While discussing James’ Franco’s SNL documentary, the Your Highness actor ended up grilling Jimmy Fallon about his experience on the show, particularly the bone-chilling sound of pages turning in a quiet room. “My writing is not that great,†Fallon reminisced, wincing as he remembered the deafening silence that greets an unsuccessful sketch around the read-through table. “People didn’t even look me in the eye when we were done. It just crushed my confidence.†Luckily from devastating failure comes great achievements, like the “Christmas Song†with Horatio Sanz.
While originally intended as a seven-minute-long class project for an NYU course, Franco’s documentary, due out in June, eventually became a feature length film about one week in the life of Bill Hader, SNL performer. Apparently since “Lorne liked me,†James was allowed to film him as he chose the sketches for that week’s show, a sacred ritual even Hader and Will Forte had never been allowed to witness. Franco also reveals that Michaels had previous turned down documentarian D. A. Pennebaker’s request to gain access to the show, even though there is no way D.A. could have giggled even half as much as Franco undoubtedly did on the shoot.