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Lorne Michaels’ ‘SNL’ grip on cast exposed in new documentary
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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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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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.”
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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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.
“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.“
Cameras showed former New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch in the team’s draft room Thursday night during the first round.
At one point, Tisch was seen standing near Giants head coach John Harbaugh. Despite no longer holding a majority stake in the NFL franchise, Tisch remains the Giants’ chairman of the board.
ESPN obtained an NFL memo last month detailing plans by Steve Tisch and his siblings to transfer their stake in the Giants to trusts for their children.
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“Prior transfers to these Trusts were completed pursuant to 2023 and 2024 Finance Committee approvals,” the memo stated. “The Sellers now propose to transfer their entire remaining interests, totaling 23.1% of the Club, to the Trusts. … Following the transactions, the Sellers will no longer own any interest in the Club.”
It was not clear if the transfer requests were in any way related to Tisch’s name appearing in the Epstein files released by the U.S. Justice Department in January. Tisch’s name came up more than 400 times in the files. Tisch at the time said he knew Epstein but denied visiting Epstein’s island.
As for draft night, the Giants made what some viewed as an unconventional pick at No. 10, selecting offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa.
Before that, the Giants added another piece to their pass rush, selecting hybrid edge/off-ball linebacker Arvell Reese at No. 5.
Reese earned All-American honors at Ohio State and finished his first season as a full-time starter with 6.5 sacks.
Reese is set to join a pass rush that includes Brian Burns, Abdul Carter and, likely, Kayvon Thibodeaux.
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Everybody knew about the tragic auto accident and the follow-up a year later, but when it came to Rueben Bain’s draft status, people said, “No worries.” His arms are short, but he’s really good, so the refrain remained: “No worries.”
Why then did Rueben Bain slide to the middle of the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday?
Whoever said neither issue would cause Bain to fall out of the Top 10 was obviously wrong.
He fell to the No. 15 overall selection held by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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And judging by Bain’s demeanor during his post-draft interview on ESPN, he wasn’t thrilled about it.
“I know I’m the best in the country, I’m sure,” an unsmiling Bain told ESPN’s Laura Rutledge after his selection. “That’s how I think of myself.
“I’m telling you I can do anything I put my mind to because of my mindset. I know when I get to this next level I’m going to pop it. “
The Buccaneers selected Bain to be their outside rusher complement to Vita Vea on the interior.
The Bucs thus get the ACC defensive player of the year and a consensus All-American.
But they also get a player that multiple other pass-rush needy teams passed up. The New York Jets took TCU’s David Bailey with the No. 2 overall selection and the New York Giants picked Arvell Reese in the No. 5 slot.
Bain was not only the 15th player taken overall but the third edge defender. That’s considered great by any standard. But it’s a disappointment to Bain and changes the narrative on him somewhat.
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“He’s got to prove himself and beat the odds and prove he can get it done in the NFL,” draft guru Mel Kiper said on national TV.
Interestingly, most of the coverage of Bain’s slide focused on the short length of his arms.
Melvin Ingram once upon a time measured in with arms the spanned 31 1/2 inches. And although that is considered short, Ingram turned into a good player. He played 12 seasons and made three Pro Bowls.
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But Bain’s arms measured in at 30 7/8 inches, and that is extremely short. Indeed, it is the third-shortest arm length of any DE ever to participate in the combine.
So, is that the reason Bain dropped out of the Top 10?
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Or is it his driving troubles and the manner in which he addressed those with teams?
Bain, you should know, was driving in March of 2024 when he hit another car on South Florida’s I-95 in the 4 a.m. hour and set off a chain reaction — hitting an eastside concrete wall and then careening all the way across the highway to the westside concrete barrier — that eventually left passenger Destiny Betts in a coma.
Betts, who had not been wearing a seatbelt, died three months later from complications of her blunt force trauma injuries.
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Bain was charged but cleared of careless driving because, in part, the traffic homicide investigator said he received the final report after Bain had already paid his citation.
NFL teams were aware of all this, plus an ensuing accident the player had in October 2025, for which he was also charged with careless driving.
To make matters more dicey, Bain declined to be fully transparent about the accidents with some NFL teams he met with starting at the NFL combine. That disappointed at least one team, an evaluator on that team told OutKick.
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Bain also declined to discuss the matter on Wednesday in front of reporters.
The Buccaneers, however, feel good about Bain, his short arms and his questionable driving.
“We’ve known about this a long time,” said general manager Jason Licht. “I know it just came out a couple of weeks ago. It was a very tragic accident. Tragic experience for the family. And it’s something you never want to see happen.
“But he’s a good person who was involved in something that, you know, none of us ever want to be involved in and never want any of our loved ones involved in. But he loves football. He loves football.”
Fernando Mendoza shared the moment of being selected first overall in the NFL Draft with his family from home on Thursday night.
He was seen hugging his family, including his mother Elsa Mendoza, in a moment of celebration.
Despite being projected to be the first overall pick, Mendoza skipped the in-person draft in Pittsburgh to stay in Florida with his mother, who battles multiple sclerosis (MS) and is bound to a wheelchair.
Mendoza told reporters after he was drafted that he decided not to go to Pittsburgh to make it easier for his mother to travel to Las Vegas tomorrow when he visits his team.
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When Mendoza was only about 4 years old, his mother was diagnosed with the disease. It is a chronic, autoimmune disease of the central nervous system that can affect the brain and spinal cord. She has spent the last few years in a wheelchair.
Elsa Mendoza wrote about the experience in a 2015 letter to her sons that was published in The Players Tribune.
“I was diagnosed about 18 years ago, but of course you never knew that. You and Alberto were so young, and I was doing fine… and mostly I didn’t want you to worry. It just felt like this impossible thing to place on you guys. On my sweet boys. And then I kept doing fine until about 10 years ago, when we went skiing and I broke my ankle and knee,” she wrote.
“But even after that, I wasn’t quite ready to tell you — only that my leg hadn’t healed all the way, which is why your mom had her limp. It wasn’t until five years ago, when I got Covid, that things started to go downhill in a way where there was no more hiding it. It was during football season, and I realized I wasn’t going to be able to travel. And the thought of you wondering if I supported you any less, because suddenly I wasn’t at your games? I hated that. So that’s when I knew we had to sit you and your brother down.”
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She went on to recall, “how hard of a conversation it ended up being. ‘Your mom has this degenerative disease… and while we don’t know how it will progress, it’s going to start to affect us in a few ways. But it won’t affect us in the ways that matter. We’ll have each other, and love each other, and be there for each other. I promise.'”
Both of Mednzoa’s parents grew up in Miami, Florida, as the children of Cuban refugees who fled communism after Fidel Castro rose to power in the country.
Mendoza’s father, Fernando Mendoza Sr., was a rower at Brown University and a 1987 Junior World Championships gold medalist.
But Mendoza’s father also played football when he was younger, and was teammates with Miami Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal at Christopher Columbus High School during the 1980s. Mendoza would go on to defeat his father’s former teammate in this year’s CFP national championship game.
Meanwhile, his mother played tennis at the University of Miami.
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