News Analysis India

Tag: Saturday Night Live

  • Will Smith gets permanently banned from ‘SNL’ after slapping Chris Rock

    By IANS

    LOS ANGELES: Hollywood star Will Smith is apparently not welcome back on “Saturday Night Live.” The actor is reportedly being permanently banned after slapping comedian Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards.

    The ‘NBC’ sketch series is reportedly banning the actor permanently following the Oscars slap, reports aceshowbiz.com.

    According to Radar Online, the ‘King Richard’ star will never be invited back to ‘SNL’ after what he did to Chris Rock at the March event. The comedian is a former important part of the show, having starred in it from 1990 to 1993.

    “Smith will never ever be invited back to ‘SNL’ after what he did to Chris,” a source told the site. “The show is a temple comedian, and no one wants him around anymore.”

    “Forget hosting, Will won’t even be able to get a ticket to sit in the audience anymore. He’s not welcome.”

    The show’s producers are allegedly also worried that if Smith comes to the show again, other big celebrities will refuse to join in the future.

    “If Will Smith was invited back, ‘SNL’ would never get another big celebrity ever again,” the source explains.

    “Stars would rightly boycott the show if he was welcomed inside Studio 8H.”

    ALSO READ | Will Smith posts an apology video for slapping Chris Rock

    Will slapped Chris at the 2022 Academy Awards in March over the latter’s joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. He then shouted at the comedian, who was presenting onstage, twice to “keep my wife’s name out of your f**king mouth!”

    Will has apologised several times for his behaviour at the live event.

    In a video posted in July, the actor said, “It’s all fuzzy. I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you. My behaviour was unacceptable and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk. I hate when I let people down. So it hurts, it hurts me psychologically and emotionally to know I didn’t live up to people’s image and impression of me.”

    “And the work I’m trying to do is, I am deeply remorseful and I’m trying to be remorseful without being ashamed of myself,” he added. “I’m human and I made a mistake, and I’m trying not to think of myself as a piece of s**t.”

    However, Rock seemingly didn’t accept the apology as he said earlier this month, “F**k your hostage video,” during his stand-up show at London’s O2 Arena. He went on calling out the Oscar-winning actor saying that Will had managed to do an impersonation of a “perfect man for 30 years” before showing he is “just as ugly as the rest of us.”

    LOS ANGELES: Hollywood star Will Smith is apparently not welcome back on “Saturday Night Live.” The actor is reportedly being permanently banned after slapping comedian Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards.

    The ‘NBC’ sketch series is reportedly banning the actor permanently following the Oscars slap, reports aceshowbiz.com.

    According to Radar Online, the ‘King Richard’ star will never be invited back to ‘SNL’ after what he did to Chris Rock at the March event. The comedian is a former important part of the show, having starred in it from 1990 to 1993.

    “Smith will never ever be invited back to ‘SNL’ after what he did to Chris,” a source told the site. “The show is a temple comedian, and no one wants him around anymore.”

    “Forget hosting, Will won’t even be able to get a ticket to sit in the audience anymore. He’s not welcome.”

    The show’s producers are allegedly also worried that if Smith comes to the show again, other big celebrities will refuse to join in the future.

    “If Will Smith was invited back, ‘SNL’ would never get another big celebrity ever again,” the source explains.

    “Stars would rightly boycott the show if he was welcomed inside Studio 8H.”

    ALSO READ | Will Smith posts an apology video for slapping Chris Rock

    Will slapped Chris at the 2022 Academy Awards in March over the latter’s joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. He then shouted at the comedian, who was presenting onstage, twice to “keep my wife’s name out of your f**king mouth!”

    Will has apologised several times for his behaviour at the live event.

    In a video posted in July, the actor said, “It’s all fuzzy. I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you. My behaviour was unacceptable and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk. I hate when I let people down. So it hurts, it hurts me psychologically and emotionally to know I didn’t live up to people’s image and impression of me.”

