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The Bill Hader GQ Interview
Before he takes his final bow on SNL, Sloane Crosley talks to comedian Bill Hader on “Stefon,” his classic SNL impressions, and new film The To Do List.
President Franklin Roosevelt signed the ambitious but controversial Tennessee Valley Authority Act 80 years ago on May 18, 1933, to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected by the Great Depression.
Excerpts from:
- THE TVA AT WORK, 1935 (watch on YouTube)
- TENNESSEE VALLEY, 1936 (watch on YouTube)
Bill Hader — who is leaving Saturday Night Live after eight years this weekend — on his audition for the show:
I remember getting in the elevator for my audition and there was a guy next to me who had a backpack full of props and wigs and things, and I went, ‘Oh, my God, that guy is so prepared, I have nothing, I have no props.’ And that was Andy Samberg. And Andy Samberg said he was looking at me going, ‘Oh, that guy has no props. He doesn’t need props.’ And that was the first time we met, was in that elevator.
Sarah Polley, the director of the new documentary Stories We Tell, tells Terry Gross about including footage of retakes in the film:
I think that, for me, it was really important to not leave the construction of the film out because it’s a film about storytelling and how we tell stories and why we tell stories. I thought it was really important to include the process of making this film itself in the film and some of that involves some rather unflattering and ruthless moments for me like directing my dad when he’s … pouring his heart out, basically. And, you know, you do get into this mode, I think, when you’re telling a story — or certainly when you’re making a film — where you can kind of lose your sense or your barometer for what’s human or humane and certainly I think there are a few moments in the film where I’m directing my dad where I don’t come off that well, but I certainly come off as somebody who’s trying to tell a story above all else.
Image courtesy of Roadside Attractions Publicity
