Questlove says upcoming ‘SNL' special is ‘love letter' to show's 50 years of musical performances
NBC's celebration of 'Saturday Night Live's' 50-year history will continues this week with a new 3-hour documentary titled 'Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music.'
Nearly 1,000 artists have performed on the Studio 8H stage since 'SNL' debuted on October 11, 1975, according to the show, with the first being funk and soul musician Billy Preston.
'I remember when we come on the air, we're following Watergate, the last helicopter out of Vietnam, the city is broke, the church is being questioned and so everything seemed to be, if not crumbling, at least open to question,' the show's creator Lorne Michael said in a trailer for the doc, speaking of the series' debut.
At that moment in time, Michaels added, 'we just came on and did a show that we would want to see and music was a big part of that.'
According to an official synopsis, 'Ladies & Gentleman' will look back at the hundreds of performers who've taken the stage at 'SNL' and will reveal 'untold stories behind the culture-defining, groundbreaking, and news-making musical performances, sketches, and cameos of the past 50 years.'
'Ladies & Gentlemen' was co-produced by Oz Rodriguez and Roots drummer and Oscar-winning filmmaker Questlove, who wrote in an Instagram post over the weekend that 'every second of this doc is a love letter of sorts.'
The doc will feature commentary from artists including Miley Cyrus, Mick Jagger, Dave Grohl, Billie Eilish and Paul Simon, among others, plus actors who've graced the 'SNL' stage like Maya Rudolph, Eddie Murphy, Bill Hader and more.
'SNL's' 50th anniversary will culminate with a special on February 16, airing on NBC.
'Ladies & Gentleman… 50 Years of SNL Music' will air on NBC on Monday at 8 p.m. EDT/PDT.
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Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Matt LeBlanc Is Being Praised For Doing 'Exactly What You Should Do When You Can Afford It' After A Clip Of Him Opening Up About His Low Work Ethic Resurfaced Online
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I would sit on the couch forever if you let me.' The host then pointed out that Matt has 'big toys' at his house to keep him busy, and Matt confirmed that he did with a huge smile on his face. He said: 'I've got some cool toys. I've got a big, huge bulldozer to play with. Big.' When fellow guest David Mitchell asked the star if he also had buildings he could destroy with the bulldozer, Matt explained that he has things he can build, knock down, and then rebuild, adding: 'It's kind of fun.' He also clarified that he doesn't keep the bulldozer in his garden, sharing: 'It's at this big piece of property I have. And I have a motocross track there, so we use it to make the jumps and do all that kind of stuff.' This interview clip has been viewed more than 760k times at the time of writing, and racked up tens of thousands of likes and comments — many of which say the same kind of thing. 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Business Wire
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National Geographic's Fin-Favorite Summer Event Returns With Over 25 Hours of Shark-Infested Programming, Including JAWS @ 50: THE DEFINITIVE INSIDE STORY and SHARKS UP CLOSE WITH BERTIE GREGORY
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Elle
38 minutes ago
- Elle
Zoe Saldaña's Go-To Party Menu Is Surprisingly Simple
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She's stationed here for a few days as the Grey Goose team takes over the Grand Hotel Victoria, transforming the property, including the dreamy lakeside beach club, into the fictional Grey Goose Hôtel for a series of new shorts she is starring in. Tapping into the brand's French ethos, the campaign is intended to encourage people to live in the moment and savor life's small pleasures. Saldaña even revealed the recipe for her favorite cocktail, playfully named the Le Zoé Spritz—a refreshing blend of vodka, rosé, sparkling water, strawberry juice, fresh lemon juice, and a few fun garnishes. 'Creatively putting a cocktail together, and enjoying that cocktail, is an experience that allows me to be more present,' Saldaña says, adding that summer is an ideal time for a spritz. As for what she'd serve alongside it? 'I am very much a fan of antipasti—cheese and salamis, like a charcuterie.' If it sounds like a party, well, Saldaña has a lot to celebrate these days. Below, shared more of her hosting tips, what audiences can expect from the upcoming Avatar: Fire and Ash, and how women in Hollywood are inspiring her to ask, 'What if I'm just getting started?' I'm starting to. I'm trying really, really hard. It's difficult when you are part of a business where everything is always happening. It's [a lot of] hurry up and wait. So you're constantly being compelled to be in the then and not really in the now. Then, when you become a parent, you're always planning for the future. I have to say that my children are such present beings, and they are really inspiring my husband and I, and even my folks, to be more present. That means sometimes dropping everything and just sitting down and enjoying a beautiful view, no matter where you are—enjoying company and a nice beverage. I'm taking great pleasure in allowing myself to steal moments like that. A little bit of both. 