Jenny Slate Not Returning?

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Jenny Slate may not be returning this season. Apparently, Abby Elliott was in serious jeopardy but now looks safe to return for this season at least. Slate joined the cast of SNL last season along with Nasim Pedrad and in that time got one recurring character, Tina Tina Chaneuse, on the air and made headlines when she dropped an F-bomb in her first episode. Slate was also featured in great sketches like Pageant Talk, Some Big Shot and Team Edward vs Team Jacob. 


Obviously we'll have to wait for a confirmation from NBC or someone at the show, but for now, it seems as though we won't be seeing Slate in the opening credits come September 25.

Jenny Slate discusses Marcel The Shell With Shoes On | USA Today

Click here to read the brief Q&A. Below is my favourite excerpt -


I like that people think that it’s funny, but what I like the most is how many people say that it made them happy. Because we were doing it to make ourselves happy, and that’s just a really beautiful phenomenon.

• Jenny Slate on Marcel The Shell with Shoes On

Marcel The Shell with Shoes On (VIDEO)

So, this is a video entitled Marcel The Shell With Shoes On written by Jenny Slate and Dean Fleischer-Camp and directed by Dean Fleischer-Camp. It's kind of a stop-motion thing and the main character Marcel is voiced by Slate. It's probably the most adorable thing I've ever seen and it's very cute and funny in a Wes Anderson-esque kind of way. Watch it and smile for three minutes.  Also, can Jenny Slate do stuff like this on SNL next season, please? 



MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON from Dean Fleischer-Camp on Vimeo.

Jenny Slate attended the NYLON Guys Issue Launch Dinner Party hosted by Jason Schwartzman and here she is, pictured with Schwartzman. 


Schwartzman and Slate starred alongside one another in Schwartzman's HBO series Bored To Death when Slate played Schwartzman's love interest. She is due to reprise her role when Bored To Death returns for its second season this fall.

Abby Elliott, Nasim Pedrad and Jenny Slate appear at NBC Upfronts (PHOTOS)

Yes, SNL's featured ladies were out in full force at this morning's NBC Upfront Presentation which took place in NYC. Photos after the jump -

For All You New Yorkers -

There's a neat exhibition of SNL portraits from the 2000's entitled "Live From New York - A Decade of Portraits" going on in John Varvatos which is located at 315 Bowery (between Bleecker and East 2nd).

The exhibition opened this week and members of the cast and writers were present at the event. Photos included after the jump. 

Saturday Night Screens at Tribeca Film Fest

So, The New York Times was at last night's screening of the James Franco documentary Saturday Night at Tribeca Film Fest. They posted some stray observations on their Arts Beat Blog along with a few insider scoops from the Q&A with James Franco, Kenan Thompson, Jenny Slate and Will Forte which followed the screening. Here are some of the best -

Among the moments and observations that caught our eye:

• Most of the “SNL” cast and writers seem to operate with at least some level of sleep deprivation, owing largely to the overnight Tuesday evening to Wednesday morning writing sessions. Seth Meyers, the head writer and “Weekend Update” anchor, says he has dreams in which he is writing skits for the show. Mr. Forte says he sleeps in his office in an “SNL” blanket he was given by his mother.
• Doug Abeles, a “Weekend Update” writer and producer, says that when he is in need of topical inspiration, he sometimes glances out his window at the NBC news ticker on the studio across the street.
• Among the sketches that did not make it to the broadcast was a bit in which Mr. Malkovich played a commercial singer forced to perform the Empire Today Carpet jingle over and over, and Mr. Forte played his slave driver of a director. It appeared that the skit played well at the table read, but it was cut after an unsuccessful dress rehearsal.
  
  
  Afterward, Mr. Forte, who wrote the sketch, said he had made his peace with this result. “It didn’t do horribly,” he said of the skit, “it just didn’t do as well as we had hoped. You get so used to that situation. Your heart gets broken on a regular basis. And you just have to forget about it and try to come up with something new. Every once in a while, you get a second chance with something. You can’t think about it.”
• Casey Wilson is boldly candid about sharing her feelings when her Liza Minnelli impersonation skit bombs at the table read. “My experience was, I wanted to kill myself,” Ms. Wilson tells the camera. “I wanted to die.” Her contract was not renewed after the 2008-09 season.
• Mr. Moynihan smokes. So does Mr. Franco. Bad Mr. Moynihan! Bad Mr. Franco!
• As the producer Steve Higgins aptly says of “SNL,” “If you’re a perfectionist, don’t come here.”

