By AJ Grillo

Eli Manning led the New York Giants to their fourth and Eli's second Superbowl victory. Eli had a career year, posting some of his best numbers ever. After an impressive win in Superbowl XLVI, Eli Manning was named the MVP. This Saturday, Eli takes on an even bigger feat, late night comedy, with the mother of all comedies, Saturday Night Live. He will be joined by Rhianna as Eli trades in his cleats for laughs.

Eli Manning, as well as the executive producer of Saturday Night Live, Lorne Michaels, recently talked to the press about the upcoming episode.

NBC Universal Conference Call
Saturday Night Live
Lorne Michaels and Eli Manning

May 2, 2012
11:30 am CT

QUESTION: Lorne, I'm wondering, would you talk about cast changes on the show?

LORNE MICHAELS: I could, except that I'm not really certain myself. I know there will be some, but I really - it's just sort of the nature of the way we work that no one kind of talks about it until the season's done. Needless to say, I'd like everyone to stay.

Did that avoid that question successfully? I thought so.

QUESTION: For Eli, what has the (unintelligible) been like? I know you've talked before about fitting it in with your football schedule, so what has a typical day been like for you doing both?

ELI MANNING: You know, it's worked very well, and before I committed to doing Saturday Night Live I - you know I've got a full schedule, you know kind of what's the most, you know that I could do, and what - you know I didn't want to miss anything, I didn't want to leave anything out, I didn't want to have to, you know be going, you know in and out in the same day. I wanted to be totally committed to it if I, you know was going to decide to d it.

And so, I got a - you know a schedule of what - you know when all the meetings and all the times that I would need to be at rehearsals and doing things for the show. And, you know I looked at that, I looked at, you know what our work week was going to be this week for the Giants, and saw that I would not miss anything workouts. I would not miss any time. I'd be able to fully, you know commit to, you know my weight lifting, my meetings, and my, you know on the field stuff that I - you know doing with the players, and so it's worked well.

The first - you know the - you know Monday and Tuesday I've gone over to the NBC Studios, the Rockefeller Center and, you know met the cast and the writers and, you know, started going through just, you know kind of hearing some ideas of what they - the writers will be, you know pitching and trying to, you know get a skit to the show. And so, really I think today, this afternoon when I go in will be the - you know the first day where I'm really having to rehearse and go through some reads of possible skits and try to figure out what's - I guess, what makes the show. What's, you know funny enough to be included on the live show.

QUESTION: Eli, I know that you came into Manhattan for rehearsals and for read throughs, do you come into Manhattan very often? I mean, do you have any issues with it, because you're always in Hoboken and over in New Jersey? And Lorne, who's the funnier Manning, is it Eli or Peyton?

LORNE MICHAELS: We won't really know that until Saturday. I - so far - well, it's been great so far. We're going to - in about three hours, we'll read 40 to 45 pieces looking for 12 to 13. And we won't really know what we're going to be choosing until after that, you know because no matter what we thought of it, if it isn't playing we don't move forward with it then. And we want to make sure that these are the best - this show is built around Eli and you just want to make sure that we have the best possible things to this week's show, and we won't - no one really trusts it until we read it.

And so, we'll see what that's about. People have been working around right through the night, and as I said, we'll read 40 to 50 pieces, so we'll know more in about six hours. We'll have made all the choices in about five or six hours. And then, we will still be about half hour long and everything will then go through rewrites, and then we will rehearse about half of it and the music with Rhianna tomorrow. And then, by the time we leave on Friday around Midnight or 1 o'clock we will have done everything a couple times in its rewritten form.

ELI MANNING: And my commute's been very easy. The good thing about this week is that all the writers and cast, they have odd hours. It's not your typical work day. They go in in the afternoons and work through the wee hours in the morning. And so, my time is - you know I've been able to go in around, you know 3 or 4 o'clock and - so far from Hoboken to Manhattan does not take long. That's a good thing about it. It only takes, you know 15, 20 minutes, so everything's been very smooth so far.

QUESTION: Lorne, I wanted to ask you first of all whether the process of putting the show is different when you have an athlete rather than somebody who is a performer - whether the process of putting the show together is different when you have an athlete hosting.

LORNE MICHAELS: Surprisingly not that much. The good part about athletes is that they're used to being in front of large groups of people and not knowing how it's going to turn out. And that's kind of the only real preparation for us is because we won't - we don't really know until dress rehearsal what's beginning to work and what's not working. And then, there's a lot of course correction. You go, "Well, if we do this this way it might work better," and there's still some risk involved.

But, if that flexibility that I think - and we know how Eli reacts, both under pressure, and also with changing things quickly. And I don't think we're making any other kind of concessions because it's an athlete over an actor or comedian or a singer, or a politician for that matter.

QUESTION: I know that we've seen Rhianna do a lot of sort of skits in the past, especially with Shy Ronnie, are we expecting...

