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I good look back at an iconic show, by the people who were there as cast and crew. The book is separated out by eras/generations of cast members. An enjoyable read overall.
Wholly inspiring. This book is filled with so many people speaking honestly about what they love to do: write comedy, perform comedy, produce comedy. “Live From New York” allows the individuals who have toiled in the halls of studio 8H to speak openly about the insane and singular experience of working on SNL. The format of the book flows freely from speaker to speaker and gives you a sense of each one’s knowledge and personality, each section contributing to a clearer picture of the show and its history. Despite the emotional, physical, or psychological toll of contributing to SNL that is detailed in these pages, the sense of this book is overwhelming one of passion, love, and admiration for an entertainment institution which has buoyed the lives of so many with laughter, or at the very least a chuckle once a week.
As a relatively new fan of SNL I was excited to read up on the history of the show. As I was reading, I was googling the names and trying to get some background on those involved considering I was born during the Will Ferrell era (Yikes!). I loved that it was told by the cast and writers, etc. and aside from the obnoxious vocabulary and metaphors Mr. Shales decided to use to break up the interviews... this book was extremely helpful in understanding what makes the show so incredible. I really do think that Saturday Night Live was and has continued to be a cultural phenomenon. They say what everyone is thinking and puts the art that is comedy, on the forefront of people's minds. I didn't understand comedy as an art form until very recently and I now feel that if everyone understood that, people would be much, much happier. Saturday Night Live continues that mission and I, for one, am extremely grateful.
I’m maybe being a bit harsh, but I got pretty tired of the shtick in this book. The oral history genre worked well for Those Guys Have All The Fun, but not nearly as well for this one. I think in part because there were far choppier sections that felt very all over the place.
One thing that is important that I took from reading this book: celebrities are even more self-conscious AND more narcissistic than we think. It was almost physically painful reading the ridiculous statements every few pages. The level of self-importance is truly off the charts. In many ways as I read it, I found myself feeling quite sad for many of these celebrities - a good reminder that fame and money doesn’t always (or ever) translate directly to happiness.
There was a lot of emptiness and I couldn’t help but correlate that empty feeling to the lack of Christ and deeper meaning to life in many of the interviews.
One thing that is important that I took from reading this book: celebrities are even more self-conscious AND more narcissistic than we think. It was almost physically painful reading the ridiculous statements every few pages. The level of self-importance is truly off the charts. In many ways as I read it, I found myself feeling quite sad for many of these celebrities - a good reminder that fame and money doesn’t always (or ever) translate directly to happiness.
There was a lot of emptiness and I couldn’t help but correlate that empty feeling to the lack of Christ and deeper meaning to life in many of the interviews.
This summer's hottest read is Live From New York. This book has everything:
sex and sexism, drugs and clean eating, daddy issues, leadership failures and triumphs and supreme burnage.
Supreme burnage is when Jimmy Fallon praises Lorne Michaels for helping him with even the most mundane problems, followed quickly by someone else saying "Lorne Michaels probably thinks less of anyone who wastes his time with mundane problems."
The "oral history" format of this book is genius- it can be updated at any point, anywhere in the book! The book is endless pages of what seem directly transcribed quotes (based on all the "likes," "you knows," and repetitions) directly from the mouths of people who have worked in the show over the years, whether on stage, solely in the writers' room, as a guest, or in the upper management.
Whether you're a fan of the show or firmly in the "they haven't been good since [insert year when you were in your early teens and watching it]," you gotta revel in the contradictions and the human conditions this book brings forth. Authors have cleverly placed contradictory experiences back-to-back so that the reader just has to make up their own minds. It's great.
