Kristen Wiig is 3x Emmy-nominated and arguably the most successful female SNL player of all time. (1) She has 57 impressions. (2) She has 27 recurring characters. (3) She's been in 20 movies. (4) She wrote/acted in the hit film, Bridesmaids... NEXT FILMS: Friends with Kids, Revenge for Jolly, Imogene, Comedian, How to Train Your Dragon 2, & Clown Girl.
If an actor is lucky, "Saturday Night Live" can function as their springboard to fame. Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey & Amy Poehler are just a few of the Not Ready For Primetime Players who were, in fact, ready for prime time -- and the big screen.
Each left at the top of their game to pursue other projects and the current fear is that a promising big screen career will lure Kristen Wiig away from the show as well...
"At some point I guess you have to leave the nest," Kristen said. "But I have a few more years there. I’ll be around for a little bit." Cue collective sigh.
So while she continues to work on both screen sizes, the Gotham Magazine covergirl (seen here with "MacGruber" co-star Ryan Phillippe at the Grey Goose sponsored party) has no plans to peace out any time soon. Nor does she plan to give any of her "SNL" character the big screen treatment.
"I can’t think of any character of mine that I do that anyone would want to see for two hours in a row," she said. "Not trying to put my characters down, but I don’t know ... if people would flock to the theater to see that. What do you think?"
Saturday Night Live’s Kristen Wiig celebrated her Gotham Magazine cover in New York last night with cast mates Seth Myers and Andy Samberg. She gushed at the party:
“I’m having one of those days today where I’m like, ‘How did I get here? What’s happening. “It’s surreal.”
This very talented comic is not just relying on just her SNL fame. She’s optioning ‘Clown Girl‘ and will star in the film’s adaptation:
“I fell in love with that book before I was even a third of the way through. She (Monica Drake) is just such an interesting writer and I’ve fallen in love the material. I just hope I can do it justice.”
The passion of Suzanne Somers is boundless. Kristen Wiig - who will be starring in MacGruber with fellow SNL cast member Will Forte - reads from Somers' collection of love poetry, Touch Me, and the laughs are endless.
Kristen Wiig has optioned Monica Drake’s 2007 novel Clown Girl, which follows a clown who “tries to resist the potentially lucrative prostitution trade involving clown fetishists.” Okay, first of all, let’s address the elephant in the room: This sounds bananas. (And strangely intriguing, right?) But add this new project to the actress’ untitled bridesmaid-centric film — and the upcoming MacGruber — and it seems Wiig is on schedule to transform herself from Saturday Night Live player to big-screen A-lister...
it’s obvious plenty of viewers have grown tired of Wiig and the outlandish characters that made her famous on the NBC show. (Target Lady, Gilly, and Penelope, to name just a few.)
If you ask me, film has been a medium in which Wiig has shined. Out of the SNL confines, Wiig has been able to stretch past larger-than-life characters, and do what she does best: play understated. Remember waaay back in 2007, when Wiig stole Knocked Up after just a few minutes on-screen? And though many of you didn’t see Whip It, the actress managed to cradle serious and silly, turning a secondary character named “Maggie Mayhem” into a graceful, relatable scene-stealer. To me, Wiig should take a page from fellow SNL vet, Adam Sandler. After all, the comedian has proven that restrained (The Wedding Singer, Big Daddy, and yes, even Happy Gilmore fits here) hits far better than off-the-wall (Little Nicky, The Waterboy).
[Editor note: Waterboy was actually the #2 most successful Adam Sandler movie of all time, and his sports films like Longest Yard typically do a little better than his other films. I agree about Little Nicky though.]
Anony said:
"I'm super pumped Kristin is in MacGruber [which is out now]. There is a hysterical scene shown in this interview with MakingOf where it is so uncomfortably awkward that you have to laugh."
Alec Baldwin ... Coach Rooney
Fred Armisen ... Luke Somers
Abby Elliott ... Julie Dubner
Will Forte ... teacher
Bill Hader ... Mike Santoro
Jessi Klein ... teacher
John Lutz ... teacher
Bobby Moynihan ... John "Titanic" Wentworth
Nasim Pedrad ... Maribel Jennies
Paula Pell ... teacher
Andy Samberg ... Bradley Coffler
Jenny Slate ... Rachel Morris
Kent Sublette ... teacher
Jason Sudeikis ... Pete O'Connell
Kenan Thompson ... Paul Williams
Kristen Wiig ... teacher
I love these skits that include everyone in them. These are fun!
I thought it was amusing, and Kristen had some good experessions.
