It has been said that if you remember anything about the seventies, you weren’t actually there but as a teenager staring at the television set with disbelief as the original live broadcast burned itself into my brain cells, the memories are still vivid. The characters that made up the cast had such strong on-screen personalities and the comic routines were so outrageous for their time. The moral pendulum that swings in both directions time after time was actually being influenced by a TV show.

The film which presents a behind-the-scenes look at the total pandemonium that took place before that first episode was broadcast (live of course) has a kinetic energy that is infectious to the extreme. The viewing will be helped of course by some previous knowledge of the crazies involved but even with no prior awareness, the lines are comically drawn between good and evil. It even explains the nefarious reason why the show came into existence in the first place.

The mid-nineteen seventies were both a fertile and confusing time, with so much of the good and bad in the world on daily display via that electronic box. Restrictions on televised content were starting to be relaxed and it opened a window of opportunity to make lasting statements. Conversations that today would have extreme difficulty becoming part of a public debate. The sides are so clearly drawn today that true thought-provoking anarchy seems in short supply but it’s creative endeavours like Saturday Night Live and this film that thankfully keep the freak flag flying.
Rob Hudson
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Screening includes a Green Room Cocktail on arrival.

Academy Award Nominated director Jason Reitman turns TV history into a supremely satisfying tale. Hot from its acclaimed debut at Telluride Film Festival, the true story, told in real-time, of the first ever Saturday Night Live is an anarchic, joyous, and nerve-racking rollercoaster.

Gabriel LaBelle leads a cast of talented young actors, including Dylan O’Brien, Lamorne Morris, Finn Wolfhard, Nicholas Braun, and Cooper Hoffman, to portray the titans of comedy of the mid-70s like Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin, John Belushi, and Andy Kaufman.

The always brilliant J.K Simmons and Willem Dafoe round out a pitch-perfect ensemble to capture the luck and lunacy from which SNL was born.

LIVE FROM DENDY – SATURDAY NIGHT PREVIEWS

Live from Dendy Cinemas – Saturday Night Previews
Saturday, October 26 @ 6.30pm
Dendy Cinemas Coorparoo | Dendy Cinemas Portside
www.dendy.com.au/

At 11:30pm on October 11, 1975, a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers changed television – and culture – forever.

Directed by Jason Reitman and written by Gil Kenan & Reitman, Saturday Night is based on the true story of what happened behind the scenes in the 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast of Saturday Night Live.

Full of humour, chaos, and the magic of a revolution that almost wasn’t, we count down the minutes in real time until we hear those famous words…

Starring (in order of appearance) Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennott, Cory Michael Smith, Ella Hunt, Dylan O’Brien, Emily Fairn, Matt Wood, Lamorne Morris, Kim Matula, Finn Wolfhard, Nicholas Braun, Cooper Hoffman, Andrew Barth Feldman, Kaia Gerber, Tommy Dewey, Willem Dafoe, Matthew Rhys, J.K. Simmons. Also rounding out the ensemble cast are Jon Batiste and Naomi McPherson.
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Competition will be drawn October 30, winners will be notified by mail.

Directed by Jason Reitman and written by Gil Kenan & Reitman, Saturday Night is based on the true story of what happened behind the scenes in the 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast of Saturday Night Live.

Full of humour, chaos, and the magic of a revolution that almost wasn’t, we count down the minutes in real time until we hear those famous words…

Starring (in order of appearance) Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennott, Cory Michael Smith, Ella Hunt, Dylan O’Brien, Emily Fairn, Matt Wood, Lamorne Morris, Kim Matula, Finn Wolfhard, Nicholas Braun, Cooper Hoffman, Andrew Barth Feldman, Kaia Gerber, Tommy Dewey, Willem Dafoe, Matthew Rhys, J.K. Simmons. Also rounding out the ensemble cast are Jon Batiste and Naomi McPherson.
www.facebook.com/SonyPicturesAUS/

Directed by Jason Reitman and written by Gil Kenan & Reitman, Saturday Night is based on the true story of what happened behind the scenes in the 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast of Saturday Night Live. Full of humour, chaos, and the magic of a revolution that almost wasn’t, we count down the minutes in real time until we hear those famous words…

Starring (in order of appearance) Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennott, Cory Michael Smith, Ella Hunt, Dylan O’Brien, Emily Fairn, Matt Wood, Lamorne Morris, Kim Matula, Finn Wolfhard, Nicholas Braun, Cooper Hoffman, Andrew Barth Feldman, Kaia Gerber, Tommy Dewey, Willem Dafoe, Matthew Rhys, J.K. Simmons. Also rounding out the ensemble cast are Jon Batiste and Naomi McPherson.

