I loved Airplane! when I first saw it in 1980! It was silly and snarky and uproariously funny. I have watched Airplane! several times over the decades and it still makes me laugh.
The film directors, David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker, who brought Airplane to the silver screen, deliver an uproarious account of the making of their ground-breaking film, which, in the words of Abrahams, elevated “stupidity to an art form.”
This clever book, like Airplane! and many other ZAZ productions, is multilayered and full of surprises. The authors tell how they created the sketch comedy group Kentucky Fried Theater in Wisconsin before moving the operation to Los Angeles and gaining a wide following. They also write about their beginnings in filmmaking, including their relationship with director John Landis.
Surely You Can’t Be Serious features numerous photographs, stills from Airplane!, published reviews, and comments from David Letterman, the creators of South Park, and other comedians and actors who react to the massive significance of Airplane! I forgot about the role the strait-laced and largely forgotten airline drama Zero Hour! had on the structure and spoofs of Airplane!
Even more astounding was how the young, virtually unknown trio of would-be directors and screenwriters convinced actors like Robert Stack, Peter Graves, and Lloyd Bridges to keep playing it straight while uttering their ridiculous lines. The authors recount tales of their adventures with Paramount Studios, how Airplane! changed the public perception of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and the lasting fondness for the film’s stars, particularly their longtime colleague Stephen Stucker.
I really appreciated the detailed backstory of ZAZ’s journey from Milwaukee to Hollywood and the process of getting Airplane! to Paramount and in theaters despite many problems. If you’re a fan of Airplane! you’ll enjoy the backstory of how the iconic movie got made. Highly recommended! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
INTRODUCTION — 1
The premiere — 3
“Get me Rex Kramer!” — 5
Kentucky Fried Theater — 18
Bob and Julie — 36
Madison — 50
Leslie. — 58
Dial-A-Fart — 66
Hollywood — 76
Stucker — 90
The Tonight Show — 112
Zero Hour! — 123
Landis — 132
Kentucky Fried Movie — 148
Beaver’s Mom — 158
The movie business — 169
Back to the drawing board — 178
The studios — 190
Michael Eisner — 198
Paramount — 213
Howard — 238
Kareem — 246
Culver City Studios — 259
There are no rules — 283
Postproduction — 303
Success at last — 321
EPILOGUE — 338
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS — 344
