Caesar’s Writers is now available on DVD and is a very welcome addition to the format. I have the Plus8Video/Michael Hirsh Productions VHS cassette sitting alongside my DVDs and now Blu-rays.  This is only one of two VHS tapes I have left in my collection, the other being An Audience with Mel Brooks.  I have not purchased the DVD yet to determine the quality of the video/audio, but I’m sure it’s equal to or better than the VHS tape.

If you’re interested you can go directly to the newly established Caesar’s Writers website and order it.

Here’s an excerpt from the site:

On January 24, 1996 at the Writers Guild Theater in Los Angeles, CA, legendary comic Sid Caesar was reunited with nine of his writers from Your Show of Shows and Caesar’s Hour. The event was taped, and later broadcast on PBS in the United States, and the BBC in the UK as a 1 hour special, with only select portions of the full two-hour event. The full event was previously available only as a VHS, offered as a pledge premium by local PBS stations. Now, the full two-hour special CAESAR’S WRITERS is available on DVD for the first time! Be prepared to laugh non-stop as the panel, made up of head writer Mel Tolkin, Caesar, Carl Reiner, Aaron Ruben, Larry Gelbart, Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, Danny Simon, Sheldon Keller, and Gary Belkin share stories about their time working on Caesar’s shows and offer their insights about writing comedy.

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Carl and Mel several times live since moving to Los Angeles.  Now if only they could bring some of these folks back together for another recorded session. I know it would sell out. Writer’s Guild? Writer’s Bloc? Someone must want to put this together!

Apparently the 2010 taping from the Writer’s Bloc event was aired on HBO a few weeks ago (9/9/11). While it’s been edited down to just under an hour, it should give folks a glimpse of the two that they might not have seen in the past, and it’s absolutely wonderful that it’s being shared with the rest of the world. Well worth hunting down via friends TIVO. There are some clips on HBO’s official site here.

Reviews can be found at NY Daily News, Variety and NY Times.

Sounds like a true slasher flick as opposed to a comedy…. maybe a black comedy. Here’s the Fangoria article which coincides with Brooksfilms 25 anniversary.

Here’s a special update today that coincides with the Dick Cavett & Mel Brooks event tonight (Dick & Mel worked on this together). This is Part 1 of a new page dedicated to Circus Nuts, the freshest nuts in town!  I hope to have an updated page available with the next site revision roll out. For now, you can get to the Circus Nuts page via this direct link.  Enjoy!

PS - Special thanks to Sally Tobin for contacting me about this very special recording. And an advance thanks to J. Wexler for providing additional information about the production of these wonderful radio spots.

For those that will not be able to attend the event tomorrow, there is mention of a possible video for it. I will post something if I hear any details.  News blurb here.

If you have any questions/stories/comments you’d like to send along to Mel send them along via the contact page BEFORE 4PM Pacific Time Tuesday 12/7/2010 and I will do my best to pass them along (I don’t know Mel but if he is signing autographs maybe I can pass these comments along to him).  Sorry for the short notice… I’m working on a new revision of the site with a small forum to keep track of unanswered questions that I can print out periodically to try and pass along to Mel. There will also be areas to talk about Mel movies and such… just trying to work on the integration kinks.

-Felix

Writers Bloc is hosting an event with Mel Brooks who’ll be interviewing author and talk show host Dick Cavett about his book “Talk Show: Confrontations, Pointed Commentary, and Off-Screen Secrets” on Tuesday, December 7, 2010, 7:30 pm (Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills, CA). Tickets are available to the general public via ticketweb. For more information you can check out the Writers Bloc event page here.

Carol Sloane sent in this nice story about a visit from Mel in 1958, prior to the release of The Producers. It’s quite amazing and very much Mel! Check it out at Carol’s blog.

American Cinemateque is hosting a slew of Mel Brooks & Carl Reiner double feature screenings starting Thur through next week. Mel & Carl will be attendance this weekend for several of them. Unfortunately, I’ll be out of town but hopefully YOU can make it.

American Cinemateque Website/Tickets

Thr July 22nd: Screening of My Favorite Year & History of the World Part 1.

Fri July 23rd: Mel & Carl will be in person to host a discussion following a screening of skits from Your Show of Shows this  at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, CA. The discussion is followed by a screening of Carl Reiner’s film “Enter Laughing”. There is also a screening of History of the World Part 1 on Thursday night.

Sat July 24th: The Jerk & Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid.

Sun July 25th: Mel will be in person to host a discussion between screenings of Blazing Saddles & Silent Movie.

Wed July 28th: Young Frankenstein & The Man with Two Brains.

I received an interesting e-mail last week from a very considerate lady named Sally who is trying to identify a set of records her late husband had left behind. The records are dated from 1967 and labeled West, Weir & Bartel, INC. Two of the records are in the original sleeves and don’t appear to have ever been played. One of them has hand written in pencil  “Circus Nuts / Mel Brooks Spots.” I’m trying to see if I can get these records sent over from NY and converted to digital format to share with everyone. Stay tuned!

Thanks to fan Alan N. for sending the following link which contains a gross amount of pictures, exactly 144 when I checked, from the Mel Brooks Hollywood Walk of Fame Star unveiling which took place last month. A quick glance confirms Carl Reiner, Max Brooks and Philip Seymour Hoffman(?) in attendance. Mel’s Star is located in front of the Egyptian Theatre which has hosted several Mel Brooks film screenings in the past. Follow the link below for the photos…

http://www.corbisimages.com/Search/SearchResults.aspx?q=mel+brooks+walk+of+fame

Did you hear Mel got a star? Congrats Mel! Too bad I missed the event, something that’s becoming oh too frequent but is understandable with all my varying interests. Here’s how I found out about it:

Mark: How was the unveiling of the star?

Felix: What star?

Mark: Oh, I assumed you were at Mel Brook’s star unveiling in Hollywood since you didn’t answer your phone.

Felix: What? Are you kidding me? I missed that? Wait… Mel didn’t have a star yet?

And so it goes, I’ve been in that area a zillion times and even participated in a scavenger hunt that required locating the addresses of various “stars” on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Not once did I think to look for Mel’s star. The next time I’m at the Egyptian I’ll be sure to snap a pic. My friend said that I also missed a screening and Q&A with Mel. It looks like Carl Reiner, Max & his son were in attendance for the unveiling, very nice.

On a side note, Max is going to pen a story arc/series in IDW Publishings GI Joe comic book, melding two interests of mine, 80s cartoons/toys and comic books. He’ll probably make a GREAT appearance at comic-con this year but unfortunately I won’t be attending.

Mel Brooks fan N. Wolf sent this tip to a Playbill article in which Mel discusses the current status of the Blazing Saddles musical. It’s ALIVE!!!! Oh wait, that’s the wrong movie. Okay, anybody got a shit load of dimes? About 1,000 for a ticket? There should be a discount for those paying in dimes!

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,â€� 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 Novellelahâ€� and a children’s book, “Tell Me a Scary Story… But Not Too Scary!â€�

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.