LORNE MICHAELS: Yes.

QUESTION: ...her to kind of get her funny on again this week?

LORNE MICHAELS: We are - again, yes we are hoping so. You know I wish I could report on everything that's been written, and if this were tomorrow I could. I know that there are a lot of things in the works, but I don't, frankly, know how they've turned out. I'll know that in about an hour.

And I think it's our intention, yes.

QUESTION: Lorne, can you just talk about what you think Eli will bring as a host here, and how long you've been pursuing him to do it?

LORNE MICHAELS: Pursuing a long time. I think he's both charming and radiates a certain kind of intelligence, and the kind of - I don't know how to say this, but you sort of believe that he doesn't take himself that seriously. I mean, I think he takes his work very seriously, but there's a sort of essential modesty to him and I think that plays well with what we do. If the host is spending a lot of time protecting an image, it's exhausting, particularly for us.

ELI MANNING: I'm blushing, Lorne. Thank you.

QUESTION: Eli, what's the advice you've gotten from Peyton about hosting, and is there anything that you won't do on the show?

ELI MANNING: You know, from Peyton, he really - the main thing he said, "Just enjoy the week." You know, it is a lot of fun. It is work and you're doing, you know something you're not quite used to doing, but he said, "The one thing you are used to doing is live, and that's something you do every week and during the football season." But he said, "Just enjoy being with the writers and try to hang around as much you can and work with them and just follow guidance. They're the ones that are funny and know how to do this."

So he just said, you know, "That's the fun part of the week, you know, is really the time working with the writers and cast and getting to know them." And so, I'm - you know I think today will be - you know I'm very excited for it today, you know when I get the different scripts and start reading through them and kind of rehearsing and seeing what's funny, and you know kind of get to test out my acting skills in a sense, or see what happens.

So, that's kind of the main piece of advice, and actually about 15 minutes before I got on this call, John Madden called me and he hosted a show back in the day, and he wanted to kind of - you know really gave me the same piece of advice that the fun part is during the week and being with the cast. And he was kind of asking if they did things the same way, kind of the same schedule, routine, and it is. It's really similar to when he did it, you know many, many years ago.

And so I've listened to both those two people and both have got the same advice and just enjoy every moment during the week and working with the cast and stay up with them and just have a blast doing that.

QUESTION: Lorne, has there been any more communication with the Mitt Romney campaign about the Governor appearing on the show?

LORNE MICHAELS: No. We talked originally about -- oh -- six or eight weeks ago, and at the time I think there was some interest, and then the primaries overtook everything and since it's all sort of more or less been decided we have - there's been no communication. But, we only have the three shows left and they're pretty jammed packed.

So, I'm not sure it'll be - now it might be in the fall; although, we'll never know. It'll all depend on his availability.

QUESTION: Lorne, I know you don't want to talk about any of the potential contract changes, but one thing I was asking is, are we looking at seeing any new cast members next season?

LORNE MICHAELS: For sure, I mean, because every summer, you know we go out and make the rounds of Chicago and L.A. and New York, and various other places where people do this kind of work, and invariably that leads to somebody joining. I think the show has always been about bringing new people in.

QUESTION: Eli, I wanted you to flashback for a minute to when you were in the audience and Peyton was the host. They did some pretty sharp satire in that one sketch with Amy Poehler where they were talking about, "Don't pull a Peyton Manning." And I was wondering what your reaction was as that was happening? Were you thinking, "Oh, that's great, they've really dug it to my big brother," or were you thinking, "Oh, that's pretty sharp or harsh," or what were you thinking?

ELI MANNING: You know, I think I just laughed at everything. I think that's the good thing about Saturday Night Live is that you can kind of come in and, you know maybe express a different side that people don't see. And maybe that's not you at all times, but you know for this night you can kind of let loose. And I think that's one thing I would say about Peyton and I, we don't mind, you know making fun of myself or like letting jokes be at our own expense, you know?

So I think it's important to have that attitude when going into this week. And so, you know I enjoyed watching Peyton do the show and being there to experience that, and just seeing how it works. And in talking to him afterwards, and so it's something growing up we were always, you know great fans and been watching Saturday Night Live for a long, long time.

And, you know it's one of those things that I'm excited for, my teammates have been at workouts they've been talking about it and kind of asking what's going on and excited for me. And so, they're kind of planning stuff to watch it together, so I think it's going to be a great experience and great fun, and just, looking forward to getting deeper in the week and find out kind of what I might be doing. I'm kind of - right now I'm probably more anxious than anything just to try to figure out what is kind of in front of me and what I will be asked to do.

QUESTION: Eli, I know we asked Lorne before who the funnier Manning is, but I guess we have to ask you point blank. I know you and Peyton compete on the basketball court and stuff like that, do you compete as to be who's funny, and who is the funnier Manning? And also, for Lorne, do you have a show, not saying who the favorite person was, but do you recall a show with a sports figure through the years on SNL that you just thought went particularly well that you remember most fondly?

