Hotmail
‘SNL’ excited to tackle the election season
‘The stakes are really high and everyone knows it,’ says Lorne Michaels
 Henny Ray Abrams / AP Darrell Hammond and Fred Armisen will portray John McCain and Barack Obama this season on "Saturday Night Live." |
|
Television video |
 Ryan Seacrest: The $45 million man July 13: No way: American Idol host Ryan Seacrest has reportedly signed a three year deal to host the show for $15 million a year, more than triple his current salary. |
NEW YORK - “You can just feel it simmering,” says Darrell Hammond while walking down the hallways of Studio 8H with his hands out, as if he can touch the energy around the new season of “Saturday Night Live” pulsating from the walls.
The premiere of “SNL” is Saturday — Michael Phelps is hosting — and it’s one of the most anticipated seasons in the 34-year history of the comedy institution.
With one of the most passionate elections in recent times — along with comic material galore — “Saturday Night Live” is beginning early this year. Three prime-time shows are also planned on NBC, as well as a special the night before the election.
“The stakes are really high and everyone knows it,” says “SNL” executive producer and creator Lorne Michaels. “We’ll definitely make some noise.”
At the center of that noise will be Hammond and Fred Armisen, the cast members playing the candidates: Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama, respectively. While McCain and Obama duke it out on the campaign trail, their every move will be observed and reflected in the fun-house mirror of these two mimic maestros.
“SNL” has been on an upswing in recent years — creatively and in the ratings — and last year’s strike-marred season reminded many of the show’s political relevance. Particularly influential was a sketch by veteran writer and political humor specialist Jim Downey that depicted the media fawning over Obama.
Armisen and Hammond, though, prefer not to think about any effect “SNL” might have on the polls.
“I almost feel like it would be a bad idea to put that much pressure on yourself,” says Armisen in an interview in his office with Hammond. “I enjoy the theater of it.”
“We’re distorting a piece of temporary perception of a changing piece of information,” says Hammond. “I kind of think of myself as a clown who wears funny noses. I don’t think that I’m a policy wonk or a legislator.”
Who will play Palin?
In many political sketches last spring, Amy Poehler’s Hillary Clinton was the focus. Now, though, Armisen and Hammond can be expected to be heavily featured in the show’s most prominent segments. (That is, besides whoever plays McCain’s running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin. Michaels says she likely won’t be cast until just before Saturday’s show, but didn’t rule out “SNL” alum Tina Fey, who many have observed resembles the Alaskan governor.)
It can be a career-making gig. Think of Gerald Ford and a tumbling Chevy Chase springs to mind. George W. Bush immediately brings an image of Will Ferrell muttering “strategery.” And Hammond has already defined Bill Clinton, an impression Michaels says “is more real than Bill Clinton.”
Hammond, 52, is the longest running cast member in the show’s history, joining the players in 1995. He’s proved to be one of the most talented impressionists of his generation, with indelible portraits of Donald Trump, Sean Connery, Jesse Jackson, Chris Matthews, Don Imus, Ted Koppel, Regis Philbin and many more.
Armisen says he’s been inspired by Hammond in his impression work, which has included Prince, Steve Jobs, Larry King and Iranian Pres. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The 41-year-old comic can also do just about everyone on “SNL,” including a version of Hammond, which Hammond describes as “not that flattering, but it’s accurate enough that it makes me laugh.”
Though it’s easy for a viewer of “SNL” to see these impressions as delicately created caricatures built up over months of work, the fast-paced nature of “SNL” means they often have only a day or two to prepare. Hammond jokes of getting an assignment, “Here’s the script. Here’s the tape. Go see Louie in makeup. He’s making a nose.”
The challenges of playing Obama
It was under such circumstances that Armisen landed the role of Obama in the midst of the last season. Hammond’s help came in handy.
“I almost don’t want to give it away,” says Armisen of the advice. “It’s like secret recipes in a way. He simplifies things for me. He’s like, ‘Do this. Do this. Listen to this.”’
“We were really reaching and trying to find things to hold on to the first few times,” recalls Hammond, whose McCain was becoming topical at the same time. “Fred would go, ‘Here’s something I see.’ And I’m like, ‘Here’s something I see.’ Our dressing rooms are next to each other so we were running back and forth.”
Obama might at first seem almost too straight of a character for Armisen. While Hammond is a somewhat traditional standup (he performs frequently and has recently begun appearing on Broadway, notably in “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”), Armisen is closer to absurdist, Andy Kaufman territory.
|
But he says Obama reminds him of another character of his: Steve Jobs.
“There was something about Senator Obama that I felt they had some similarities — in their presentation, in their love for what they do,” says Armisen. “Steve Jobs really makes moments happen.”
Armisen says he’s been working on his Obama all summer, listening to podcasts of his speeches and observing the different tones of voice the candidate uses in interviews. He has tremendous respect for Obama: “I admire him — I always did. I was always drawn to him. I find him brilliant and charismatic.”
- Discuss Story On Newsvine
-
Rate Story:
View popularLowHigh - Instant Message
MORE FROM TELEVISION |
 Television Section Front |
| Add Television headlines to your news reader: |
Sponsored links
Resource guide