I recent site visitor brought the following Film Society of Lincoln Center Anne Bancroft Film Festival to my attention.  It’s taking place in NY from March 8-11th with a notable appearances by Patty Duke, Mike Nichols, Neil Simon, and Marsha Norman. I’m not as familiar with Marsha Norman’s work, but Neil Simon, Patty Duke (’cause we’re cousins! identical cousins!) and Mike Nichols (bird cage) would be great to meet in person. All the movies being screened are really great, but I particularly like 84 Charing Cross Road with Anthony Hopkins (Anne would have been great in Shadowlands!). Does anyone know if Mel plans to attend any of the screenings? Maybe one of the Brooksfilms productions?

If you any info about Mel’s attendance… or Anthony Hopkins, please send me an email and I’ll post it here. More info on the film festival can be found at the following website: Film Society of Lincoln Center Films of Anne Bancroft.

Mel, along with Robert De Niro, Bruce Springsteen, Grace Bumbry and David Brubreck were recipients of The 2009 Kennedy Center Honors presented on Dec 6th. The Honors represent those that have made life time contributions to the American culture. The event will be broadcast December 29th (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, with Caroline Kennedy as host for the seventh consecutive year. Roger Bart, Gary Beach and Matthew Broderick were but a few of the stars in attendance. Mel was honored by long time friend Carl Reiner, acting alum Frank Langella and director Susan Stroman. I’m not sure why Nathan Lane was unable to attend but I’m sure he would have been there if he could have been. Below is an excerpt from the official press release:

Multiple Emmy Award-winning actor Carl Reiner paid tribute to multiple Academy Award, Emmy Award, Grammy Award and Tony Award-winning writer, composer, actor, director and producer Mel Brooks, speaking of how he had known Brooks for more than 60 years, having most famously collaborated with him on the 1975 television show, “The 2000 Year Old Man.”

Multiple Tony Award-winning director and choreographer Susan Stroman, who directed and choreographed the sensational, record-breaking Broadway musical The Producers for Mel Brooks, choreographed and co-produced the entire Mel Brooks tribute performance.

Steve Heisler interviews Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner prior to the release of the new 2000 Year Old Man CD/DVD set. Check it out at AV Club.

For all the fans asking about the Rhino CD set/records your day has finally come! I was browsing a Sports Illustrated at my dentist’s when I saw an interview and ad for The 2000 Year Old Man : The Complete History Box Set!!! This is a 3-CD, 1-DVD and booklet set. The CDs include REMASTERED versions of all the original Rhino records/CDs + The 2000 Year Old Man In The Year 2000, but on 3 discs instead of 5. The DVD includes the ANIMATED TV SPECIAL!!!!!! along with appearances on Ed Sullivan and Steve Allen shows from 1961. There is also a new listing titled “Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks discuss the 2000 year old man (August 5, 2009).” The book is listed at 32 pages, so it probably contains a bit more than the book in the Rhino set. It’s available for pre-order with price guarantee at Amazon.com for only $42 shipped. Awesome sounding set. I’ll report back once I get my copy.

Just a quick note. The front page of the New York Times website has an article up today about the return of the 2000 Year Old Man comedy routine. I had heard little murmurs about this, but I’m really glad that Mel and Carl are healthy and still interested in entertaining the world. Here is a small excerpt of the article updating us on Mel’s latest endeavors:

Mr. Brooks produces and voices a character on “Spaceballs,” an animated series based on his 1987 movie, and next month, when Fox releases nine of his movies in a BluRay collection, he will receive the Kennedy Center Honors; Mr. Reiner put out two books this year, “Just Desserts: A Novellelah” and a children’s book, “Tell Me a Scary Story… But Not Too Scary!”

Click HERE to check out the full article by journalist Ari Karpel. Apparently,a version of this article will appear in print on November 15, 2009, on page AR19 of the New York edition.

Well, well, looks like we’re finally getting an upgrade to our Mel Brooks Collection DVD set released but only 3 years ago. This time around there will be 9 films included, with the already released Spaceballs the newcomer.  Despite still being 2 months away, there’s already a review on Amazon in regards to the suspect packaging that this set will come in.  If you’re concerned about discs being scratched, if the DVD releases are any indication, there’s a good chance that the films will eventually be released individually. I don’t actually own a Blu-Ray player yet, but I’ve heard that Blu-Ray discs are much more resilient to and forgiving of small scratches. Head on over to Amazon to check out the details and pre-order. It remains to be seen when we’ll get The Producers (both movies in one set?).

I stumbled upon this event while searching on Craigslist for some other random stuff today. Apparently there is going to be a LIVE TRIBUTE to Mel Brooks 7-24-09 in Beverly Hills Theatre in Beverly Hills, CA. The event is general admission and tickets are available through creativecampaign@aol.com for $55/ticket  (only 6 tickets available).  Special guests include Richard Benjamin, Teri Garr, Carl Reiner, Tracey Ullman and Lesley Ann Warren. I’ll be in San Diego for Comic-Con, so unfortunately I won’t be able to attend. No word on whether this will be aired on television in the future.

The latest issue of ToyFare magazine has a short interview with Mel on Page 48, no doubt a promo for the Spaceballs Animated DVD release June 16th. Oddly, it’s listed at www.dvdpricesearch.com as “Spaceballs: The Animated Spoof”. The Amazon.com listing states it is cancelled, but includes some insight into the naming convention. Apparently it’s not the entire series, but 4 episodes: Outbreak, Thanks for Your Order, Deep Ship & Grand Theft Starship. That last one was pretty funny, too bad they don’t have the lord of the onion ring (that was great too).

Though short, the interviewer asks Mel two splendid questions aboutthe potential of comic book and toy projects. As I’m a fan of comics, toys and Mel Brooks, I can’t wait to see if something comes out of this. In the meantime, if you’d like to throw out some ideas, feel free to submit a posting… I’ll even add it to one of the permanent pages.

Today the world said goodbye to Dom DeLuise. Dom was a “regular,” and it was always fun to see where he might pop up in the latest Brooks feature. I will always remember him for his roles in Blazing Saddles, as the flamboyant director, and History of the World Part I, as the emperor. Dom also starred in a Brooksfilm comedy production titled Fatso with Anne Bancroft, who also directed it. I remember watching this about 12 years ago when I was just starting to explore all the “degrees” of Mel Brooks in the entertainment world. I had expected a flat out laugh, but found much sympathy for Dom’s (Dominick is his name in the movie) disorder. I’ll have to revisit that soon to see if it still has the same impact on me. In the end it altered my impression of Dom, and made me laugh more during his appearances in other movies…. but mostly History of the World Part I.  You may be gone from this world, but your performances will always make me laugh. Peace be with your family and friends.

Hey All,

Mel has been selected by the Brooklyn Hall of Fame as a candidate inductee for 2010. Cast your vote (vote often) for him at Brooklyn Hall of Fame! Hurry! Hurry! We can’t let Barry Manilow win so easily!

We all know what the “B” in “Brookslyn” stands for… now let’s make sure those in Brooklyn know!