As a gamer with a soft spot for movies, especially comedies, I must say that the story of Nicholas Podany‘s journey to portray Billy Crystal in “Saturday Night” is nothing short of inspiring. Having grown up on the golden era of SNL, it’s fascinating to see how the dynamics have evolved over time, from Andy Samberg’s digital shorts to Tina Fey satirizing political figures.
As I prepared for my audition to play Billy Crystal in a romantic comedy, I’ll be honest, I found myself watching “When Harry Met Sally” for the first time with a bit of awkwardness creeping in.
This evening, Podany is planning to attend the initial weekend release of “Jason Retiman’s Saturday Night,” which expands nationwide on October 11th. The movie unfolds in real-time, recounting the chaotic 90 minutes leading up to the first episode of “Saturday Night Live” back in 1975.
A performer named Podany, who honed his skills at Julliard and graced the stage on Broadway in “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child“, initially auditioned for cast member Dan Aykroyd of SNL. For this self-tape, he reenacted Aykroyd’s “Super Bass-o-Matic” skit, where the actor destroyed a bass in a blender. After this initial audition, Podany was invited to try out for the role of a young Lorne Michaels and received a callback. However, instead of being considered for Michaels, he was given scripts to read for a younger version of Crystal.
In his 20s, Eddie Murphy, who was making a name for himself as a stand-up comedian, got booked to perform on the debut episode of Saturday Night Live. However, his act, which included him mimicking the sound of footsteps by crunching potato chips during an African safari sketch, was deemed too lengthy for an episode that was already packed full. (Despite being cut from the broadcast, Murphy performed this routine numerous times in front of live audiences, including during the Comic Relief TV specials he hosted alongside Whoopi Goldberg and Robin Williams.)
As Podany prepared for the audition, he revisited Crystal’s monologue from his SNL hosting in 1980 (“He’s in great leather pants.”) and, indeed, the iconic Nora Ephron rom-com. After catching a glimpse of Crystal’s work, Podany found himself questioning: “Could I possibly pull off that voice?
Although it was June, Podany made his way to his audition wearing a bulky sweater. Reminded by the recent viewing of “When Harry Met Sally,” which has autumnal undertones, he seemed reminiscent of Billy Crystal’s character. Reitman recalls Podany’s audition, stating, “He enters and performs a spot-on Billy Crystal impression. John [Papsidera, the Saturday Night Live casting director] and I were astounded. ‘Wow,’ we said, ‘you must be a big fan of Billy Crystal.’ To which he replied, ‘No, I simply watched numerous videos of him over the weekend.’
Podany recalled, with a touch of awkwardness, that before this encounter, he had only known him through the movie ‘Monsters Inc’, where Crystal lent her voice to the character Mike Wazowski,” explains Podany, referencing the Pixar film.
If you’re curious about how to give a Crystal impression, Podany explains it like this: “You remove all the bass tones from your voice and instead project them from your nose and sinuses,” says the actor, indicating those areas. “Then, add a New York accent.
Normally, Podany’s extraordinary ability to imitate Crystal might just be a novelty act at parties, but for Saturday Night, it earned him his largest film role yet.
According to Podany, Jason emailed him briefly saying, “Hey, it’s Jason. No need for more character research as you’ve already got it down perfectly.” However, despite his initial decision not to do any further research, Podany ended up conducting extensive research instead. He watched Crystal’s appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and episodes of the ABC sitcom Soap. He also studied Crystal’s directorial work and listened to his autobiography, Still Follin’ Em, in audiobook format. Laughing, Podany added, “Take a look at my Letterboxd account – it’s out of this world!
The research found the approach beneficial as it enabled the cast to improvise effectively, even within the movie’s tight running time. In other words, during filming, we’d often propose ideas spontaneously, which can be risky when using 16 millimeter film. However, Jason had faith in us, and if our improvisations got excessive, he would guide us back to the right path.
During his childhood, the time of Saturday Night Live (SNL) was prevalent, where Andy Samberg and his Lonely Island comedy troupe created digital shorts, and Tina Fey humorously portrayed Sarah Palin’s claim of being able to see Russia from her house.
Upon receiving the script for the television program, a note from Reitman on the cover page significantly altered the actor’s viewpoint regarding the show. As Podany recollects, the note read, “Indeed, this is a tale chronicling the beginnings of SNL, but it is equally a narrative about the potential accomplishments of youth in shaping culture.
Apart from Michael as its main protagonist, Saturday Night is indeed an ensemble piece, frequently shifting focus to characters experiencing various crises, such as Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Gilda Radner, and Jim Henson. Despite having limited screen time, Saturday Night presents Crystal with one of the biggest rejections of his career at that point. However, just a few short years later, he would embark on a career that would make him a comedy legend, a Hollywood star, and eventually the host of the Oscars.
Podany explains, “At the time, he was a substitute teacher and this was his chance to shine,” he says. “Billy Crystal’s ending in the movie is incredibly sad. He doesn’t get a happy resolution. I hope that people watching it might think, ‘Wow, he must have thought his career was over.’ It seems like life is telling him to quit. But instead, I hope they understand not to give up. You will face many rejections – even Billy Crystal faced a big ‘no’ – but don’t stop trying.
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2024-09-28 17:25