    “And the work I’m trying to do is, I am deeply remorseful and I’m trying to be remorseful without being ashamed of myself,” he added. “I’m human and I made a mistake, and I’m trying not to think of myself as a piece of s**t.”

    However, Rock seemingly didn’t accept the apology as he said earlier this month, “F**k your hostage video,” during his stand-up show at London’s O2 Arena. He went on calling out the Oscar-winning actor saying that Will had managed to do an impersonation of a “perfect man for 30 years” before showing he is “just as ugly as the rest of us.”

  • Emmy Awards 2022: Actor-comic Kenan Thompson to host 74th edition

    By PTI

    LOS ANGELES: Popular actor-comic Kenan Thompson will host the 74th edition of the Emmy Awards, NBC and the Television Academy have announced jointly.

    Thompson, known for his work on the late-night comedy show “Saturday Night Live” and scripted shows such as “Kenan and Kel”, said he is looking forward to the awards ceremony.

    “Being a part of this incredible evening where we honour the best of the television community is ridiculously exciting, and to do it on NBC – my longtime network family – makes it even more special. Like all TV fans, I can’t wait to see the stars from my favourite shows,” Thompson said in a statement issued on Tuesday night.

    “Kenan is well-regarded as one of the funniest, likeable and accomplished performers of the last two decades and his tenure on Saturday Night Live speaks for itself. We know he’ll bring excitement and professionalism to the Emmy Awards that a show of this stature deserves,” added Jen Neal, Executive Vice President of Live Events for NBCUniversal Television and Streaming.

    The 2022 Emmy Awards will be a three-hour, coast-to-coast live telecast from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

    Scheduled for a September 12 premiere, the event will begin at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT on NBC and will also stream on Peacock.

    In India, Lionsgate Play subscribers will be able to watch the annual award ceremony from 5.30 am onwards on September 13.

    LOS ANGELES: Popular actor-comic Kenan Thompson will host the 74th edition of the Emmy Awards, NBC and the Television Academy have announced jointly.

    Thompson, known for his work on the late-night comedy show “Saturday Night Live” and scripted shows such as “Kenan and Kel”, said he is looking forward to the awards ceremony.

    “Being a part of this incredible evening where we honour the best of the television community is ridiculously exciting, and to do it on NBC – my longtime network family – makes it even more special. Like all TV fans, I can’t wait to see the stars from my favourite shows,” Thompson said in a statement issued on Tuesday night.

    “Kenan is well-regarded as one of the funniest, likeable and accomplished performers of the last two decades and his tenure on Saturday Night Live speaks for itself. We know he’ll bring excitement and professionalism to the Emmy Awards that a show of this stature deserves,” added Jen Neal, Executive Vice President of Live Events for NBCUniversal Television and Streaming.

    The 2022 Emmy Awards will be a three-hour, coast-to-coast live telecast from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

    Scheduled for a September 12 premiere, the event will begin at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT on NBC and will also stream on Peacock.

    In India, Lionsgate Play subscribers will be able to watch the annual award ceremony from 5.30 am onwards on September 13.

  • Benedict Cumberbatch to host ‘SNL’ in May

    By PTI

    LOS ANGELES: “The Power of The Dog” star Benedict Cumberbatch will host “Saturday Night Live”, the long-running sketch series, on May 7.

    Cumberbatch’s appearance on “SNL” will come a day after his Marvel Studios movie “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” hits the screens on May 6.

    This will be thw two-time Oscar-nominated actor’s second hosting gig after he made his debut back in November 2016, reported Deadline. For the episode, the British star will collaborate with indie rock band Arcade Fire who will take the “SNL” stage as musical guest.

    Cumberbatch was recently nominated for the best actor in a leading role Academy Award for his performance in Jane Campion’s “The Power of The Dog”.

    The upcoming episode of “SNL” will mark Arcade Fire’s fifth appearance as a musical guest, following stints in 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2018.

