Comedian Jon Stewart is set to play Mel Brooks in a new biopic co-written by the man himself, Mel Brooks, for HBO entitled Blazing Shtik, airing fall 2012.
Apparently, according to Variety, Stewart was approached to play the comedian and writer/director after expressing interest in portraying him onscreen. Unlike the ill-fated The History of Mel Brooks, Part 1, which seems to be languishing in development hell over at Paramount, Shtik was made for considerably less and is TV-ready.
The film focuses mainly on Brooks' making of the classics Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein in the 1970s, just like all the Hitchcock biopics and that Marilyn Monroe film. It seems to be the new thing.
I have to say I LOVE Brooks and Stewart and couldn't think of a better man for the job. Honestly. Can you think of a better actor to play Brooks? Adrian Brody is Gene Wilder, which could be hit or miss, but I'm willing to bet it'll work out all right. Brody tends to go all out for his roles, and he has the height, the strange eyes, and we'll probably be seeing some kind of amazing makeup transformation and hair changes.
I'm not too keen on the rest of the casting, however: Ted Raimi seems too tall to be Marty Feldman (Igor in Young Frankenstein) and Kristen Bell as Teri Garr makes me slightly nervous but hopeful. It's not that Bell isn't funny; I've seen her be very funny. But can she do Garr's combo of sexy and silly in a way that makes me believe she's Garr? I kind of wish they'd have cast Elizabeth Banks instead, but she's probably way out of their budget at this point in her career, as star of The Hunger Games.
A boring Kate Bosworth is Anne Bancroft, Brooks' wife. I am assuming she won't be a huge part of the story (I hope) because Bosworth is NO Mrs. Robinson.
No word on who is playing Madeline Kahn, Chloris Leachman, Peter Boyle, Cleavon Little or Harvey Korman in this, but I know they will be in it; they were key actors in both Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. Can't for a trailer!
I don't know what it will be like, but I'm *hoping* for something a little like this (except it will be Adrian Brody and Kristen Bell as Wilder and Garr, respectively):
Oh jeez. I realize that it's de rigueur to complain that some things just shouldn't be remade - that they are perfection as they are, and how dare ANYONE try to match, much less improve upon them. So I will swallow my gut reaction and try to be open-minded.
Jon Stewart - yes. I can see this. Ted Raimi may be 'too tall', but I have no doubts about his ability to do justice to Igor, in his own way. I think both can give tribute without trying to copy their predecessors. And I'm quite hopeful about Adrian Brody.
The rest - well, we'll see. I grew up with Mel Brooks films, and to this day can quote most of them unabashedly. I don't know boo about Kristen Bell or Kate Bosworth, which means they haven't left an impression, so I am open to what they bring to the table.
My one sticking point? Madeleine Kahn. There is no substitute for her. She is a unique force of nature.
I hope Bell does justice to Terri Garr; my whole family loves Garr and her movies--I so wanted her to get the guy in Tootsie! As far as Bosworth as Anne Bancroft--now Heidi, please tell me this part is an April Fool's joke! (buries head in hands)
The genius part of this prank is that it's a good idea! I'd definitely see that movie. And I fell for this gag...until I came across a huge clue that this was all a joke. The fact that Heidi didn't link to the original Variety article gave the whole scam away.
Still, well played, madame...
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A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it's not open.
I actually think he'd be the PERFECT Mel Brooks and I totally wish this was real. Thought I might recast the rest of it better...
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"Another great thing about being 70,000 light years away from the nearest Starfleet vessel is that once we finally get back to Earth, we can makeup bullshit stories. Off the top of my head: 'We met Amelia Earhart,' 'We singlehandedly eliminated most of the Borg fleet' or 'Paris and I turned into giant pink lizards and mated.'"
Oh jeez. I realize that it's de rigueur to complain that some things just shouldn't be remade - that they are perfection as they are, and how dare ANYONE try to match, much less improve upon them. So I will swallow my gut reaction and try to be open-minded.
Jon Stewart - yes. I can see this. Ted Raimi may be 'too tall', but I have no doubts about his ability to do justice to Igor, in his own way. I think both can give tribute without trying to copy their predecessors. And I'm quite hopeful about Adrian Brody.
The rest - well, we'll see. I grew up with Mel Brooks films, and to this day can quote most of them unabashedly. I don't know boo about Kristen Bell or Kate Bosworth, which means they haven't left an impression, so I am open to what they bring to the table.
My one sticking point? Madeleine Kahn. There is no substitute for her. She is a unique force of nature.