My one gripe with this book is that sometimes, there's just a slight ass-kissy element to the editorializing whenever the author(s) write the short transitional paragraphs between eras or events, or the photo captions - luckily there isn't too much of it! It's hard not to roll your eyes at them stating "the alleged" this or that, such as sexism or lack of diversity, when you have just read that Belushi absolutely refused to perform any sketches that were written by women (staff ended up telling him they were written by men...), or that people defend the lack of minority actors in the show by saying "we just hire whoever is funny - there's seriously no biases here", but then when there was a big push for them to find black women talent, they found Sasheer Zamata and then were fawning over at how funny she was. Classic diversity hiring issue, which I think the authors could have just let stand as it was reported by everyone quoted in the book, instead of using terminology as if SNL was on trial.
Anyway. The story of Saturday Night Live is absolutely compelling to me: it's American politics and society presented within a crazy microcosm; it covers leadership failures and triumphs; gives an analysis of in-group/out-group behaviors people gravitate toward.
sex and sexism, drugs and clean eating, daddy issues, leadership failures and triumphs and supreme burnage.
Supreme burnage is when Jimmy Fallon praises Lorne Michaels for helping him with even the most mundane problems, followed quickly by someone else saying "Lorne Michaels probably thinks less of anyone who wastes his time with mundane problems."
The "oral history" format of this book is genius- it can be updated at any point, anywhere in the book! The book is endless pages of what seem directly transcribed quotes (based on all the "likes," "you knows," and repetitions) directly from the mouths of people who have worked in the show over the years, whether on stage, solely in the writers' room, as a guest, or in the upper management.
Whether you're a fan of the show or firmly in the "they haven't been good since [insert year when you were in your early teens and watching it]," you gotta revel in the contradictions and the human conditions this book brings forth. Authors have cleverly placed contradictory experiences back-to-back so that the reader just has to make up their own minds. It's great.
My one gripe with this book is that sometimes, there's just a slight ass-kissy element to the editorializing whenever the author(s) write the short transitional paragraphs between eras or events, or the photo captions - luckily there isn't too much of it! It's hard not to roll your eyes at them stating "the alleged" this or that, such as sexism or lack of diversity, when you have just read that Belushi absolutely refused to perform any sketches that were written by women (staff ended up telling him they were written by men...), or that people defend the lack of minority actors in the show by saying "we just hire whoever is funny - there's seriously no biases here", but then when there was a big push for them to find black women talent, they found Sasheer Zamata and then were fawning over at how funny she was. Classic diversity hiring issue, which I think the authors could have just let stand as it was reported by everyone quoted in the book, instead of using terminology as if SNL was on trial.
Anyway. The story of Saturday Night Live is absolutely compelling to me: it's American politics and society presented within a crazy microcosm; it covers leadership failures and triumphs; gives an analysis of in-group/out-group behaviors people gravitate toward.
I often forget how awesome it is that a show like Saturday Night Live exists, and this book served as a great reminder of that. It captures what an impactful, far-reaching, and timeless phenomenon it really is. If you are any kind of SNL fan, you’re going to want to read this.
From current and former cast members, writers, hosts, musical guests, producers, stagehands, NBC executives, and even Lorne Michaels himself, this book takes first-hand accounts from everyone who has made SNL what it is today. It is segmented into eight sections, each one covering five-year periods from the show’s inception in 1975 up until the 40th season (2013-2014 cast). Each chapter consists primarily of stories, gossip, jokes, and more, all directly from individuals associated with the show, with snippets of history included in between to keep cohesiveness and organization of ideas. I really liked how nothing was held back or filtered in this book. All accounts from everyone are honest, some putting the show in a great light and others giving harsh critiques of their experiences with it. It is as fair as it can be, giving everyone an opportunity to give their honest opinion of their own experiences.
It is interesting to read excerpts from people I have grown up watching and know quite well, to the legends that you hear about from the early days of the show, and all the writers and producers that you never really saw and are involved behind the scenes. Everyone has something interesting to say. I cannot imagine how much interviewing went into the creation of this book.
