Does anyone know much about the real story with Mel Brooks and Errol Flynn that inspired the film? I have a hard time believing that it was originally intended to take place around the turn of the century with Wyatt Earp in the Swann role....
shareFound the answer to my own question:
JH: How close was the movie My Favorite Year[1982] in capturing the atmosphere of Your Show Of Shows?
MB: Pretty damn close. My company made it Brooksfilm and I made sure that we were telling the truth. I was locked in the Waldorf Towers with Errol Flynn and two red-headed, Cuban sisters. For three days I was trying to get them out of there and he was trying to get me drunk and in there. It was the craziest weekend of my life. I was 20 years old and just starting with The Show Of Shows. He was a tough guy to corrale and get to rehearsals. Max Liebman assigned me to him and said, "Get him into rehearsal! Make him learn his lines! Work with him on the sketch!" Errol Flynn was a raving maniac. All he wanted was booze and to fool around. He did learn the sketch. Actually, I whispered into his ear when he was asleep. I'd say all the lines and unconsciously, I knew it would get through to his head.
Lost Issue Wednesday: Mel Brooks Interview (1997)
by Jeffrey K. Howard
Brilliant.
Actually, people who knew the real Sid Caesar said that the King Kaiser character was a PUSSYCAT compared to Caesar.
shareEarp died in 1929 and was used as a technical advisor on some old western films. Bruce Willis later did a film about this entitled Sunset with Willis playing Tom Mix and James Garner playing the part of Wyatt Earp.
shareI remember that I liked "MFY" when I was a kid. Tried to find it on DVD, but failed.
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They killed his second cousin. Big mistake.
To be or not to be? Not to be.
Try Amazon.com. You won't only find it, you'll find a good deal on it if you like it only a little bit.
shareit's on tcm tonight.
We're not soldiers and he's not the enemy. He's a pizza man.
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