Growing up, Jason Reitman found solace in sketch comedy. For the Montreal native, sa国际传媒淪aturday Night Livesa国际传媒� was more than just a show sa国际传媒� it was a sanctuary for misfits like himself.

sa国际传媒淎s a comedy nerd, you always kind of feel like an outsider. You donsa国际传媒檛 feel like a cool kid. I just remember watching sa国际传媒楽NLsa国际传媒� for the first time and thinking, sa国际传媒楾hey do this every week?sa国际传媒檚a国际传媒� There was going to be something to talk about at school every Monday morning,sa国际传媒� the Canadian-American writer-director recalled at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month.

sa国际传媒淚n the same way that sa国际传媒楽NLsa国际传媒� is like an orphanage for wayward comedians, the show itself collects all the comedy nerds who feel like outsiders because it is not only making you laugh, but teaching you what can be funny on a weekly basis.sa国际传媒�

After releasing his breakout dramedy sa国际传媒淛unosa国际传媒� in 2007, Reitman told his agent that one of his dreams was to write for sa国际传媒淪NL.sa国际传媒� He got his chance that year with a weeklong writing stint on the show.

sa国际传媒淭hose minutes and seconds leading to it going live are like the Stanley Cup and the Super Bowl all rolled into one. The adrenalin of it is insane,sa国际传媒� he said.

Reitman aimed to capture that turbocharged energy in sa国际传媒淪aturday Night,sa国际传媒� a dramatization of the shambolic 90 minutes leading up to the sketch-comedy institutionsa国际传媒檚 very first episode in 1975. The film opens in Toronto on Friday, followed by a wide release on Oct. 11 sa国际传媒� exactly 49 years to the day the show debuted on NBC.

Vancouversa国际传媒檚 Gabriel LaBelle stars as an overwhelmed Lorne Michaels, the showsa国际传媒檚 Canadian architect who faces myriad hurdles while guiding a troupe of untrained and untested comedians and writers. The cast includes Dylan Osa国际传媒橞rien as Dan Aykroyd, Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase and Nicholas Braun as both Andy Kaufman and Jim Henson.

sa国际传媒淚 wanted the audience to feel not only what it was like for an episode to go live, but what is it like when culture changes in a moment?sa国际传媒� said Reitman.

Reitman said his famous father Ivan, who made several films with sa国际传媒淪NLsa国际传媒� alums including John Belushi and Bill Murray, ran in the same circles as Canadian actors Aykroyd and Valri Bromfield, as well as musicians Howard Shore and Paul Shaffer, who were all involved in the early days of the show.

Despite whatever second-hand stories he might have absorbed growing up, Reitman said he went to painstaking lengths to ensure every detail in his film was accurate. He and writing partner Gil Kenan interviewed sa国际传媒渆very living person we could find who was in the building that night.sa国际传媒�

Reitman said the many obstacles Michaels and his crew encounter in the film sa国际传媒� from John Belushi refusing to sign his contract to Milton Berle exposing himself sa国际传媒� are all based on true stories.

However, when Reitman interviewed Michaels himself, the Toronto native didnsa国际传媒檛 mention any personal anxiety about that debut show.

sa国际传媒淟orne doesnsa国际传媒檛 communicate stress. Lorne is a river of cool and he also doesnsa国际传媒檛 like to look in the rearview mirror,sa国际传媒� he said.

Reitman said the most intriguing insight he learned was that Michaels was initially slated to host sa国际传媒淲eekend Update,sa国际传媒� the iconic segment known for its satirical take on current events and news.

sa国际传媒淚 think this was a moment when he had to realize, sa国际传媒業sa国际传媒檓 not the performer, Isa国际传媒檓 the producer, Isa国际传媒檓 dad. Isa国际传媒檓 not supposed to be on camera. Isa国际传媒檓 the person whosa国际传媒檚 going to make it possible for all these great comedians to have a career,sa国际传媒檚a国际传媒� said Reitman.

He believes part of Michaelssa国际传媒� success can be attributed to both his outsidersa国际传媒檚 lens as a Canadian and his ability to recognize sa国际传媒渙verlooked talent.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淗e was able to look at someone like John Belushi, who didnsa国际传媒檛 look like anybody on television, or Dan Aykroyd, who didnsa国际传媒檛 sound like anyone on television, and know that they were stars. And thatsa国际传媒檚 continued through to Adam Sandler and Will Ferrell,sa国际传媒� said Reitman.

sa国际传媒淟orne has constantly been able to evolve and understand, sa国际传媒榃hat is the next stage of comedy? Where are we going from an evolutionary standpoint?sa国际传媒� Hesa国际传媒檚 done that for 50 years and I have to think that some of that has to do with his origin story of being from Toronto and having that Canadian perspective of the world.sa国际传媒�

As for Michaelssa国际传媒� view on sa国际传媒淪aturday Nightsa国际传媒�?

sa国际传媒淟ornesa国际传媒檚 a private guy, but Isa国际传媒檒l say that a couple weeks ago, I got a lovely congratulatory note from him,sa国际传媒� said Reitman.