“Saturday Night Live” returned for its 43rd season this weekend, and as per usual, everyone watched the sketches online the next day. And among the videos that got the most clicks was a skit where host Ryan Gosling finds his life turned upside down by the knowledge that James Cameron got away with using the Papyrus font for the title treatment of “Avatar.” Part of the sketch sees Gosling’s haunted character become so obsessed that he starts stalking the house of the man who created the font. Well, in a surprising twist, the font’s real creator, Chris Costello, has weighed in. And he loved the spoof.
“I woke up this morning Sunday and my email was full. I had a lot of people telling me, ‘Did you see this ‘Saturday Night Live’ thing?’ I took a look at it and me and my wife were like cracking up, I mean we couldn’t stop laughing. It was one of the best things I’ve seen,” Costello said.
“I designed the font when I was 23 years old. I was right out of college. I was kind of just struggling with some different life issues, I was studying the Bible, looking for God and this font came to mind, this idea of, thinking about the biblical times and Egypt and the Middle East. I just started scribbling this alphabet while I was at work and it kind of looked pretty cool,” he added.
In fact, despite the font being mocked on “Saturday Night Live,” Costello stands by his work.
“I’m a graphic designer as well, I’m an illustrator … I believe it’s a well-designed font, it’s well-thought [out],” he said.
Well, there’s no doubt that we’re all still talking about Papyrus, but we’ll see if James Cameron sticks with it for the “Avatar” sequels. Check out more sketchs from the night below. [CBS News]