vashti1999
12-26-2005, 01:26 AM
The video is now available as a free download on iTunes
New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com
Video shoots 'SNL' rookie into the show's spotlight
By JULIAN KESNER
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Saturday, December 24th, 2005
A week ago, Andy Samberg was a little-known rookie on NBC's "Saturday Night Live," toiling long hours trying to earn a spot in a skit or two.
Then, last Saturday night, "SNL" ran Samberg's "Lazy Sunday" digital video starring Samberg and fellow cast member Chris Parnell.
Soon after the show aired, the clip became an instant Internet hit, recording more than a million downloads before the week was out. In short, Samberg's days of obscurity are over.
"We came up with the right idea and just went for it," Samberg said. "We were nervous [about] how it was going to be received by the studio audience."
Turns out, Samberg had nothing to be nervous about. It was a hit with the studio audience and bootleg clips began flying around the Internet within hours, most notably at www.youtube.com. Overwhelmed by requests, NBC posted the clip on its own Web site a couple days later.
The two-minute video is a sendup of gangster rap videos, featuring Samberg and Parnell dropping hardcore lyrics - about going to see the family-friendly "The Chronicles of Narnia."
"It captures a certain scrappiness about the show. There's an unpolished realness to it that I think people can instantly relate to," said "SNL" veteran Amy Poehler, who calls Samberg "a lethal combination of enthusiasm and good ideas. I adore him."
Making short films on the fly is nothing new to the 27-year-old Samberg, who grew up in Berkeley, Calif., and graduated from film school at NYU.
Samberg and two childhood friends, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer, reunited after college in 2001 to make comedy shorts and music videos under the moniker The Lonely Island, posting the clips online at www.thelonelyisland.com.
Their Web site drew a hefty following, and "The Dudes," as they're known, were soon writing pilots for FOX and Comedy Central. Their big break came after writing material for 2005 MTV Movie Awards host Jimmy Fallon, who recommended them to "SNL" producers.
Samberg nailed his "SNL" audition, thanks to a frantic four-day writing session with Taccone and Schaffer. But the best news was yet to come: The show then hired Samberg's two cohorts as writers.
"There were about three days where we were facing the possibility that we might have to split up," said Samberg. "It was the biggest relief ever."
"All those Lonely Island guys are great performers and writers - they're really a three-headed monster," said Poehler.
The trio and Parnell wrote "Lazy Sunday" in two days and recorded it on Taccone's computer.
While he'd like to earn his way into more live skits, Samberg hopes The Dudes can continue making digital videos for "SNL."
"It felt like it was so us," he said. "It played really well, and we were just super happy about that."
New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com
Video shoots 'SNL' rookie into the show's spotlight
By JULIAN KESNER
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Saturday, December 24th, 2005
A week ago, Andy Samberg was a little-known rookie on NBC's "Saturday Night Live," toiling long hours trying to earn a spot in a skit or two.
Then, last Saturday night, "SNL" ran Samberg's "Lazy Sunday" digital video starring Samberg and fellow cast member Chris Parnell.
Soon after the show aired, the clip became an instant Internet hit, recording more than a million downloads before the week was out. In short, Samberg's days of obscurity are over.
"We came up with the right idea and just went for it," Samberg said. "We were nervous [about] how it was going to be received by the studio audience."
Turns out, Samberg had nothing to be nervous about. It was a hit with the studio audience and bootleg clips began flying around the Internet within hours, most notably at www.youtube.com. Overwhelmed by requests, NBC posted the clip on its own Web site a couple days later.
The two-minute video is a sendup of gangster rap videos, featuring Samberg and Parnell dropping hardcore lyrics - about going to see the family-friendly "The Chronicles of Narnia."
"It captures a certain scrappiness about the show. There's an unpolished realness to it that I think people can instantly relate to," said "SNL" veteran Amy Poehler, who calls Samberg "a lethal combination of enthusiasm and good ideas. I adore him."
Making short films on the fly is nothing new to the 27-year-old Samberg, who grew up in Berkeley, Calif., and graduated from film school at NYU.
Samberg and two childhood friends, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer, reunited after college in 2001 to make comedy shorts and music videos under the moniker The Lonely Island, posting the clips online at www.thelonelyisland.com.
Their Web site drew a hefty following, and "The Dudes," as they're known, were soon writing pilots for FOX and Comedy Central. Their big break came after writing material for 2005 MTV Movie Awards host Jimmy Fallon, who recommended them to "SNL" producers.
Samberg nailed his "SNL" audition, thanks to a frantic four-day writing session with Taccone and Schaffer. But the best news was yet to come: The show then hired Samberg's two cohorts as writers.
"There were about three days where we were facing the possibility that we might have to split up," said Samberg. "It was the biggest relief ever."
"All those Lonely Island guys are great performers and writers - they're really a three-headed monster," said Poehler.
The trio and Parnell wrote "Lazy Sunday" in two days and recorded it on Taccone's computer.
While he'd like to earn his way into more live skits, Samberg hopes The Dudes can continue making digital videos for "SNL."
"It felt like it was so us," he said. "It played really well, and we were just super happy about that."