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S40.E00: The 40th Anniversary Special


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I get it, it's like your old job that you saved from ruin mocking you (actually that's literally what it is). Eddie Murphy wasn't just another cast member, he saved the institution that is now so revered. I totally get why it would upset him. 

 

Also if he didn't want to do Cosby, isn't there ANYTHING else they could have written for him? Why is the onus on him to just do the sketch and not on the writers to write something he found funny? And honestly, it doesn't sound like funny beyond "Here is Eddie Murphy as rapist Bill Cosby". Coming up with that doesn't seem like it would take much talent or creativity or be a very good use of Eddie's considerable skills.

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I get it, it's like your old job that you saved from ruin mocking you (actually that's literally what it is). Eddie Murphy wasn't just another cast member, he saved the institution that is now so revered. I totally get why it would upset him. 

 

Also if he didn't want to do Cosby, isn't there ANYTHING else they could have written for him? Why is the onus on him to just do the sketch and not on the writers to write something he found funny? And honestly, it doesn't sound like funny beyond "Here is Eddie Murphy as rapist Bill Cosby". Coming up with that doesn't seem like it would take much talent or creativity or be a very good use of Eddie's considerable skills.

Timing, I think.  It sounds from Norm's story like maybe Eddie was on the fence until that night.  

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Timing, I think.  It sounds from Norm's story like maybe Eddie was on the fence until that night.  

 

Exactly. Plus, given Eddie's ambivalent feelings toward the show, I image the writers' main question was "Will he be up for performing in the show at all?" rather than "Will he agree to be in this particular sketch?" I doubt they had the time or energy to write multiple different options for Eddie on the off chance that he'd agree to be in one of them.

Edited by Dev F
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I doubt they had the time or energy to write multiple different options for Eddie on the off chance that he'd agree to be in one of them.

 

This.  He had to give them at least some sense of what he was willing to do.  There were a lot of things to get through, and it does sound like there was some effort made on Norm's part representing the writers.  I think it's more on Eddie for not saying let's try something else. 

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You have EDDIE MURPHY returning to the show after 30 some odd years and you only offer him one option? I call BS.

 

Yeah, there's gotta be more to this story. Of course, Norm would tell the story painting himself in a good light.

 

Seth Meyers on Howard Stern Monday said he wouldn't have revealed that thing Norm did. He said it should've been Eddie's decision whether that story came out, and that the creative process behind the scenes should be sacrosanct. Otherwise, people would be afraid to be themselves or to speak out if they knew their comments would be made public.

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3YHmwScKls

Edited by nowandlater
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You have EDDIE MURPHY returning to the show after 30 some odd years and you only offer him one option? I call BS.

 

If he wouldn't actually commit to being in a sketch i wouldn't waste the time writing multiple options for him. Writing a sketch where he could be replaced (as they did) is the option that causes the least amount of disruption to the rest of the show IMO. It's not like he is the host who definitely will participate in the show, they don't have the luxury of pitching multiple sketches to him in the hopes that he will commit to one.

Edited by MrWhyt
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If he wouldn't actually commit to being in a sketch i wouldn't waste the time writing multiple options for him. Writing a sketch where he could be replaced (as they did) is the option that causes the least amount of disruption to the rest of the show IMO. It's not like he is the host who definitely will participate in the show, they don't have the luxury of pitching multiple sketches to him in the hopes that he will commit to one.

 

Well, I imagine a savvy person, someone who knows he has an ego the size of Jupiter, would write multiple options for him before presenting their first so what you're saying doesn't make much sense to me.

 

He seemed open to being in a sketch just not that one. The idea that they had Eddie Murphy returning to the show after decades and only presented one (in my opinion, lame) idea is absurd to me. I think nowandlater is probably right, that there's more to the story. Unfortunately EM rejecting a Bill Cosby joke is the more "newsworthy" story.

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He seemed open to being in a sketch just not that one.

 

I don't think that's clear.  I doubt it because I believe they would have jumped on it.  His whole demeanor on the show suggested to me that he wasn't open to much at all.

Edited by vb68
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Well, I imagine a savvy person, someone who knows he has an ego the size of Jupiter, would write multiple options for him before presenting their first so what you're saying doesn't make much sense to me

it appears they started writing the Monday before the show, how much time do you think they had to spend drafting sketches in the hopes that he would agree to one?

 

 

The idea that they had Eddie Murphy returning to the show after decades and only presented one (in my opinion, lame) idea is absurd to me.

EM is probably the biggest star the show has ever produced and saved the show at one point, but his fame has faded and he has distanced himself from the show since the moment he left it, they don't owe him multiple options. According to Norm's account they were trying to talk him into the sketch up until airtime, if he didn't want to do the sketch he should have given them a firm NO long before hand.

Edited by MrWhyt
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it appears they started writing the Monday before the show, how much time do you think they had to spend drafting sketches in the hopes that he would agree to one?

If that was the case, it makes me wonder, why would you give yourselves such a short timeline to write the show? I mean it is not like the 40th anniversary all of the sudden snuck up on them out of no where. 

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If that was the case, it makes me wonder, why would you give yourselves such a short timeline to write the show? I mean it is not like the 40th anniversary all of the sudden snuck up on them out of no where. 

 

Sometimes even regular episodes make it seem like they have no idea Saturday comes after Friday, so that's kind of SOP.

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If that was the case, it makes me wonder, why would you give yourselves such a short timeline to write the show? I mean it is not like the 40th anniversary all of the sudden snuck up on them out of no where. 

They probably had to wait to see who would definitely RSVP and wanted to participate.  It also sounds like the writing for the show was done by a team of "all-star" writers who I imagine are spread out across the country.  Yeah, they could always do it virtually but that's not really how the SNL writers room works according to how I've heard it described.  Plus, they did have their regular shows. 

 

He seemed open to being in a sketch just not that one. The idea that they had Eddie Murphy returning to the show after decades and only presented one (in my opinion, lame) idea is absurd to me. I think nowandlater is probably right, that there's more to the story. Unfortunately EM rejecting a Bill Cosby joke is the more "newsworthy" story.

Lame or not, I thought Keenan killed his bit in that sketch.   And it sounds like the reason they thought of Eddie was because he does a great Cosby. 

 

Honestly, from the way I read the story, 'not wanting to kick a man' when he was down felt like an excuse that was given somewhat at the last minute.  I suspect this was a way to avoid having to do any sketches.  If this were really about not wanting to kick a man while he was down or not finding it funny, why not say that right away and offer a potential alternative?  I just don't think he wanted to do it.  He also didn't really look like he wanted to say much after Chris Rock introduced him.  I think that's fine but I suspect it would've been a waste of time trying to write something for someone who didn't seem like he was on board.

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