ELI MANNING: You know, I guess (unintelligible) I think Saturday will tell a lot. And, you know I know after Peyton did the show in 2007, and in the following year, we won the Super Bowl and a request came from Saturday Night Live. And one of the main reasons I did not do it was because Peyton had done so well the previous year, I thought I might be a little fresh in everyone's mind, so I didn't want to have to go up against a great - a tough competition and the great job that he performed.

And it just didn't seem like the right time for me at that situation as well, and just I kind of wanted to keep working on my football and make sure I kind of - you know it's - it - just had some success, but hadn't really proven myself as much as I wanted to and knew I had some more work to do during the off-season.

I think, you know when I got the invite this year I definitely wanted to try to make it work. And I knew I wanted to do it at one time, and kind of remember saying to, whether it was to Lorne or kind of the message that maybe got back to him, I said, "I do want to do this show at one point. I just want to do it maybe after my next championship." And so, when this opportunity came up again and we won the championship this year, I definitely wanted to do, you know if they asked, I would definitely want to (jump) with the opportunity if the timing worked out.

And it's all worked out, and so I'm looking forward to this week.

LORNE MICHAELS: And Eli was good enough to wait another Super Bowl, which helped us a lot.

ELI MANNING: Right.

QUESTION: Eli, news in the NFL today that four Saints had been suspended; Jonathan Vilma got a full season suspension. As a quarterback, what are your thoughts on that?

ELI MANNING: Well, I think, you know this is news to me, so this is the first I'm hearing of this. But, you know I think what Roger Goodell has done, and he has been harsh on this whole bounty thing on the Saints and obviously the coaches and the players, and I think he's doing the right thing to make sure that this doesn't happen ever again.

You know, there's no room for any type of bounty system in the NFL. It's a physical sport and you've got to respect the game. And so, I think he's been harsh and - you know to try to prove - you know, make a statement saying there is no place for this in the game of football.

QUESTION: Eli, I was wondering if you could just kind of talk about how the process has matched up with your expectations, and then in terms of the cast, has anybody tried to pull any pranks on you?

ELI MANNING: No, there's been no pranks so far, so you know everybody, the whole cast, and writers have been very nice and it's been - I've only got to spend a little time with each of them so far, and just hearing some of their ideas and what they're thinking about doing. So, I've tried to, you know if they have any questions or just try to - you know try to let them get a little sense of my personality or - and so it's been - you know it's been great so far.

I think I'm just about to enter into really the bulk of the workload and looking forward to kind of really getting kickstarted here. I've kind of been doing a few little promos and just sitting down with the writers, kind of each individually, and you know throwing their kind of ideas. But, I think last night was kind of a big night for them and their writing process, and kind of getting everything on paper. And so I'm looking forward to kind of today and the next couple days just kind of getting into the grind of it.

QUESTION: Eli, for those of us who have been around you for a couple years now we see how you're sometimes playful, speaking of pranks, sometimes playful your teammates and some pranks you pull on them. Are you hoping for any kind of humor that'll take a couple of jabs at them, maybe Coughlin, or maybe even, you know Peyton or your dad? And also, you said you grew up watching SNL, what's your favorite all-time skit?

ELI MANNING: You know, I don't know. I mean, obviously I was kind of leaving up to the writers and what they might have in store, what may occur. So, you know I try to give them - if there's any stories they want to hear or some ideas that - things have happened kind of around the locker room or with Coach Coughlin, I'm more than happy to bring those to the open. But we've just got to kind of see obviously what comes across as funny and that everyone will understand. And whether you're a football fan or just a fan of the show, everybody will enjoy.

And them, I'm trying to think, there's a second part to this question I've kind of forgot about, but...

QUESTION: Okay.

ELI MANNING: ...but I think that's - yes, that's about it.

LORNE MICHAELS: Yes, Eli is being very gracious because we really don't know, and I know and I more than he know what most of the pieces are about, but we're going to be there close to four hours just reading sketches, and there's music to learn. There's a lot of variables, so as I said before, in about four or five hours we'll know kind of what we're going to be rehearsing and what the show is going to be.

So, it's kind of hard to describe what's actually going to be there. We know in a couple hours what we like so far.

QUESTION: What was your favorite skit growing up?

ELI MANNING: You know Chris Farley and Patrick Swayze doing the dancing like the Chippendales. That's always a classic. So, obviously there's - if I truly at down and thought of it I would think of just kind of a top ten, and then from there maybe pick the all-time, but that's one that always kind of pops in my head. You know just a classic scene.

But, you know over the years, it's fun watching. I have a pretty good collection of kind of the best of SNL from several different of the cast members that are always fun to watch and see some of their kind of behind the scenes and some of their tryouts for the show, and those types of things. So I've been - I am a fan and watch the show and that style of humor. I appreciate it, and it's what I enjoy to watch.