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For decades, Lorne Michaels has loomed as comedy’s ultimate gatekeeper — the man “Saturday Night Live” stars believed could make or break their careers.
But filmmaker Morgan Neville painted a different picture of the legendary boss after speaking to cast members including Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph, John Mulaney and Chris Rock for a documentary project decades in the making. “LORNE” hit theaters on April 17.
Neville said the documentary captures a wide range of perspectives from past and present “Saturday Night Live” cast members who have wrestled with Michaels’ outsized influence over their careers.
“I mean, some of these people, he was their boss. Some, he was a former boss,” Neville told Fox News Digital. “And I think people have all different kinds of experiences of Lorne — where they think of him as the person that controls everything about their fate. You know, how many minutes they get on air, where their career is gonna go. I mean, I understand why people are neurotic about Lorne, and people feel like, ‘Oh, he didn’t get this, or he doesn’t understand this.'”
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Lorne Michaels is the star of his own documentary, in theaters April 17. (Alan Singer/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)
But Neville said that view of Michaels’ influence only tells part of the story.
“But I also get what John Mulaney says in the documentary, which is Lorne’s protecting people in ways they don’t understand at all, you know?” he explained. “And I think one thing … that I’ve seen is that Lorne is totally paying attention and trying to do the right thing for the right person at all times. But that may seem unfair sometimes to people, you know. And again, if they feel like their entire future is in his hands, that’s a lot of weight for all of them to carry. But I think there’s also this sense from the outside that Lorne is sitting on the throne of comedy, deciding who makes it and who doesn’t make it.“
Michaels himself feels “beleaguered” and “in the trenches,” according to Neville. The comedy giant’s main focus is on solving the little problems and trying to make next week’s live show work.
“He feels like he’s barely making it himself, which is crazy,” Neville said. “But I think it’s part of what motivates him … but he’s very focused on the challenges immediately in front of him. He’s not one to take a victory lap, really, or to think about the big picture of things.”
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Martin Short, Tina Fey, Chris Rock, Tim Meadows, Lorne Michaels, Miley Cyrus, Molly Shannon, Steve Martin during the 40th anniversary on Feb. 15, 2015. (Chris Haston/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)
Michaels began his career as a writer for Canadian radio and television before moving to Los Angeles in the 1960s. He worked on shows such as “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” before NBC decided to take a chance on the young comedy writer. Michaels’ idea for a new late-night show that blended sketch comedy and live music evolved into “Saturday Night Live.”
The show quickly became a pop culture phenomenon and would launch the careers of many famous comedians, including John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Eddie Murphy, Will Ferrell and more.
As the 50th anniversary of “Saturday Night Live” came and went in February 2025, Michaels realized, “this is kind of the end of an era.”
“I think Lorne is going to stay as long as he can,” Neville clarified. “But he’s not going to be doing this for another 50 years. So it was just kind of an understanding of, if we’re ever going to do it, now is the time to do it. I think that’s his thinking.”
Producer Lorne Michaels, Jane Curtin and Dan Aykroyd during “Weekend Update” rehearsal on Dec. 17, 1977. (NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)
Neville said it feels like a rare chance to finally witness what comedy fans have heard about for years — seeing this almost “‘Wizard of Oz’ character in action” — watching how he moves through the show, assembles it, and thinks, and how “SNL” ultimately reflects his vision.
“I mean, everything about the show, from the hours it keeps to the way it’s made to the culture of the show is so directly related to Lorne,” Neville said. “…I can’t think of another example of any show that is made in the form of its creator in such a way.”
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Neville pointed to the “liveness of the show” as the true defining element — not just that “SNL” is live, but how “significant that is to everything about the show.”
There’s very little second-guessing, with decisions driven largely by a “first instinct, go” mentality. That immediacy puts both performers and the audience in the moment, essentially deciding together whether a sketch works.
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Lorne Michaels, Conan O’Brien and NBC president and CEO Bob Wright at the NBC Summer Press Tour on July 20th, 1993. (Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images)
The other element that sets the late-night comedy show apart — the writer is king.
“A 24-year-old writer can be writing a sketch and then essentially directing it and have it on national TV three days later,” Neville explained. “There’s kind of like a real meritocracy to it too, that it’s just… the laughs win, what’s funny, wins.”
Fey was hired as a writer in her 20s and quickly rose through the ranks to become the show’s first female head writer. Other notable young hires included Conan O’Brien, Mulaney, Seth Meyers and Adam McKay.
Michaels has almost “resisted hierarchy,” Neville said, instead focusing on creative freedom to shape the show’s long-term evolution.
The 50th anniversary of “SNL” prompted Lorne Michaels to consider a documentary. (Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
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“It’s part of why I think he now embraces change so much, that the show has to change,” Neville explained. “Even if things are going well.”
“In a way, if things are going well, Lorne’s worried,” he added. “Because two years from now, it’s not going to be going well, because all the successful people are going to get movie deals or go off and do other things. And he knows it’ll go badly. But when the show’s not doing well, he’s happy because he knows in two years it’s going to gel. And suddenly, he sees what it’s going to become. So he’s always kind of thinking a couple years in the future, which in television is unheard of pretty much.“