  • Kim Kardashian, Pete Davidson’s romance is now Instagram official

    By ANI

    WASHINGTON: Just over a week after an LA judge declared Kim Kardashian a single woman, the American TV personality has made her romance with Pete Davidson Instagram-official.

    On Friday, Kardashian shared a multi-photo carousel on her personal Instagram, which included two photos featuring the ‘Saturday Night Live’ star.

    One of the pictures showed Davidson resting in Kardashian’s lap while looking up at her while she seemingly leaned in for a kiss. The second image was a blurry selfie of the duo.

    ALSO READ | Kanye West shares what divorce feels like after Kim Kardashian is declared legally single

    She captioned the post, “Whose car are we gonna take?!,” which is a line from the 2010 thriller film “The Town.” She also shared a screenshot of that scene from the Ben Affleck-starring movie.

    Kardashian’s Instagram post with Davidson comes roughly a month after the comedian referred to her as his “girlfriend” during an interview with People magazine. Her relationship with Davidson will be explored in the upcoming Hulu series, ‘The Kardashians’.

    The couple had first sparked romance rumours after the reality TV star appeared on ‘SNL’ in October.

    Kardashian was recently declared legally single by a judge amid her divorce proceedings with estranged husband Kanye West. The beauty brand mogul filed for divorce in February 2021.

    ALSO READ | Kim Kardashian slams Kanye for ‘attacking’ her on social media

    While Davidson and Kardashian’s relationship has continued to make headlines, her ex-husband Kanye West has publicly ranted about Davidson on social media.

    The rapper even included Davidson in his ‘Eazy’ music video where he kidnapped and buried the comedian. However, despite this Kanye has been linked romantically to two different women, Julia Fox and model Chaney Jones, since the beginning of 2022. 

  • Pete Davidson to play himself in new comedy series 

    By PTI

    LOS ANGELES: Actor-comedian Pete Davidson is set to play a fictionalised version of himself in an upcoming comedy series.

    The show hails from “Saturday Night Live” showrunner Lorne Michaels’s Broadway Video and Universal Television, reported Deadline.

    The series is tentatively titled “Bupkis” and Davidson will write it along with his frequent collaborator David Sirus and Judah Miller.

    Said to be in the same vein as Larry David’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, “Bupkis” is described as a raw, unflinching and fictionalised version of Pete Davidson’s real life.

    It will include a mixture of grounded storytelling with absurd elements depicting an unfiltered view through Davidson’s eyes.

    Davidson, Sirus and Miller will serve as executive producers along with Michaels, Andrew Singer and Erin David.

    The actor is currently on leave from “Saturday Night Live” to film Miramax’s horror thriller “The Home”.

    He also stars in “Bodies Bodies Bodies”, which is set to have its world premiere at the South By SouthWest Festival, as well as “Good Mourning with a U” with Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox, and “Meet Cute”, co-starring Kaley Cuoco.

  • Tom Hanks, Tina Fey welcome Paul Rudd to the Five-Timers Club in ‘Saturday Night Live’

    By ANI

    WASHINGTON: ‘Saturday Night Live’ host Paul Rudd was introduced by fellow five-time hosts Tom Hanks and Tina Fey in the no live audience Christmas episode opener.

    According to The Hollywood Reporter, a few hours before the episode featuring host Paul Rudd was scheduled to film, the makers of the NBC comedy show took to their official Twitter handle to inform the fans that it would eliminate the live audience.

    Hanks and Fey donned matching five-timer navy blue robes emblazoned with a gold “5” crest on the top left, and introduced Kenan Thompson to present Rudd with the honour, calling it his four and a half time, due to Saturday night’s episode being taped without a live audience and without musical guest Charli XCX.

    Hours before the show, SNL announced the show would have a limited cast and crew “due to the recent spike in the omicron variant,” adding “the show continues to follow all government safety guidelines in addition to a rigorous testing protocol.”