Alec Baldwin ... Morris
Abby Elliott ... makeup artist
Bobby Moynihan ... marker
Andy Samberg ... actor
Kenan Thompson ... Sherman
Kristen Wiig ... Starfish
Saturday Night Live's Kristen Wiig chats about her disguises and the — gasp! — pretty face beneath.
On Saturday Night Live, she's the woman of 1,000 faces — and hairdos, or so it seems. In her five seasons on the show, Kristen Wiig has tucked her tresses into all manner of follicular disguises — from The Target Lady's sensible reverse wedge to Nancy Pelosi's brunette bob — creating and impersonating a cast of quirky and commanding characters (and garnering a 2009 Emmy nomination in the process).
She glams things up a bit when another SNL creation, the lusciously locked Vicki St. Elmo, leaps onto the big screen Friday. MacGruber is based on SNL's popular MacGyver-spoofing sketch of the same name, which stars fellow SNL comic Will Forte.
Wiig, 36, who lives in downtown Manhattan with her boyfriend, actor, writer and filmmaker Brian Petsos, chats with us about her penchant for the peculiar and her growing collection of odd coifs.
The SNL bump
“There's always a soft spot for SNL films,” Wiig says, despite the fact that previous SNL spinoff flicks aren't tops in many Netflix queues.
The star of SNL
Wiig appeared in more Season 34 sketches than any other cast member, according to New York Magazine. But the idea that she carries SNL makes her bristle: “It's an ensemble show. Who's in what, how many sketches It's much more random than people think.”
From among the roughly 40 skits written each week, only nine to 13 get picked. “You don't know what you're in until 11 p.m. on Saturday,” she says. “You could be standing in your costume ready to go on at 11:15 p.m., and a producer could go, ‘Oh, that's been cut.' ”
Laughs and looks
A lot is made of the fact that Wiig, stripped of her disguises — from frumpy sweaters to that frightfully huge forehead she sports as Lawrence Welk-singing sister Dooneese — is really pretty. “It's almost like, ‘Thank you?' But I'll take it. It shows I'm disguising myself well on the show.”
Mean girl
Wiig's own childhood practical jokes weren't nearly as sinister as those of her SNL character Gilly, a naughty schoolgirl. She recalls: “In sixth-grade math [at school in Lancaster, Pa.], when the teacher left the room, I poured a glass of water on his desk,” she says. “When he came back, I told him the ceiling was leaking to postpone class. It was such a dumb idea! And mean!”
Wiig on wigs
How many has she worn? After 20 shows a year for five years, “that would be — 11,000? I'm not really good at math.”
Betty White
Amy Poehler
Ana Gasteyer
Maya Rudolph
Molly Shannon
Rachel Dratch
Tina Fey
Fred Armisen
Abby Elliott
Will Forte
Bill Hader
Bobby Moynihan
Nasim Pedrad
Andy Samberg
Jenny Slate
Jason Sudeikis
Kenan Thompson
Kristen Wiig
Kristen looks cute in her real hair.
Jenny's look at Kenan is also pretty cute. Andy gives his signature laugh.
Abby is still smiling when the craziness first kicks in. Then, later, Amy is laughing when she shouldn't.
Andy introduces it. The Lonely Island obviously wrote this craziness that gives reference to pop culture (their trademark humor).
This was cut from dress rehearsal (not aired on TV). Hilarious, but Betty White is only in it briefly.
Kristen Wiig hosts a lingerie party.
What's cool is that Kristen Wiig (like her Dooneese skit) is the only regular cast member in this. All the rest are SNL grads... Tina Fey, Molly Shannon, Rachel Dratch (Debbie), Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, and Ana Gasteyer.
Betty White ... Señora Cabrella
Ana Gasteyer ... sister
Maya Rudolph ... Renada Montolles
Fred Armisen ... Manuel Ortiz
Will Forte ... Nelson Cabrella
Bill Hader ... Merlin
Bobby Moynihan ... Señor Cabrella
Kristen Wiig ... Janessa
The second appearance of this skit, which started earlier this season. Kristen also appeared.
Betty White ... mother
Amy Poehler ... Janice
Ana Gasteyer ... Clara
Maya Rudolph ... Peggy
Molly Shannon ... Jugglette
Rachel Dratch ... Jugglette
Tina Fey ... Jugglette
Fred Armisen ... Lawrence Welk
Will Forte ... Gary Corndeensen
Kristen Wiig ... Dooneese
Amy Poehler plays a sister in this skit for the second time (her first was as Holly on 10.04.2008). This is ironic, because Anne Hathaway played Janice in that episode. Other than that, the names (and actresses) of the sisters keep changing.
