You see, the famed venue of Radio City Music Hall can seat 4,000 people, while the historic Saturday Night Live stage at Studio 8H can only accommodate around 300 people. Belloni describes the main anniversary event as “one of the toughest tickets in Hollywood history,” and it seems that Michaels is wielding that power in stereotypical fashion. In Vulture‘s recent pseudo-profile of the SNL boss, a number of former staffers were reportedly hesitant to talk because they were “nervously awaiting their invitations” to the show. “When I asked a former SNL writer about a mildly unflattering Michaels anecdote she had previously told in a book, she requested that I not repeat it in this article,” journalist Reeves Wiedeman writes. “‘I’m hoping to go to the 50th, and I would like a warm reception,’ she said.”
According to Puck, “all 160-odd past castmembers” have been invited to sit in the main room for Sunday’s anniversary show, but only “[a] few key writers and past producers are also getting the nod.” (Sadly, Bill Hader was apparently a “polite decline” and SNL OG Dan Aykroyd won’t be in attendance, despite his enthusiastic tweets about the event.) Comcast C.E.O. Brian Roberts and NBCUniversal’s Mike Cavanagh and Donna Langley are among those reportedly confirmed for Studio 8H, but most other NBCUniversal C-suiters will apparently sit in the overflow room, which is Seth Meyers’ space at Studio 8G. “Many” hosts have apparently been invited to attend, including—yep!—Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who haven’t RSVP’d. Everyone who does go, no matter which room they sit in, is invited to the afterparty at the Plaza.
Here’s the tidbit perhaps most indicative of Michaels’ power and the Hollywood ecosystem at large. Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos, who gave glowing quotes about Michaels for that Vulture profile, has secured a seat in 8H. Warner Bros. David Zaslav, his neighbor in the Hamptons, will only attend The Homecoming Concert.