    “In the interest of safety, we do not have an audience and we sent home our cast most of our crew,” Hanks said.

    “As you know, I started the five timers club,” he continued, with Fey chiming in, “Oh like he started COVID.”

    Rudd began by thanking everyone and joking, “I’m very disappointed,” to which Hanks replied it can’t be that bad because People Magazine named him “the most sexist man of the year.”

    Unlike other weeks, the opening monologue featured guests besides the show’s host, with Steve Martin and Martin Short also making an appearance.

    “I just want to congratulate Tom,” Martin said in a pre-recorded taping.

    “I’m a huge fan of Tom. One of my favourite movies is ‘Forrest Gump’,” while Short said in the background the message was for Rudd and joking he’s only hosted the show three times.

    Back on the ‘SNL’ stage, Fey, Hanks and Rudd explained that due to the short staff, the majority of the episode would consist of pre-taped sketches and some of their favourite skits over the years.

    With Michael Che and Thompson being the only cast members in attendance Saturday night, Che hosted Weekend Update with Fey, instead, filming the segment in front of the regular stage for an audience of three: Thompson, Rudd and Hanks.

    One of the pre-taped sketches was a Christmas music video song starring Rudd, Thompson, Alex Moffat, Heidi Gardner, Kyle Mooney, Aidy Bryant, Mikey Day and would-be musical guest Charli XCX.

    “(This is) a heartfelt Christmas song between a kid and a strange man at a department store,” Rudd introduced the song.

    Rudd retook the stage, alongside Fey, Hanks, Che and Thompson, for the sign-off, thanking them and all the other cast, crew, writers and Charli XCX for all their hard work during a tough week. He also pointed out that he understands it may not have been the Christmas episode fans were hoping for, but he loved hosting nonetheless.

  • Covid hits ‘Saturday Night Live’

    By IANS

    LOS ANGELES: ‘Saturday Night Live’ bowed to the rising threat of Covid-19, opening its final show of 2021 with a pre-taped segment that featured stars Tom Hanks, Tina Fey, Steve Martin and Kenan Thompson, welcoming host Paul Rudd into the ‘Five-Timers Club’.

    Production of Saturday night’s ‘SNL’ was thrown into disarray late this week when numerous cast members tested positive for COVID-19, reports variety.com.

    Crew members became vocal about concerns of gathering as usual to produce the live broadcast at 30 Rock’s famed Studio 8H, prompting NBC to drop the live audience and use a limited crew for tonight’s installment.

    The episode opened with a “previously recorded” slate as Hanks bounded out on the familiar stage in a royal blue jacket with an oversized “5” patch over the right breast.

    Rudd, the beloved comedy character actor, was set to log his fifth time at the helm of ‘SNL’.

    “As you know I started the Five-Timers Club,” Hanks said. “Like you started Covid,” Fey responded.

    Hanks explained that the segment was recorded earlier on Saturday and that the decision had been to scale down the show and go without an audience for safety’s sake.

    “But I wasn’t going to fly across the country and not be on TV,” Hanks quipped before he invited Fey on stage.

    She wore the same jacket with five emblems.

    Martin, also wearing a blue-5 jacket, joined in the salute to Rudd via Zoom video.

    Martin Short, who is Steve Martin’s co-star in Hulu’s quirky new hit ‘Only Murders in the Building’, butted into the latter’s shot briefly and noted that he has only hosted ‘SNL’ three times.

    Thompson, ‘SNL’s’ longest-tenured player, came out alongside Rudd to present his jacket.

    “Congratulations on hosting the show four and a half times,” he said, before helping him put on the jacket which did feature a full-fledged 5.

    Fey ribbed Rudd for his status as People magazine’s latest choice for ‘Sexiest Man Alive’. “Mr. sexy Five-Timer,” she quipped.

