7:00 pm to 8:30 pm, Friday, November 3, 2023
SURELY YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS: THE TRUE STORY OF AIRPLANE!
David Zucker, Interviewed by Gino Salomone
In the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
Open to the public but registration is required
When Airplane! premiered on July 2nd, 1980, it changed the face of comedy. With a budget of $3.5 million it became an instant smash and went on to make nearly $200 million in sales. Generations of comedians and filmmakers have been influenced by this beloved film. Now, David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker, the legendary trio (also known as ZAZ) who wrote and directed the film share the behind-the-scenes dish in Surely You Can’t Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane! (St. Martin’s Press; On-sale: October 3, 2023). This first-ever oral history is packed with anecdotes, trivia, and never-before-known factoids. The book is also filled with photos, movie stills, and personal pictures from the authors. Airplane! is considered one of greatest comedy films ever made and was placed on the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” It began, however, as the brainchild of three guys from Wisconsin with a dream of making films that would make people laugh. Surely You Can’t Be Serious takes readers back to ZAZ’s humble beginnings, through each stage of the movie’s production (and how they made a move with three directors), and what happened after the movie premiered. Throughout, readers hear from the cast, crew, studio executives, and comedic greats Jimmy Kimmel, Bill Hader, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Sarah Silverman, and many more.
This event is open to the public but REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.