Bonus factoids from the post-screening Q & A session:

• Prospective “SNL” cast members are asked to perform a mix of original characters and celebrity impressions in their auditions. In his audition, Mr. Forte performed impersonations of Michael McDonald and Martin Sheen.
• Ms. Slate’s audition included an impression of Annette Bening as a tour guide at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
• Mr. Thompson said the “SNL” host who most surprised him – and initially intimidated him – was Ludacris, who he said spent most of his sketch-pitch meeting on his two-way pager.
• Asked if he was still working with Kel Mitchell, his former co-star from the Nickelodeon show “Kenan & Kel,” Mr. Thompson replied: “Uh, no. Next question.”

Read the article here -http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/03/things-we-learned-about-saturday-night-live-from-james-francos-documentary/

Happy birthday, Jenny Slate!

Happy birthday to Jenny Slate who turns 28 today!

Have a slate day! (I have no idea what that was.)

Jenny Slate tweets -

"I. Am. So. Excited. For. This. Week's. Show. Also, my dog was chewing on my bra and the strap is about to break. Man overboard!"

She follows that up with -

"Yes I am about to go to a dance rehearsal. Yes, I am wearing my jockstrap. Duh. "

Yay for positivity about a show I'm still not 100% confident about - and dancing!

Follow Jenny Slate on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jennyslate25

Jenny Slate Joins Twitter!

Hey SNL/Twitter fans, guess what!?

Jenny Slate has jumped on the Twitter bandwagon! You can check out what she's thinking here at -

www.twitter.com/jennyslate25

Here's a sampling of her Twitter thoughts -

"I love nasim pedrad! Ladies for ladies! Bras! Tampons! Big huge pads! "

"Waiting for a bikini wax is like waiting to get slapped in the face. It's also just super annoying¬ something I should be sharing online"

"Dear Jenny Slate: spacing out about whether or not Muppets wear underpants is a waste of time. Go to sleep & wake up when u r a grown up. "

Go ahead & follow Jenny!

Cast Photos

Does this picture make you happy? 'Cause I know any event where the SNL cast spruce up and look nice, makes me happy.
They were all pretty busy this week, making appearances at the Museum of Natural History Gala and the Barney's Window Launch.
I've assembled a nice little TinyPic photo album with a bunch of photos of the cast from the event. Enjoy!

http://tinypic.com/a/1g5rn/1

Kenan Thompson on Jenny Slate Post-F-Word Fiasco

Check out this short & sweet article on what Kenan Thompson had to say about his co-star's slip-up during her first ever show, and how Andy Samberg delicately broached the topic during a Monday pitch meeting.
http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2009/10/26/snl_s_jenny_slate_doing_fine_after_f_bom

Jenny Slate Will Not Be Fired

I repeat, NOT fired.

An NBC spokeswoman said, "No truth to firing conjecture. She will not be fired."

However the NY Daily News is reporting that executives were none too pleased with Slate's slip-up & held a big meeting after the show. Apparently Slate was also a no-show at the show's after-party.

I gotta say, I really hope that Slate isn't punished in some other way for this and I hope that she continues to get the chance to shine in sketches as she did on Saturday before her unfortunate mistake.

Megan Fox/U2 - Sketch-by-Sketch Review

This week saw Transformers mega-hottie Megan Fox take to the stage as SNL host and U2 take to the stage not twice, but three times as musical guests. Let's have a show rundown sketch by sketch, shall we?