Saturday Night is coming to cinemas October 31!
www.facebook.com/SonyPicturesAUS/

At 11:30pm on October 11, 1975, a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers changed television – and culture – forever.

Directed by Jason Reitman and written by Gil Kenan & Reitman, Saturday Night is based on the true story of what happened behind the scenes in the 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast of Saturday Night Live.

Full of humor, chaos, and the magic of a revolution that almost wasn’t, we count down the minutes in real time until we hear those famous words…

Starring (in order of appearance) Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennott, Cory Michael Smith, Ella Hunt, Dylan O’Brien, Emily Fairn, Matt Wood, Lamorne Morris, Kim Matula, Finn Wolfhard, Nicholas Braun, Cooper Hoffman, Andrew Barth Feldman, Kaia Gerber, Tommy Dewey, Willem Dafoe, Matthew Rhys, J.K. Simmons
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Seems the picture was attached to something called Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. This collection of moving images is called a movie. Now most rooms that show these moving images don’t allow puppies, can you imagine? So when my humans realised my attraction, after many nudges, they found a place for me and my fellow doggies to enjoy these moving pictures.

Turns out it was outdoors as well. When we arrived, there were so many potential new best friends I couldn’t contain my excitement and there were good smells everywhere as well. As the images flickered all the humans were laughing and having a good time but there was a problem. Almost all of them had these hot food discs that smelled wonderful and I wasn’t allowed any of them. What gives? Don’t they make any puppy-approved ones?

All of the humans seemed to love being outdoors with their dogs and I got so many cuddles and pats, it was so much fun. So humans out there don’t forget that we, your four-legged friends love to be outdoors and see the moving images too, especially if Paul Rudd is in them.

The Dendy Powerhouse Outdoor Theatre with have a its next dog-friendly screening – Challengers – on Sunday May 19.
Nina Hudson
www.powerhouse.dendy.com.au

The much-maligned attempt at a reboot in 2016 featured an all-female cast consisting of Saturday Night Live alumni and was very unfairly treated by the press and public, it wasn’t great but was more fun than it was given credit for. A lot of that was a gender bias. Then the brains behind the series handed it off to Paul Feig for 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife. It told a story outside the original but was still set in the same world. It made $204 million worldwide against a budget of $75 million.

Now, in 2024 we have Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. This time it combines cast members from the original two films and the last one, Afterlife. The action also moves back into the big city. The pace in the first half is more leisurely and story-based while things get intense from mid-way on. Even with the crazy advancements of computer-generated imagery throughout the years, they have kept a mostly quaint and lo-fi look to the apparitions on show. Even with the much-ridiculed all-lady version still in some people’s minds, this is still a story that features very strong female characters.

It’s all good fun and is a throwback to the time when just entertaining an audience was paramount to the big studios. The dialogue is clean and the spectre of evil is very cartoon-like and not that threatening. It has a few scary moments but shouldn’t traumatise the little ones too much. Also, people who know the first Ghostbusters films (the ones from decades ago) will have a great time and revel in this latest edition.
Rob Husdon
www.facebook.com/SonyPicturesAUS/

In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse – to team up with the original Ghostbusters, who’ve developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level.

But when the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second Ice Age.

Starring Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, Celeste O’Connor, Logan Kim, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire – opens March 21!
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In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse – to team up with the original Ghostbusters, who’ve developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level.

But when the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second Ice Age.

Starring Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, Celeste O’Connor, Logan Kim, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire – opens March 21!
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