Chaos and creativity: Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle), Gilda Radner (Ella Hunt), John Belushi (Matt Wood), and Dan Aykroyd (Dylan O’Brien) in Saturday Night. The comedy about the first ever episode of Saturday Night Live gets a special screening Feb. 1 at AFS Cinema with director Jason Reitman in attendance. Credit: Image Courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment

A little Hollywood, a little NYC, a little bit Canada, a little bit Austin. On Feb. 1, AFS Cinema and the Harry Ransom Center will be presenting a special screening of Saturday Night, Jason Reitman’s frenetic comedy about the first ever episode of Saturday Night Live.

The film was a passion project for Reitman, who grew up around many SNL legends from their friendship with his father, filmmaker Ivan Reitman. Later, he got to work with his father’s friends himself through directing Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd in Ghostbusters: Afterlife (read more about the making of Saturday Night here).

Reitman also has a long history with Austin, having filmed 2014’s Men, Women & Children here. More recently, The connection between 30 Rockefeller Plaza’s Studio 8H and Austin has been equally strong: Reitman was last in Austin during Fantastic Fest 2024 for a secret screening of Saturday Night, while last week the Ransom Center announced that SNL creator Lorne Michaels was donating his archive to its shelves. (Highlights of the collection will be featured in a special exhibition, starting September, titled Live from New York! The Making of Lorne Michaels.)

Now Reitman returns for this special screening at AFS Cinema, followed by a conversation with Austin Film Society board member Noah Hawley, producer of Fargo, Legion, and the upcoming Alien: Earth. And, unlike the first episode of SNL, they won’t have an NBC page handing out free tickets on the sidewalk, so grab yours now.

AFS Cinema and the Harry Ransom Center present Saturday Night in 35mm with director Jason Reitman in conversation with Noah Hawley on Saturday, Feb. 1, 7:30pm at AFS Cinema (6259 Middle Fiskville). Tickets available now at austinfilm.org.

This article appears in January 17 • 2025.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.