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Demi Moore is one of my giants, how she has managed to defy the gravities that were always set for her. 'You're too pretty.' 'You're [a] popcorn [actress].' 'You're too sexy.' Every trope, she just broke, broke, broke, broke, broke. My giants continue to inspire me—that, at this age, with everything that I've done in my life, I can still say, 'Well, what if I'm just getting started?' That's beautiful, and I would love to be a part [of that] legacy of women. More like that. I'm getting things together as people are walking in, but the day before, I will go to the store and buy a lot of items. That way people can assemble their favorite cocktails. I love that. I have to say, my husband and I have mastered the pizza party. You make the best dough. You buy the best cheese, and you make the sauce from scratch, and you put everything out there, and you make it like a rotating station where people make their pizza. We really take pleasure in putting that all together. Oh my God, that's the only thing we know how to do. I grew up in a household of immigrant parents and elders, and I married an immigrant. So when we plan to have family and friends over, there's always a question: Are we going to do Italian, or is it going to be Dominican? Because it can't be both. My husband believes that it can be both. I'm like, 'We can't.' Everything has to be cohesive. Don't be putting some rice and beans with the cioppino. You can't do that. Also because [the food you serve] dictates the kind of cocktails you're going to arrange. I can't have a mojito with a carbonara. I just can't do it. But if we're doing carne asada with some guacamole, and some beans and rice, then okay, bring in your mojito. Lately in my life—outside of [some of] my commitments with these big, big amazing movies that I've been a part of—my journey as a human being and making art, it is about the reconciliation of grief. I did [the TV series] From Scratch because of it. I'm always trying to interpret, through different lens, what grief can mean and how it can impact the lives of people, and also celebrate how they manage loss. Avatar put me and Sam Worthington in a position to imagine the unimaginable by being Jake and Neytiri [who lose their son in Avatar: The Way of Water]. I think even Jim [director James Cameron] wasn't ready to see that, and he knew that was part of their journey because of the saga around this world he's creating, and the threats around this world. That deep, unimaginable sense of loss was probably something that these characters needed to experience. And I'm proud of him for doing it. I would've done it differently [laughs], because I'm a parent. But it just makes this world of Avatar a lot more meaningful. So Fire and Ash is definitely a continuation, but a process for the Sullys, and it's just so beautiful. Out of the five-episode saga, it is the exact middle for them. I do believe that Fire and Ash is going to be the biggest turning point in this journey for these two individuals and this world. Yes. Because also, in the making of the third one, we lost [Avatar producer] Jon Landau. Experiencing loss, it's just hard. Now more than ever, Avatar [has become] a much more meaningful [series], a story for all of us. So, we're very proud of it. I feel like every time I talk to Jim about it—because Jim was such a wonderful person throughout the whole campaign of Emilia Pérez, whether they were good moments or challenging moments, he was always calling me. Sigourney [Weaver, who plays Kiri in Avatar] did the same, and Sam [Worthington] did the same. For me to be a part of an amazing family of people since my 20s, I think, Oh my God, I love them, and I'll do anything for them. I can't wait for Fire and Ash [and] to share it with the world, because it almost killed me. Shooting that scene at the end of The Way of Water was so difficult, but shooting Neytiri and Jake forcing themselves to get up and move on, and be there for their surviving children, was the hardest thing. It teaches you a lot about what it must be like as a parent, as a guardian. How do you also stay together, and how do you let love win once again after experiencing that kind of loss? It's the most complex thing. We're born, and I feel like the biggest growth in life is just learning how to die. Every living organism meets their demise, and I feel like a lot of our lives has to be spent accepting it. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
