Pete Davidson and Colin Jost may be best known on TV for Saturday Night Live (with Jost still part of the cast in the 2024 TV schedule and into the 2025 TV schedule), but there’s something much more unconventional that they also have in common: a decommissioned Staten Island ferry that they purchased and renamed as Titanic 2 for $280,000 in 2022. Despite lofty goals for the boat, the ferry became an eyesore for locals. That said, there have been not one but two recent updates on whether or not the vessel is actually useful for the two comedians, one of which came from Scarlett Johansson.
Earlier this week, Scarlett Johansson – who has been involved in the ferry saga whether she likes it or not as Jost’s wife – revealed that the Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Show happened on the boat earlier this year. That’s certainly more in line with the initial goal to turn it into a live entertainment space when Jost and Davidson made the purchase… almost three years ago. Better late than never? The Weekend Update co-anchor did predict back in 2023 that people were “going to be BEGGING to get on this ferry in two years”.
While the Titanic 2 doesn’t seem to have people begging and there’s evidently not exactly a high profile fashion show happening on board every week, the second update in a matter of days somehow seems more in line with their approach to buying the ferry.
According to TMZ, this particular use for the ferry goes back to Steamboat Willie entering the public domain, as the vessel was used as the set for a horror flick called Screamboat. In fact, production reportedly involved so much fake blood that producers needed to hire a special cleaning crew to get Titanic 2 back to normal. The outlet states that filming on the ferry fulfills a dream of filming on a Staten Island ferry for director Steven LaMorte, with local producers reaching out to reps for Colin Jost and Pete Davidson for permission. The two SNL icons are said to have given their permission, but their involvement in Screamboat goes no further.
According to production sources cited by TMZ, the indie movie was filmed entirely on the ferry, although footage from the teaser trailer suggests at least some shots may have happened on dry land. Take a look:
Let it not be said that filmmakers aren’t making the most of beloved characters entering the public domain! Not too long after Winnie the Pooh became public domain, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey released to mixed reviews. I’m just going to go ahead and predict that Screamboat is going to be much more along the lines of Bloody and Honey than takes on public domain characters like Peter Pan and Robin Hood.
It remains to be seen if Pete Davidson and/or Colin Jost have any comments about Screamboat, but it would be fun if the horror movie inspired another SNL sketch like the “Three Guys Who Just Bought a Boat” segment on Weekend Update. For now, you can see more of Jost when Saturday Night Live returns to NBC in December. You can also stream past episodes featuring both actors on Peacock.