ready for her sketch and really rehearsing it, and I remember thinking, 'I have never rehearsed as hard as Meryl Streep is in this one moment.'' Best of IndieWire Guillermo del Toro's Favorite Movies: 56 Films the Director Wants You to See 'Song of the South': 14 Things to Know About Disney's Most Controversial Movie Nicolas Winding Refn's Favorite Films: 37 Movies the Director Wants You to See
The Independent
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Roald Dahl sketches sell for almost £24,000 at auction
Original drawings by Roald Dahl which were found in an envelope have sold for almost £24,000. The collection of sketches were produced by Dahl in black ball point pen for his memoir, Boy (1984), in which he describes his experience of growing up. They were found in an envelope marked 'Dahl's drawings & odds and sods', which belonged to Ian Craig (1944-2023), art director at the author's publishing firm, Jonathan Cape, in London. Mr Craig, who died in 2023, created the final illustrations for the book, inspired by Dahl's drawings. The sketches were auctioned as part of the production archive from the late Mr Craig's estate and sold for £23,940 when they went under the hammer at Lyon & Turnbull in Edinburgh on Wednesday. Dominic Somerville-Brown, Lyon & Turnbull's rare books & manuscripts specialist, said: 'This archive is unique in the Roald Dahl canon – it's very rare to find material by his own hand. 'This is reflected in the price achieved which also demonstrates the enduring popularity of his children's stories 35 years after his death.' Dahl died in 1990 aged 74 and Boy is the only book which he produced illustrations for during his career of almost five decades. In the book, he writes about his childhood exploits, including playing a prank with his friends on the local sweetshop owner, Mrs Pratchett, by putting a dead mouse in a gobstopper jar. To accompany the story, Dahl drew a mouse lying on top of the sweets with its legs in the air. The collection of sketches was bought by a single buyer who wished to remain anonymous. A collection of rare manuscripts from Kilravock Castle, near Nairn in Highlands, also went under the hammer on Wednesday. It included a selection of letters and documents signed by Mary Queen of Scots, her father, James V, son, James VI and I, and mother, Mary of Guise. The collection sold for £124,614 to a number of different buyers as part of Lyon & Turnbull's Books & Manuscript auction. Described as one of the most important collections of historical Scottish manuscripts ever offered for sale, it included a letter from Mary, Queen of Scots to the Laird of Kilravock, appointing him Sheriff for Inverness and dated September 26 1565. The letter, signed by both the Queen ('Marie R.') and her then husband, Henry Stewart, Earl of Darnley ('Henry R.') sold for £15,120. Another of her letters, again signed jointly by the pair, in which they remove the charge of Inverness Castle from the Laird of Kilravock and give it to the Earl of Huntly, dated October 9 1565, went for £11,340. A group of five letters from her mother, Mary of Guise, sold for £6,930. Cathy Tait, head of books & manuscripts at Lyon & Turnbull, said: 'We are absolutely delighted with the results of the archive from Kilravock Castle. 'There was a great deal of interest from a wide range of collectors, both private and institutional.' 'The documents sold today comprise a range of very old and important items, illuminating Scotland's history, and we are pleased that they have found good homes.' All prices include buyer's premium.
BBC News
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Roald Dahl's sketches for memoir sell at auction for £24,000
Original sketches done by children's author Roald Dahl for his memoir have sold for nearly £24, who was born in Llandaff, Cardiff, produced the sketches in black ballpoint pen for the book Boy, which was published in his almost five-decade long career, these are the only book sketches he ever sold in Edinburgh for £23,940 as part of Lyon & Turnbull's books and manuscripts sale on Wednesday. In the book, Dahl - who moved to Buckinghamshire and died in 1990 at the age of 74 - wrote about his childhood exploits, including playing a prank with his friends on the local sweetshop owner, Mrs Pratchett, by putting a dead mouse in a gobstopper jar. To accompany this tale, Dahl drew a mouse lying on top of the sweets with its legs in the drawings were found in an envelope which belonged to the late Ian Craig, from Ipswich, who was art director at the author's publishing firm, Jonathan Cape, in sketches were sold as part of the production archive from Mr Craig's estate and included Mr Craig's own designs, as well as the publisher's original page layouts and Somerville-Brown, Lyon & Turnbull's rare books and manuscripts specialist said: "This archive is unique in the Roald Dahl canon – it's very rare to find material by his own hand."This is reflected in the price achieved which also demonstrates the enduring popularity of his children's stories 35 years after his death."