Cold Open - So I know they kinda saved the best for SNL Weekend Update Thursday with the sketch about Obama being interviewed by everyone but Fox News, but was Colonel Gaddafi really that ripe for lampooning? With the exception of Fred bearing kind of a resemblance to him, I just don't get why they picked that for the cold open of the 35th season premiere. Don't remember particularly laughing at this one, might have smirked at the notion that jetlag was to blame for his speech, but that was it. Poor start.
5.5/10

Monologue - So here's something I found curious about the monologue - Megan Fox was clearly booked this week in order to promote her latest flick Jennifer's Body and yet no mention of it at all in the monologue. Way to distance yourself from a box office bomb. Anyhow, this wasn't too bad, at least it didn't resort to a Q & A (well, not really). Bobby kind of saved it with the whole schtick about the picture of her as a half-human half-horse being legit, liked the paparazzi joke. All in all not bad, but not great.
6/10

Bladavvan - Only positive thing I can say about this one was nice ending. Will Forte & Fred Armisen sharing a urinal at least made me smile.
N/A

Southern Stewardesses - I quite liked this one. Probably would have liked it better without Fox to be honest. For me, she just interrupted the good parts with Wiig, who pretty much owned the sketch. Loved the fight about Monk and the promises to find some pretzels. Spotted - new writer Hannibal Buress seated behind Andy & Abby.
7/10

Russian Mail Order Bride - Another hit/miss sketch. Anything with Armisen was pretty funny. "Svetlana cannot wink, only blink." or "Svetlana has no interests" and his lazy smile was pretty funny. Fox just kind of had to stand there & mumble Russian and the idea that the decision was so hard to make because Svetlana (the blatantly uglier bride) was cheaper wasn't all that funny. Made me laugh once or twice though.
6/10

SNL Digital Short 1 - Loved this one, dare I say it my favourite of the night. Well written & terrific job by both Forte & Fox, but particularly Will who was pretty awesome as a slightly off SWAT commander. I loved how tender yet hilarious it all was & it even had a proper ending. Think it's one of those love it or hate it sketches - count me in the love it camp.
8/10

Grady Wilson's Burning Up The Bedsheets - Decent enough. Good job by Kenan who definitely elevated the sketch. This was probably Fox's best one of the night. She let go completely and was pretty funny as a result. Favourite position?
"Its 12.00 in Switzerland. Cuckoo!"
7/10

U2 - So over U2. Being Irish, I've had enough U2 to last me a lifetime.

Weekend Update - Another highlight of the show. Solid jokes, though maybe the best were used up on Thursday. Favourite jokes -
"Colonel Gaddafi called Obama his son during his speech at the G20. Then Glenn Beck's just upped and wrote itself."
Re - Giant Babt "The mother was said to be beside herself but only because she was split in 2."
Also loved the Larry King/Michael Moore joke.
Jean K. Jean I enjoyed tremendously. Loved the Chanel belt joke. Judy Grimes stole the segment for me though. Jeez, how does she do it that fast! So funny though, I can't wait to find a transcript so I can fully appreciate the jokes in this one.
8/10

Live Lounge - It's a sketch that's been done lots of times and it didn't really feel fresh or new. My favourite part were probably the terms & conditions at the end. "If you try to cancel Live Lounge, we will tell people you use Live Lounge. Live Lounge is owned by the Russian Mafia."
5/10

Biker Chick Chit Chat- In what should have been kind of a big deal - a new cast member heading a sketch in her first week on the show - turned into a big deal for the wrong reasons. Yes, this is the one in which Jenny Slate accidentally dropped an F-Bomb. And I can't really blame her - it was a tongue teaser! There were so many fricks that I felt like I was watching a Mini-Me sketch (can I get a what-what?) But really, no amount of F-Bombs or front bums could save this one. It was one-note and the only redeeming parts of it were Megan Fox's surprisingly New Yawky accent and Kristen Wiig who made a believable biker mom-friend. Major kudos to Slate & Wiig who retained their composure after Jenny's slip-up
4.5/10

SNL Digital Short 2 - So this one was a little bizarre. It centred around Megan Fox on a date with Andy Samberg's character and her roommate Optimus Prime (who is Bobby Moynihan with an Optimus mask on). So it started off pretty funny & it quickly got weird when Optimus Prime was sitting on the sofa naked & then walked in another Transformer (Brian Austin Green) and the two of them "transformed" and dropped their shorts. Honestly, this one was just a little too odd for me.
N/A

