Serch TeVe

Guionista, comunicador, dramaturgo, compongo canciones y a veces produzco.

[DepressedBergman @DannyDrinksWine]

The 15 rules of Filmmaking for comedy movies by Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker (ZAZ):

"1. JOKE ON A JOKE: Two jokes at the same time cancel each other out. If the joke is in the background, the foreground action should be serious, and vice versa. Focus on one joke at a time.

2. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Sometimes referred to as “winking.” Don’t acknowledge the joke, or that you made a joke. Actors in the foreground must ignore jokes happening behind them.

3. MERELY CLEVER: A “clever” joke isn’t good enough. It has to get a laugh.

4. BREAKING THE FRAME: Don’t remind the audience they’re watching a movie. Jokes about the movie itself, the movie business, or comedy itself are a strict no-no, although it’s possible to sneak one in if you don’t dwell on it. See Rule #11: That didn’t happen.

5. TRIVIA: A joke using references so arcane that few people will ever get it.

6. JERRY LEWIS: A comedian who is doing every possible crazy thing he can to get a laugh. As a result, when something was over the top, we would just say, “Jerry Lewis.”

7. AXE GRINDING: When the joke is overshadowed by some message, it gets unfunny fast.

8. KNOCKING DOWN THE POSTS: Conceptual jokes are fine, but people don’t laugh at concepts; they laugh at verbal or visual punch lines. In 'Airplane!' (1980) the gag of the soldier leaning out the door as his girlfriend runs alongside is merely referencing the same scene we’ve seen in hundreds of films where it makes sense—or a train. Fortunately, we decided to put old-style railroad posts on the runway and have the girl knock them over. People clearly get the concept of the scene, but they don’t laugh until she knocks down the posts.

9. STRAW DUMMY: A hollow setup for a joke where the target has been invented by the writer. You can’t satirize something that doesn’t exist. Like a block-long, nuclear-powered bus.

10. CAN YOU LIVE WITH IT?: Once a joke is made, it can’t be allowed to hang around (Rule #14). Like a personalized license plate, how long can “LV2FART” be funny?

11. THAT DIDN’T HAPPEN: Something that totally defies all logic but is on and off the screen so fast that we get away with it. Robert Stack in 'Airplane!' yells, “They’re on instruments!” Cut to the cockpit—the actors are playing musical instruments. Seconds later, the saxophone and clarinets have disappeared. If it’s done right, no one in the audience will ask where the instruments went.

12. UNRELATED BACKGROUND: A joke happening in the background, though unacknowledged, still needs to be related in some way to the action in the foreground. This rule was put into effect after the release of Airplane!, when we desperately trying to figure out why no one laughed at the spear striking the wall behind Robert Stack and a watermelon crashing on the table behind Lloyd Bridges. It made us laugh so hard when we wrote it, filmed it, saw it in dailies, as well as the finished film. Unfortunately we were the only ones. It was craziness without an actual joke. We left it in, and probably in some way it adds to the irreverent tone of the film, but it never gets a laugh.

13. TECHNICAL PIZZAZZ: Special effects and big action don’t necessarily mean funny.

14. HANGING ON: Don’t play a joke too long. When it reaches its peak, get out. The film should move off a joke before the audience does.

15. THERE ARE NO RULES: We try to follow these rules as closely as possible, realizing that perhaps what is most important is knowing when to ignore them."

("Surely You Can't be Serious - The True Story of Airplane!", ZAZ interviewed by Will Harris, 2023)

P.S: On this day, 46 years ago, "Airplane!" (1980) was released in the USA.

[DepressedBergman @DannyDrinksWine]

Although Howard Hawks is credited as the sole director of "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" (1953), he did not direct any of the musical numbers. He wasn't even on the set when the scenes were filmed. Choreographer Jack Cole directed the scenes.

Hawks later said, "I did a musical called 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes', and I didn’t do the production numbers. I didn’t have any desire to. I did the little numbers that were part of the story. As a matter of fact, I had an agreement that I didn’t have to use the Fox music department to do it. We did a quiet little song that Marilyn sang, and stuff that Jane Russell and Marilyn did that are scenes with music in them; they didn’t need a lot of choreography or anything like that."

("Working with Complete Fantasy: On the Legacy of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes", Laura Boyes, Roger Ebert(dot)com, 2024 & "Hawks on Hawks", Joseph McBride, 1982)

P.S: On this day, 73 years ago, "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" (1953) premiered in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA.

[Michael Warburton @For_Film_Fans]

In 1961 Atlanta had a re-premiere of ‘Gone With The Wind’ with Vivien Leigh, OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND — born 110yrs ago today — and David O. Selznick in attendance.

Here they all are unveiling paintings of Clark Gable and Margaret Mitchell.

[Time Capsule Tales @timecaptales]

For the United States Bicentennial in 1976, the government funded one of the wildest short films ever made.

Created by animator Vincent Collins & produced by the United States Information Agency, the film goes on a kaleidoscopic journey through iconic
American symbols.

