Mel Live in London March 22nd

MB_London-Show_Banner-600x385_FinalMel will take to the London stage for his first ever U.K. solo show. The EGOT-winning comedy legend will present Mel Brooks Live in London at the Prince of Wales Theatre on March 22. The one-night-only event will celebrate Brooks’ life and career in TV, movies and musicals with countless anecdotes and songs.

Tickets available from March 3rd at www.delfontmackintosh.co.uk or 0844 482 5115

Zero Mostel Centennial Double Feature 2/28!

Aero Theatre, Santa Monica, CA • Sat, Feb 28, 2015 • 7:30pm

Discussion between films with writer-director Mel Brooks.

Zero Mostel (February 28, 1915 – September 8, 1977) was born 100 years ago today; his matchless comic timing is seen to great effect in both THE PRODUCERS and A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM.

THE PRODUCERS

1968, Rialto Pictures, 88 min, USA, Dir: Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks’ directorial debut ithe-producers-dir.-mel-brooks,-zero-mostel-1968-mgm-large-pictures one of his finest, and won him the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. This outrageous look at two Broadway producers – conniving con man Zero Mostel and sheepish, going-along-for-the-ride Gene Wilder (nominated for Best Supporting Actor) – deciding to get rich by selling shares in what they believe will be a guaranteed flop is certainly one of the funniest comedies of the 1960s. The pair’s production “Springtime for Hitler” (“Don’t be stupid, be a smarty! Come and join the Nazi party!”) inadvertently becomes a so-bad-it’s-good hit, and their grandiose designs on big-time wealth comically crumble. Watch for Dick Shawn as acid-casualty actor, LSD, who becomes a surprise star as the jive-talking Fuehrer, and Kenneth Mars as the humorless, ex-German soldier playwright.

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM

1966, MGM Repertory, 99 min, USA, UK, Dir: Richard Lester
Zero Mostel is a lazy, sloppy slave in ancient Rome who wishes to win his freedom by helping his master woo a beautiful young courtesan in this adaptation of the popular Broadway musical. A cast of comedy and musical legends including Phil Silvers, Buster Keaton and Michael Crawford keeps the pace fast and furious in this classic farce directed by the great Richard Lester. Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.
Screening format: 35mm