    Rudd explained the show’s predicament amid the winter Covid spike and explained that the show would be filled with segments taped earlier in the week and a few classic bits selected by him and others.

    Among them was 2006’s early viral video hit ‘Dick in a Box’ featuring Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake.

  • Billie Eilish, Paul Rudd set to host last two ‘SNL’ episodes of 2021

    By ANI

    WASHINGTON: Singer Billie Eilish and actor Paul Rudd are all set to host the last two ‘Saturday Night Live’ episodes of 2021.

    As per Variety, Eilish will make her ‘SNL’ hosting debut and will appear for the second time as a musical guest on the late-night sketch show on December 11, followed by Rudd, who will host the show for the fifth time on December 18.

    Rudd will be joined by Charli XCX, who will be performing as a musical guest on the show for the second time. Charli XCX’s fifth studio album, ‘Crash’, is slated for release on March 18.

    December shows!!! pic.twitter.com/bSCvTcutRb
    — Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) November 18, 2021
    Eilish will be promoting her sophomore album, ‘Happier Than Ever’, which was well-received by critics and listeners alike. Eilish performed songs from the album for a filmed tribute concert at the Hollywood Bowl, available to stream on Disney Plus.

    This Saturday’s ‘SNL’ host is Simu Liu, Canadian star of ‘Kim’s Convenience’ and one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s latest superheroes to grace the big screen, Shang-Chi. His musical guest is rapper Saweetie, known best for her songs ‘My Type’, ‘Tap In’ and ‘Best Friend’ with fellow rapper Doja Cat.

    ‘SNL’, a multiple Emmy-winning show, is produced in association with Broadway Video and is executive produced by creator Lorne Michaels. 

  • Jonathan Majors, ‘Shang-Chi’ actor Simu Liu to host ‘SNL’

    By PTI

    LOS ANGELES: Actors Jonathan Majors and Simu Liu will be making their debut as hosts on late-night stand-up show “Saturday Night Live”.

    Majors, known for starring in “The Last Black Man in San Francisco”, “Lovecraft Country” and “Loki”, will host the long-running NBC sketch series on November 13, reported Variety.

    The actor will be joined by musical guest Taylor Swift, whose new album “Red (Taylor’s Version)” will drop on November 12.

    Liu, the star of Marvel blockbuster “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”, will emcee the November 20 episode of “SNL”.

    Global artist Saweetie will join Liu as the musical guest, marking her first time appearing on the show.

    “Saturday Night Live” is produced in association with Broadway Video.

    The creator and executive producer is Lorne Michaels.

  • Taylor Swift to return as musical guest on ‘SNL’

    By ANI

    WASHINGTON: Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Taylor Swift is set to return as the musical guest on ‘Saturday Night Live’ (SNL). It will be Swift’s fifth time appearing on the show.

    As per E! News, the singer will make her return as the musical guest on November 13. The ‘Willow’ singer will share the stage with ‘Lovecraft Country’ star Jonathan Majors, who is set to host for the first time.

    Swift’s visit to the long-running NBC sketch series might be a part of her promotion for her re-recorded ‘Red’ album, which is coming out on November 12.

    Majors, who is making his hosting debut with the show’s upcoming episode, will next be seen in the Netflix film ‘The Harder They Fall’. He is known for his roles in films like ‘The Last Black Man in San Francisco’ and the HBO series ‘Lovecraft Country’.

    He is set to appear as the villain Kang the Conqueror in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) after making his debut in the Disney Plus series ‘Loki’.

    But, before Majors’ hosting and Swift’s performance, we have her close friend and fellow singer Ed Sheeran’s November 6 appearance to look forward to, which is still on after the singer had quarantined after testing positive for COVID-19 at the end of October.

    Sheeran will take the stage when ‘Succesion’ star Kieran Culkin hosts the upcoming episode of ‘SNL’. The show is produced in association with Broadway Video. The creator and executive producer is Lorne Michaels.