Steve Martin’s next role will not be the Midwestern politician the internet hoped he’d portray.
With Maya Rudolph’s wildly popular impression of Kamala Harris on “Saturday Night Live,” fans clamored to see who the late-night comedy show would pick to play Harris’ new running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
With similar hairstyles and their signature glasses, many fans quickly drew comparisons between Walz and Martin, who’s been a frequent “SNL” guest but never a formal cast member.
The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday that “SNL” producer Lorne Michaels called Martin to offer him the role on the upcoming 50th season, premiering Sept. 28, which he declined.
“I wanted to say no and, by the way, he wanted me to say no,” Martin said. “I said, ‘Lorne, I’m not an impressionist. You need someone who can really nail the guy.’ I was picked because I have gray hair and glasses.”
Although Martin initially leaned into the fun, writing on social platform Threads that he “just learned that Tim Walz wants to go on the road with Marty Short,” he also noted the impression comes with a long-term commitment of performing on the show.
“It’s ongoing,” Martin told the Times. “It’s not like you do it once and get applause and never do it again. Again, they need a real impressionist to do that. They’re gonna find somebody really, really good. I’d be struggling.”
Rudolph, for her part, will reportedly reprise her Emmy-winning role on the show as Kamala Harris, and she seems to understand the undertaking. Deadline reported that Rudolph pushed the shooting schedule for the comedy series “Loot” from August to January to accommodate playing the role through the election season. Rudolph executive produces and stars in the series.
The “Bridesmaids” actor first played “America’s funt” – or “fun aunt” – on “SNL” in 2019 when Harris was running for president and continued with the role after she was announced as Joe Biden’s running mate.
Harvey Weinstein hit with new sex crime charge in New York
Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a new sex crime charge in New York, as he awaits retrial in his landmark #MeToo case.
Details of the new allegations were not immediately available. He was charged with committing a criminal sex act.
The jailed ex-movie mogul has long maintained that any sexual activity was consensual.
Prosecutors revealed last week that Weinstein had been indicted on additional sex crime charges that weren't part of the case that led to his now-overturned 2020 conviction. But the new indictment was sealed until his arraignment.
Prosecutors have said that the grand jury heard evidence of up to three alleged assaults — two in hotels in the Tribeca neighborhood and one at a lower Manhattan residential building. The purported incidents took place from the mid-2000s to 2016, prosecutors said.
But it's not clear whether any of those allegations underlie the new indictment.
While bracing for the new charges, Weinstein also is awaiting retrial after New York state's highest court this spring overturned his 2020 conviction on rape and sexual assault charges involving two women. The high court, called the Court of Appeals, ordered a new trial, which is tentatively scheduled to begin Nov. 12.
The Court of Appeals ruled that the then-trial judge unfairly allowed testimony against him based on allegations that were not part of the case. That judge's term expired in 2022, and he is no longer on the bench.
Prosecutors have said they'll seek to fold the new charges into the retrial, but Weinstein's lawyers say it should be a separate case.
Weinstein, who also was convicted in 2022 in a Los Angeles rape case, remains behind bars while awaiting his New York retrial.
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