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Surely You Can't Be Serious is an in-depth and hysterical look at the making of 1980's comedy classic Airplane! by the legendary writers and directors of the hit film. Airplane! premiered on July 2nd, 1980. With a budget of $3.5 million it went on to make nearly $200 million in sales and has influenced a multitude of comedians on both sides of the camera. Surely You Can't Be Serious is the first-ever oral history of the making of Airplane! by the creators, and of the beginnings of the ZAZ trio (Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker) - charting the rise of their comedy troupe Kentucky Fried Theater in Madison, Wisconsin all the way to premiere day. The directors explain what drew them to filmmaking and in particular, comedy. With anecdotes, behind the scenes trivia, and never-before-revealed factoids, these titans of comedy filmmaking unpack everything from how they persuaded Peter Graves to be in the movie after he thought the script was a piece of garbage, how Lorna Patterson auditioned for the stewardess role in the backseat of Jerry's Volvo, and how Leslie Nielsen's pranks got the entire crew into trouble, to who really wrote the jive talk. The book also features testimonials and personal anecdotes from well-known faces in the film, television, and comedy sphere -- proving how influential Airplane! has been from day one. Four decades after its release, Airplane! continues to make new generations laugh. Its many one-liners and visual gags have worked their way into the mainstream culture. This fully organic expansion of the ZAZ trio's fan-base, prompted solely by word-of-mouth, comes as no surprise to longtime fans. When all around us is in flux, laughter is priceless. 

Contents:
The premiere
"Get me Rex Kramer!"
Kentucky Fried Theater
Bob and Julie
Madison
Leslie
Dial-A-Fart
Hollywood
Stucker
The Tonight Show
Zero Hour!
Landis
Kentucky Fried Movie
Beaver's Mom
The movie business
Back to the drawing board
The studios
Michael Eisner
Paramount
Howard
Kareem
Culver City Studios
There are no rules
Postproduction
Success at last