Spielberg at SNL's very first show, 1975
Steven Spielberg was in the audience for the very first episode of Saturday Night Live in October 1975, just months after Jaws had come out.
Where this was said
Steven Spielberg on SNL, Comedy, and Meeting Colman Domingo
At 4:04 · chapter starts 2:45
Steven Spielberg's appearance on Good Hang is immediately warm and self-deprecating — he jokes he needs 'a few more hits' before he deserves a spot on the show. He tells the story of being in the audience at the very first SNL broadcast in October 1975, just months after Jaws had made him famous, and how Belushi dragged him backstage to meet Aykroyd. [1] — Steven Spielberg "Jaws had just come out in June 1975. By October, Spielberg was sitting in the audience at the very first SNL broadcast, knowing something g…" 04:04 He then describes the first time he met Colman Domingo: while casting a film about the creation of Porgy and Bess and searching for someone to play Todd Duncan, Domingo walked into the room and Spielberg immediately intended to cast him. The Porgy film was never made, but Spielberg remembered Domingo and later cast him as Private Greene in Lincoln.
Spielberg Was at SNL's First Show
Jaws had just come out in June 1975. By October, Spielberg was sitting in the audience at the very first SNL broadcast, knowing something generational was happening. After the show, John Belushi dragged him backstage to meet Dan Aykroyd, launching a lifelong love of stand-up and comedians.
Spielberg's Kitchen Audition Method
Spielberg invented a solution to nervous auditioners: invite everyone to cook together in a kitchen. Starting with Raiders of the Lost Ark, actors who came in covered in flour and fumbling with eggs instantly became their best, most relaxed selves.
Spielberg auditioned Raiders cast in a kitchen while cooking
Steven Spielberg devised a method of holding auditions in a kitchen while cooking together, starting with Raiders of the Lost Ark, to put nervous actors at ease.
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