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Surely You Can't Be Serious
Surely You Can't Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane! | David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker
4 posts | 5 read | 2 to read
Surely You Can't Be Serious is an in-depth and hysterical look at the making of 1980's comedy classic Airplane! by the legendary writers and directors of the hit film. Airplane! premiered on July 2nd, 1980. With a budget of $3.5 million it went on to make nearly $200 million in sales and has influenced a multitude of comedians on both sides of the camera. Surely You Cant Be Serious is the first-ever oral history of the making of Airplane! by the creators, and of the beginnings of the ZAZ trio (Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker) charting the rise of their comedy troupe Kentucky Fried Theater in Madison, Wisconsin all the way to premiere night. The directors explain what drew them to filmmaking and in particular, comedy. With anecdotes, behind the scenes trivia, and never-before-revealed factoids these titans of comedy filmmaking unpack everything from how they persuaded Peter Graves to be in the movie after he thought the script was a piece of garbage, how Lorna Patterson auditioned for the stewardess role in the back seat of Jerrys Volvo, and how Leslie Nielsens pranks got the entire crew into trouble, to who really wrote the jive talk. The book also features testimonials and personal anecdotes from well-known faces in the film, television, and comedy sphere proving how influential Airplane! has been from day one. Four decades after its release, Airplane! continues to make new generations laugh. Its many one-liners and visual gags have worked their way into the mainstream culture. This fully organic expansion of the ZAZ trios fan-base, prompted solely by word-of-mouth, comes as no surprise to longtime fans. When all around us is in flux laughter is priceless.
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willaful
Surely You Can't Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane! | David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker
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A soft pick, for fans only. I didn't care for the lack of structure here; it's just interviews pieced together, some read by the people who actually said them and some not. I found it a bit confusing, and I wasn't that interested in the parts that weren't directly concerned with the making of “Airplane.“ But once into that, it was very interesting and often funny. Plus, #ISpyBingo 😁

Faranae It's hard to watch Zero Hour! having first seen Airplane, so the pair are one of my few “I wish I could forget this thing and experience this for the first time again“ items. I'd also really love to get my hands on the original CBC “Flight Into Danger“, which is apparently available for purchase to qualified researchers and otherwise a nearly lost film despite starring James Doohan. 9mo
24 likes1 comment
review
rabbitprincess
Surely You Can't Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane! | David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker
Pickpick

I skipped a fair chunk of the early bit because I wasn‘t actually that interested in Kentucky Fried Theater (ZAZ‘s precursor project), but I can understand why it was included. I was more interested in learning about how the directors translated their vision into an actual movie and what the cast thought of the whole idea of bringing in “serious” actors from B-movies to play the comedy roles.

kwmg40 I loved this movie! 12mo
rabbitprincess @kwmg40 I quote this movie a LOT 😂 12mo
16 likes1 stack add2 comments
review
booklover3258
Surely You Can't Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane! | David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker
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Pickpick

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/uUnkFMMOPHI

Enjoy!

RebL And don‘t call me Shirley. 12mo
33 likes1 comment
review
Sara_Planz
Surely You Can't Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane! | David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker
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Pickpick

The influence from the comedies of the 1980's is still felt today and the film Airplane! is one of the most successful and celebrated films from that time. This in-depth history lays out the making of the movie as well as the beginnings of the trio who made it. This history features photos juxtaposed with memories from the people who were there, as well as some of the top comedic voices today who were so influenced by Airplane!'s humor.

rabbitprincess My library ordered this! Glad it was good 😄 1y
44 likes1 comment