Your Mom Talks to Megan Fox While You Finish Getting Ready - Typical end of the night sketch. Fox played herself while Wiig played your average mom who gets confused with CSI & CGI. It was fine, Wiig did a pretty good job but the only part that amused me what the anecdote about Rick Moranis.
5/10

OVERALL-
Not the best start to the season, but I didn't really expect more from a season premiere hosted by a so-so actress like Megan Fox. She didn't embarrass herself & to be honest, I fault the writers for not giving her more material that didn't make some mention to her looks. She seemed pretty game for a lot of stuff so maybe it's just getting back into the routine for the writers but I really hope they improve their game for next week with Ryan Reynolds.
Props to Will Forte, Fred Armisen, Kenan Thompson & Kristen Wiig who I thought did a particularly good job this week. Also, I just have to mention how much I enjoyed Nasim Pedrad's impression of Kathy Griffin on SNL Weekend Update Thursday - girl's got game!

Regarding SNLWUT (best acronym yet?) I loved Jason's impression of Glenn Beck & after this summer we need a Glenn Beck sketch pronto - hey, if you can lampoon Keith Olbermann, you can lampoon Glenn Beck.

Overall, very so-so start to season 35. Megan Fox didn't have major sketch comedy chops & I hope that Ryan Reynolds fares better next week.
5.5/10

STRAY OBSERVATIONS -

• I am loving the new opening credits. The shots of New York and the cast are all great & Abby Elliott looks like a total rockstar in hers.
• Yay, Don Pardo is still around!
• Darrell Hammond no longer a repertory player it seems! Now just a handyman called in to do odd jobs whenever necessary!
• Nice Brian Austin Green cameo in that Digital Short.
• John Mulaney is now a writing supervisor? Nice work, Mulaney!

Jenny Slate Drops an F-Bomb

Poor Jenny Slate - the girl is hilarious & a welcome addition to the SNL cast. But first episode, she drops an accidental F-Bomb. Looking at the video, it was clearly accidental but man, you gotta feel a little bad for her.

It's the talk of the internet this morning, with EW & Huffington Post commenting on it. Both are of the opinion that it was clearly a slip of the tongue & that she doesn't deserve any punishment.
As someone with not the cleanest mouth herself, I completely agree. Anyway it's 2009, an accidental F-Bomb shouldn't rile anybody.

On the plus side, a little controversy never did SNL any harm!

Seth Meyers to go WU Alone

Seth Meyers has himself confirmed that he will man the WU desk alone for Season 35. Addressing the rumours that Kristen Wiig would join him as co-anchor, he said that she was "almost too valuable," saying that were she to become WU anchor she would be unable to perform her hilarious characters at WU.
He would not say much about the premature departures of Casey Wilson & Michaela Watkins saying only, "I think that the two who are leaving are going to be incredibly successful wherever they go."
On Jenny Slate & Nasim Pedrad's hirings he was very positive describing them both as "great writers as well as performers." He said turnover at 30 Rockefeller Plaza helps keep the humour fresh."It's always nice to have new people," he said. "They'll give new looks at things and see things in new ways. Any time you get new voices in, that tends to help."

And there you have it, folks!

Jenny Slate Interview

Check out this great interview with SNL's new girl Jenny Slate -
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2009/09/vulture_interviews_new_saturda.html

From it we learn that -

1. Jenny Slate has a role in the upcoming series Bored To Death
2. Jenny Slate has a role in the upcoming series Brothers (but they are writing her character out thanks to her new gig at SNL.
3. Her favourite recent SNL sketch is the now infamous Will Forte/Peyton Manning dance sketch.

I gotta say the more I hear about Jenny Slate, the more I like her & am interested to see what she does at Saturday Night Live.

Jenny Slate Short

I know lots of people are curious about SNL's new girls Jenny Slate & Nasim Pedrad.

Well, here's a short written by and starring Jenny Slate and her comedic other half Gabe Liedman. It's a short, silent film that was commissioned by the MoMA for Pop Rally's "SILENT BUT DEADLY - AN EVENING OF COMEDY SHORTS". It's really hilarious, and if it's an indication of what we can expect from Jenny, then I'm very excited to have her join SNL. Enjoy!

"Gabe & Jenny Are: Where's the Tickets?" from Gabe & Jenny on Vimeo.