I would consider myself a more modern fan who never really delved into the older years. This book definitely gave me a great knowledge base of not only those older years but the entire show’s history. I think this has definitely made me more curious about the show itself, has given me a greater respect for everything that goes into each performance, and has made me so much more grateful that something that has entertained so many people is still alive and going strong.
From current and former cast members, writers, hosts, musical guests, producers, stagehands, NBC executives, and even Lorne Michaels himself, this book takes first-hand accounts from everyone who has made SNL what it is today. It is segmented into eight sections, each one covering five-year periods from the show’s inception in 1975 up until the 40th season (2013-2014 cast). Each chapter consists primarily of stories, gossip, jokes, and more, all directly from individuals associated with the show, with snippets of history included in between to keep cohesiveness and organization of ideas. I really liked how nothing was held back or filtered in this book. All accounts from everyone are honest, some putting the show in a great light and others giving harsh critiques of their experiences with it. It is as fair as it can be, giving everyone an opportunity to give their honest opinion of their own experiences.
It is interesting to read excerpts from people I have grown up watching and know quite well, to the legends that you hear about from the early days of the show, and all the writers and producers that you never really saw and are involved behind the scenes. Everyone has something interesting to say. I cannot imagine how much interviewing went into the creation of this book.
I would consider myself a more modern fan who never really delved into the older years. This book definitely gave me a great knowledge base of not only those older years but the entire show’s history. I think this has definitely made me more curious about the show itself, has given me a greater respect for everything that goes into each performance, and has made me so much more grateful that something that has entertained so many people is still alive and going strong.
This is a fun, though large, book about SNL from its beginnings to the early 2000s. I read it in about five months, which is strange for me. I kept it under my bed and read it in snippets. It's largely interviews of cast members, writers, producers and hosts, with short transitional paragraphs written by the author every 10 pages or so.
If I were not such a fan of the show, this would've been boring and pointless. It's also helpful to note that it was published 10 years ago, so people interested in reading about Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Taran Killam, etc, won't find what they're looking for here.
By the end, I got a tired of how gushy the book was. Though there is some controversy that comes out through the interviews (Chevy Chase is a jerk, some people think Lorne is manipulative, women had trouble getting airtime in the early years), on the whole the message here is that SNL is groundbreaking, one-of-a-kind, generally amazing. And I mean that's the AUTHOR's point of view, not necessarily that of the people who actually work at SNL.
A fun read if you know enough about classic SNL to recognize the names.
If I were not such a fan of the show, this would've been boring and pointless. It's also helpful to note that it was published 10 years ago, so people interested in reading about Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Taran Killam, etc, won't find what they're looking for here.
By the end, I got a tired of how gushy the book was. Though there is some controversy that comes out through the interviews (Chevy Chase is a jerk, some people think Lorne is manipulative, women had trouble getting airtime in the early years), on the whole the message here is that SNL is groundbreaking, one-of-a-kind, generally amazing. And I mean that's the AUTHOR's point of view, not necessarily that of the people who actually work at SNL.
A fun read if you know enough about classic SNL to recognize the names.
An almost perfect book, and essential for anyone who loves SNL or comedy or show business. Told entirely through transcripted conversations with the people who made the show, you get all of the information you could possibly want (at least through 2014, would love to see an updated edition especially since now I have a good friend in the cast).
My only real complaint is the weird editorializing that Miller and Shales do during the section talking about recent conversations around race and gender on the show. At no other point do they really editorialize but here they’re quick to throw in asides like “alleged lack of black women” or “minorities supposedly underrepresented” and it’s just a weird vibe.
Otherwise a perfect book that made me wish I did comedy. Can’t wait for SNL to come back from break.
My only real complaint is the weird editorializing that Miller and Shales do during the section talking about recent conversations around race and gender on the show. At no other point do they really editorialize but here they’re quick to throw in asides like “alleged lack of black women” or “minorities supposedly underrepresented” and it’s just a weird vibe.
Otherwise a perfect book that made me wish I did comedy. Can’t wait for SNL to come back from break.