[DepressedBergman @DannyDrinksWine]

William Wyler pushed Olivia de Havilland hard during the filming of "The Heiress" (1949). The most striking example came in the "staircase scene". Wyler did not like the feeling the actress conveyed. He made her retake the scene so many times [37 times], she felt worn out from trudging up and down the steps. In anger she tossed the suitcase to the floor then picked it up and threw it at him. Wyler grinned.

Now he knew why the scene had not been working: The suitcase was empty. He ordered it filled with books and made de Havilland climb the stairs yet again. Now she could barely lift the suitcase. Catherine's (Olivia de Havilland) exhaustion became palpable. Her humiliation and despair seemed to tug at her. She looked like she was dragging herself up from the bottom of the sea. This was the effect Wyler was after.

Olivia de Havilland went on to win an Oscar for her performance in the movie.

("A Talent for Trouble: The Life of Hollywood's Most Acclaimed Director, William Wyler", Jan Herman, 1995 and IMDb)

P.S:

1) Remembering the legendary Filmmaker, William Wyler on his 124th birthday!

2) Remembering the great actress, Olivia de Havilland on her 110th birthday!

[Tlatoani_Cuauhtemoc @Cuauhtemoc_1521]

#SabíasQue uno de los comerciales más recordados de la televisión mexicana reunió a dos auténticas leyendas del espectáculo?

🍺🍺EL MOMENTO CARTA BLANCA🍻🍻

A principios de la década de 1980, Carta Blanca lanzó un anuncio protagonizado por Mauricio Garcés y Manuel “El Loco” Valdés, una dupla que combinó a la perfección la elegancia, el humor y la picardía que caracterizaban a ambos actores. Aunque no existe un registro oficial que precise la fecha exacta de su estreno, diversas fuentes coinciden en que fue producido y transmitido entre 1981 y 1982.

El comercial aprovechó el contraste entre las personalidades de sus protagonistas: por un lado, Mauricio Garcés, famoso por su imagen de galán sofisticado; por el otro, El Loco Valdés, reconocido por su improvisación y humor irreverente. Esa química convirtió al anuncio en uno de los más memorables de la publicidad mexicana, al grado de seguir siendo recordado y compartido más de cuatro décadas después. Te tocó verlo? Ya existías?

[Lugar Cinema🎬 @LugarCinema]

Hoy hace 29 años del estreno de Armageddon (1997)

No será una obra maestra, pero Michael Bay firmó un PELICULÓN que merece muchísimo más reconocimiento.

Pocas películas han combinado tan bien acción, emoción y espectaculo.

[𝕬𝖓𝖉𝖗𝖊𝖆 𝕬𝖈𝖔𝖘𝖙𝖆 @AndreaAcostArts]

Tal día como hoy, en 1971, llegó a los cines la película Willy Wonka y la fábrica de chocolate, protagonizada por Gene Wilder.

[Retro Toys and Cartoons @toys_retro]

😱Still Haunts Me to This Day... Who Else Was Traumatised by This Scene?

[Serch TeVe @serch_teve]

#metropolis

[Film & TV Legends @FilmTVLegends]

Marilyn Monroe ❤️ The Film Years 1947-1962 🎥

[The Sting @TheStingisBack]

Happy 100th, Mel Brooks
He really is the King of Comedy, and as we know...

[Michael Warburton @For_Film_Fans]

The 12min Royal Albert Hall sequence is a masterclass in suspense, featuring nearly 10mins of silent action (following the start of the "Storm Clouds Cantata”).

THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1956)

#DorisDay #JamesStewart

[Carlos Cubo @enbocacinefago]

40 años cumple esta absoluta JOYA.

"Dentro del laberinto" es la definición perfecta de eso que llaman "LA MAGIA DEL CINE". Tiene esa capacidad de tansportarnos a un mundo incréible que solo podemos encontrar en nuestros sueños.

Es de las películas que me hicieron empezar a amar el cine.

[DepressedBergman @DannyDrinksWine]

The idea of a bank employee stealing a vast haul of gold bullion first came to screenwriter T.E.B. Clarke when he was researching for 'Pool of London' (1951), and Michael Balcon, the head of Ealing Studios was so taken with the idea that he took Clarke off that film to work on what was to become 'The Lavender Hill Mob' (1951). Apparently, in response to the film, the Bank of England formed an ad hoc committee to advise on the best way to rob the place, to protect itself from such robberies in the future.

("The Overlook Film Encyclopedia - The Gangster Film", Edited by Phil Hardy, 1998)

P.S: On this day, 75 years ago, "The Lavender Hill Mob" (1951) premiered in London, UK.

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

Cleopatra (1963) cost so much it nearly sunk 20th Century Fox - what started as a $2M movie exploded into a $44M epic, forcing the studio to sell off land just to stay afloat.

[Noirchick In Old Hollywood @Noirchick1]

The epitome of 1930s slinky glamour... who is your pick - Jean Harlow, Constance Bennett or Carole Lombard?

[Serch TeVe @serch_teve]

#rogerrabbit #disney

[Noirchick In Old Hollywood @Noirchick1]

Beverly Powers was a real life Burlesque Queen and was chosen for this scene in "Breakfast at Tiffany's". the original scene was much longer, but trimmed to this very sexy short bit....

[Fun with cartoon @cartunplce]

The poor cinderella was made 92 YEARS ago in (1934).