Everyone turned up for Lorne except Paul McCartney

The other day Lainey and I were texting about SNL and how incredible it is that, at 81, Lorne Michaels is still running that show and it remains a landmark piece of television. We were discussing the current season of SNL which features a number of new cast members. I am a big fan of Jane Wickline and Veronika Slowikowska—“Car Song” from the Connor Storrie episode killed me, it’s so specific and yet so right, why DID they change car doors?!—and it’s incredible how Lorne Michaels manages to continuously reinvent the SNL wheel (but not in a weird car door way). On top of this, he just launched SNL UK! Tireless. Peerless.

Because Lorne Michaels is a legit cultural institution unto himself, he is getting the documentary treatment. I am not holding my breath that it will be anything revolutionary or illuminating beyond how Lorne, one of the most careful image-crafters in the business, will allow himself to be seen, but for those of us fascinated by SNL and the work of SNL, it is irresistible cat nip. The documentary is called simply Lorne, and it is coming to theaters on April 17.

It speaks to Lorne’s power that he, a television guy, is getting a documentary released into MOVIE THEATERS. But it also speaks to Lorne’s power that the premiere of Lorne not only brought out SNL cast members—including Jane Wickline and Veronika Slowikowska, glad they got out of the car—as well as SNL legends like Jim Downey and Robert Smigel, but also Anna Wintour, Diane Lane, Steve Buscemi, Clive Davis, and David Letterman. Paul McCartney, however, was not in attendance iykyk.

Also at the premiere was Natasha Lyonne, who was reportedly escorted off a flight following the Euphoria premiere, and current SNL cast member Chloe Fineman, who experienced her own controversy this week following a gross story about pantsing a little kid at summer camp that was subsequently edited at Vanity Fair. I went to summer camp, and yeah, by the time you’re a teenager, the little kids are f-cking obnoxious, but guess what you DON’T do? Take one guess. I bet you don’t even need it.

So, all around, a lot of drama leading up to the Lorne premiere, which is sort of funny, given that Lorne Michaels is known for keeping a tight, TIGHT lid on his drama. SNL is a notoriously tough, some might even say toxic, workplace, and somehow, that never blows back on Lorne. He keeps his business so tight he escaped the toxic boss conversations circa 2018-2020 entirely. And now he is being lovingly immortalized in a documentary. Which I am going to watch even as I wonder why we never seem to talk about how SNL breaks spirits and how that relates to top management. We all know it happens, it just never sticks to Lorne.