19 interesting facts about the cult parody film "Airplane" (14 photos)

The film Airplane, released in 1980, essentially raised the parody genre to the skies, and it was thanks to this film that the famous actor Leslie Nielsen revealed himself as a comedic actor.





1. The film Airplane was the directorial debut of brothers David and Jerry Zucker and their friend Jim Abrahams. The idea to make a film "Airplane", which would parody disaster films, came to friends after watching the film "Zero Hour" (1957).

2. The most interesting thing is that the directors deliberately invited actors who were not comedic actors into the film. They believed that actors from serious films could be much funnier on screen than comedy actors.



Leslie Nielsen as Dr. Rumak

Yes, yes, even the famous actor Leslie Nielsen, who is almost the king of parodies, essentially showed himself as a comedic actor in the film “Airplane”. Up to this point, he had mostly played in serious films, particularly horror films.

Leslie Nielsen himself said that he was very happy that he got a role in this film and became famous as a comedian, because in his opinion, if he had not gone down the comedy path, he would have played only the fathers of the main characters for the rest of his life. And he really didn’t want this.





3. Initially, actor Robert Stack, who played Captain Rex Kramer, refused to star in the film Airplane, but his friend Lloyd Bridges, who was also involved in this film, finally convinced the actor.

4. The creators of the film "Aerolan" themselves played small cameo roles here. In addition, the directors cast their mothers and the Zucker brothers' sister in small roles.



The Zucker Brothers as Airport Employees on the Runway

5. The filming of “Airplane” took 34 days. Filming took place in 1979, but the film premiered almost a year later, namely in July 1980.

6. Several jokes were “eaten” in our translation. For example, when the main character Ted Striker takes the helm, he contacts the command center, namely Steve Macronski, played by Lloyd Bridges. When Stryker calls his last name, Makronski begins to remember where he has already heard this last name, after which Stryker speaks loudly and his subordinate beats the woman.

It would seem, what is this for? Some kind of stupid joke? It's all about pronunciation, really. The surname Striker sounds roughly the same as the expression “Strike her,” which translates as “Hit her.” That is why the subordinate hit the woman.



Also, the joke with co-pilot Roger Murdoch was incomprehensible to the viewer. As the plane takes off, Captain Clarence Over repeatedly says "Got it" on the radio, after which co-pilot Roger Murdoch looks at the captain and asks him again, "What?"

The joke is that in English the word "Roger" also means the expression "Got you." So when the captain says "Roger," meaning "Roger," co-pilot Roger thinks he's talking to him.



7. Remember the scene when almost every passenger approaches the panicking Mrs. Hamman and gives her a bright slap in the face. In fact, the script only included a couple of slaps, which should have ended with Leslie Nielsen, who was third in line.

The actress who played Mrs. Hamman suggested that the scene be blown out of proportion so that passengers would line up to slap her. As a result, this scene became one of the most memorable in the film.



8. The role of co-pilot Roger Murdock was played by famous basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The directors specifically chose a basketball player for this role in order to make some kind of reference to the film “Zero Hour”, because there the role of the co-pilot was played by the famous football player Elroy Hirish.



By the way, the role of Roger Murdoch was originally intended for another athlete, namely professional baseball player Pete Rose. But he refused the offer, because at that moment he could notparticipate in filming.

9. According to actor Peter Graves, who played Captain Clarence Over, he did not like the script, and he agreed to play in the film only at the request of his wife, who found the script simply amazing.



10. With a budget of $3.5 million, the film Airplane grossed $83.5 million worldwide. It was an incredible box office success, especially for a debut film by young directors. Moreover, the film completely repaid its budget within the first days of release.



11. The Zucker brothers and Jim Abrahams had a serious dispute with the Directors Guild, as they were against the fact that the film had three directors listed. But in the end, the friends managed to make sure that they were all listed as directors.

12. After the success of the film Airplane, the studio bosses wanted to release a sequel, but the Zuckers and Abrahams abandoned this idea, since in their opinion they had exhausted the entire supply of jokes for a parody on this topic. Nevertheless, they gave the go-ahead for filming the second part of the film.



Jim Abrahams and the Zucker Brothers

13. Basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was offered $30,000 for his role in the film, but he asked for $35,000 because that was the price of the oriental rug he wanted to buy.

14. The radio station WZAZ, which broadcasts in the film, is a reference to the directors themselves (ZAZ - Zucker - Abrahams - Zucker).



Still from the movie "Airplane"

15. Initially, actor Christopher Lee was offered to play the role of Dr. Rumak, but he refused this offer. Then Leslie Nielsen was cast in this role. Christopher Lee later admits that his refusal was a big mistake.

16. The Ford Mustang in which Captain Rex Kramer, played by actor Robert Stack, arrives actually belonged to the leading actor, Robert Hayes. The studio paid Hayes $35 a day to use his car for filming.



17. Dr. Rumak (Leslie Nielsen) received his last name and profession in honor of the Zuckers’ neighbor, toxicologist Barry Rumak.

18. Actor Robert Hayes, who played the role of Ted Stryker, actually has a pilot's license, which he received back in 1974. By the way, initially such actors as Bill Murray, Chevy Chase and even the famous singer Barry Manilow were considered for this role.



Robert Hayes as Ted Stryker

19. The dispatchers who argue about the red and white zones at the beginning of the film are real dispatchers who agreed to take part in the filming of the film.