This is like round 3. Better be a good episode tonight. =^)
Betty White hosts an all-new SNL on May 8th with special guests Tina Fey, Molly Shannon, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Ana Gasteyer, Rachel Dratch, and musical guest Jay-Z.
Rose Byrne will join the cast of Universal’s currently-untitled “bridesmaid” comedy starring Kristen Wiig.
The movie stars Wiig as a maid of honor who competes with a bridesmaid (Byrne) for the bride’s attention. Maya Rudolph and Chris O’Dowd also star. Paul Feig will direct from a screenplay written by Wiig with Annie Mumolo.
Rose was in Troy and was on the TV show "Damages."
I've been wondering for a while who would wind up getting cast to star alongside Kristen Wiig in her upcoming wedding-themed comedy (formerly titled BRIDESMAIDS). I thought they'd go with someone who had strong comedic chops that would amount to a pairing not unlike Tina Fey and Amy Poehler in BABY MAMA but instead they've gone a different route. Rose Byrne will play the other bridesmaid who's battling with Wiig for the attention of the bride-to-be (Maya Rudolph).
Like many Judd Apatow-produced movies, the script seems to be in a state of flux, constantly being tweaked and updated before production begins later this summer. And now it still is a little unclear which role Wiig will be playing. Originally she was one of the bridesmaids battling with an overbearing Maid of Honor. But Variety now lists Wiig as playing the MOH.
So why cast Byrne, an actress primarily known for her dramatic roles, alongside Wiig? I'd guess it's due in no small part to her supporting role in another Apatow film, this summer's GET HIM TO THE GREEK. And frankly the more I think about it, the more I'm thinking this is a smart choice. Also allegedly cast in the film as other bridesmaids are Ellie Kemper (the new secretary on "The Office") and Melissa McCarthy ("Gilmore Girls") though that has yet to be confirmed. Director Paul Feig, Apatow, Wiig and her co-writer Annie Mumolo are currently finishing up the script with Universal looking to get filming going this June.
When Saturday Night Live-skit-turned-big-screen-fandango MacGruber uncorks in theaters on May 21, it will do so to the soaring synthesizer chords of “Champion,” a triumphantly low-budge theme song from co-star Kristen Wiig (a.k.a. Vicki St. Elmo).
In true MacGruber form, the song—featuring the appropriately monikered U.K. collage-rocker Lightspeed Champion—sounds like it was put together with a Yamaha keytar, a portable mic, a ten-line rhyming dictionary, and a dream. (You can stream it for yourself over at Stereogum.)
Wiig’s got two more songs on the soundtracklist in case you needed two more reasons to love her:
01 Corbread Compton & The Silverlake Choir – “MacGruber’s Theme”
02 The Black Keys – “Heavy Soul”
03 Toto – “Rosanna”
04 Gerry Rafferty – “Baker Street”
05 The Hives – “Tick Tick Boom”
06 Emerson, Lake & Powell – “Touch N’ Go”
07 Eddie Money – “Take Me Home Tonight”
08 Quarterflash – “Harden My Heart”
09 Kristen Wiig – “A Perfect Number”
10 Mr. Mister – “Broken Wings”
11 Robbie Dupree – “Steal Away”
12 Kristen Wiig (Feat. MacGruber & Lightspeed Champion) – “Rock My Body”
13 Michael Bolton – “Love Is A Wonderful Thing”
14 Matthew Compton – “The MacGruber Suite”
15 Kristen Wiig – “Champion”
But obnoxious characters, even true-to-life ones, are easier to take in small doses. After Wiig was chosen to host SNL’s Christmas special in character as the unspeakably awful Gilly, there were murmurs of online revolt against her overexposure, and earlier this season, in a list of ways to fix the show, Entertainment Weekly argued that Wiig needs to appear less often: “How can we appreciate the woman if she never leaves the screen?” Even the writer of a Wiig fan blog (kristen-wiig.blogspot.com) admitted she was doing too many solo sketches and that the producers “need to mix it up more.” If they don’t—or if Wiig doesn’t come up with a likeable character or two—there may be more people echoing the sage words of Kathie Lee Gifford [about Wiig]: “Can’t she get another job? Go off and do something else?”
Thanks for the call out, Jamie! And I'm happy to say that Lorne and the producers listened to our pleas! After we posted that (and Entertainment Weekly's article), Kristen has been featured less and been in more supporting roles. (Actually, she was always in supporting roles; she's just starred in less sketches so her supporting roles are more of noticeable now.)
Unfortunately, that does mean that we end up with Kristen in less amazing skits, because they can't all be winners. (Like Aunt Linda recently.) So less Kristen skits also means less great Kristen skits.
