And when that moment comes, youre hopefully ready. For example, you worked with one of the best, Mike Nichols. Read more. He said, Aug. Actor Adolph Green, who played Leo Silver in this MGM movie, was a veteran actor of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. (music by) Cinematography by Film Editing by Richard Chew . Fledgling comic Benjy Stone (Mark Linn-Baker) can't believe his luck when his childhood hero, the swashbuckling matinee idol Alan Swann (Peter O'Toole), gets booked to appear on the variety show he writes for. Brooksfilms. Then he said to me, Why dont you get OToole? He said, We do this all the time. Swann mentors Benjy, and Benjy is unable to prevent the drunken star from crashing a party at the home of K.C. At the beginning of the film, Benjy Stone is carrying a cardboard cutout of Alan Swann into the RCA Building; as he dashes to an elevator in the lobby, the theatrical version jumps to Benjy's arrival in the writers' office. Benjy narrates the epilogue, relating that Swann, his confidence bolstered, visits his daughter the next day, enjoying a heartfelt reunion. During the week of rehearsals, Kaiser is threatened by gangster Karl Rojeck, a corrupt union boss who objects to being parodied on the show. The motion pictures were 'Yes, Giorgio' (1982) and 'My Favorite Year' (1982). I do remember that one of the first things we shot was the scene in Central Park where Alan Swann mounts the horse. Exquisite period detail and a intelligent screenplay, that is full of priceless moments and witty one liners. The script's soul-searching moments feel forced, but the comedy quotient is top-notch. At one point, Alan Swann says that doing the TV show was the most fun and the hardest work since the world was young. His agent didnt know where he was. Actress Priscilla Kovary portrayed a character, Priscilla, who had the same first name as her own. And the next thing you know, he was gone.But Norman and I came up with one of the best jokes in the movie while we were standing in his driveway watching him drive away. Genre: This might be the reason why you love Disneyland and superheroes so much, but it could also mean that you're an older person who has feelings of nostalgia for such a past. Benjy Stone, the narrator, recalls the week (in his "favorite year" of 1954) when he met his idol, swashbuckling actor Alan Swann (inspired by Errol Flynn, whose title roles such as that in Captain Blood would be evoked by Swann's imagined one in Captain from Tortuga). The nicknames of Stan Kaiser (Joseph Bologna) are "King" and "King Kaiser.". Maybe you had a magical and whimsical childhood that was full of Disney movies, TV shows and fun toys to play with. | Original Score: 5/5 [5], My Favorite Year opened in theaters on October 1, 1982, to $2,400,696 (#3, behind An Officer and a Gentlemen's 11th weekend and E.T. Trying to get Mel to stop moving is a feat. | Jun 4, 2003. | Original Score: 4/5 The painting above the couch in Belle Steinberg's apartment is a landscape of Texas bluebonnets, which seems strange when taking into consideration that the scene takes place in Brooklyn. You have a high endurance level, and you try to remain calm even in difficult situations. The scene is Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows, one of the most popular teevee shows of the time, the budding years of the new all pervasive medium. Swann and Benjy observe the melee from the balcony. He is perfect for this. Finney said it, Paula said it. And he heeded Carl Reiner, who gave him succinct advice about making a comedy: Get funny people.. Full Review This quiz has 2 formats: you can play it as a Timed Quiz Game or as shown below. Mikes thing was hed come up to you very quietly and say, Just like in real life. That was his main thing. They told me I had to go up there and convince him to do the film; otherwise they couldnt make the movie. 1h 32m. Benjy clumsily and overenthusiastically courts K.C. 3 5 6 10 So, which season best represents your personality? My agent, David Gersh, sent the script by Norman [Steinberg] andDennis [Palumbo, credited as co-writer due to the Screen Writers Guild arbitration]. I remember reading it in the hotel room and as I finished, I said, This is everything I know. I was in high school when Your Show of Shows was on. Spector was found guilty of second degree murder and on May 29, 2009, he was sentenced to a prison term of 19 years to life. As the "Boss Hijack" sketch gets under way, Rojeck's men appear backstage and attack Kaiser. [citation needed], The character Herb, a comedy writer who whispers rather than speaks, is based on Neil Simon, another of Caesar's staff writers, who, according to Carl Reiner, whispered ideas to colleagues rather than trying to shout to be heard above the din of the noisy writers' room. Stone is commissioned to baby-sit Swann (O'Toole) after the latter has a disastrous encounter with the show's star, King Kaiser, as a result of a drinking binge. & many more results. The version of "My Favorite Year" syndicated to (American) broadcast television contains at least three extra scenes: Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations. By creating an account, you agree to the He kept saying he would give Norman and I two full days to sit down and go over the script to see if we could make it even funnier. | Nov 15, 2003, Full Review 84. Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz! And I was thinking, I have to go tell Peter OToole that he has to pick up the pace and it has to be lighter. I went up to him and said, Its good, but and before I could finish, he said, You want it faster and funnier. I said, Youve got it, and he said, And you shall have it. And I thought, This directing thing is not so hard. (laughs). For his first film as a director, he had been looking for a comedy (Im just kind of bent that way, he jokes) and the stars aligned to bring him a script that, he says, was everything he knew. In the screening with it, the audience enjoyed the picture, but the scene put a pall over things. Full Review Privacy Policy When this occurs, Tax Day gets bumped to the following Monday - except when it doesn't. This brings us to the second reason: April 17 is when Emancipation Day in the District of Columbia is celebrated this year. The next day, on the dot, he called and he said to turn to the last page of the script. Set in 1954 New York, director Richard Benjamin's first effort, My Favorite Year (1982), is the story of an alcoholic former star of Hollywood's Golden Age and his inability to adapt to the live television programs of the fifties. I said, This is my first movie, I cant cast the first person who walks in here. I saw maybe 25 to 35 moresome really good peoplebut she was right, so after all of that, I said to get him. I called his manager and said, Were trying to find your client. He said, Hes at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Swann's young daughter Tess has been raised entirely by her mother, one of his many ex-wives. Cinemark I would get on the phone with my friend Shelley Berger, who I am still close to, and we would do all these routines they had done on the show on Saturday night. They learn much about each other, finding out that they each have family whom they want to remain out of the spotlight. I lose count watching My Favorite Year of how many great scenes there are in it. The movie concludes on a saccharine note intended to send you away smiling and it might, if you like fairy tales where no alcoholic is unlovable. Cameron Mitchell was offered his part after the filmmakers happened to see him in the studio commissary while discussing who to cast as Rojeck. Your favorite color is blue. What is your favorite type of music? The scene between Selma Diamond and Peter O'Toole in the ladies room, where she catches him using the wrong restroom by mistake and the ensuing dialog between them, was based on an anecdotal incident between John Barrymore and a wardrobe girl on the set of Midnight (1939). Also, one of the lines Swann uses was based on something said by Flynn's good friend, John Barrymore, an actor who also had a drinking problem. Scroll down to the bottom for the answer key. Image: Fjola Dogg Thorvalds/ Moment / Getty Images, Special Offer on Antivirus Software From HowStuffWorks and TotalAV Security, Catherine Falls Commercial/ Moment / Getty Images, 10'000 Hours/ DigitalVision / Getty Images, Klaus Vedfelt/ DigitalVision / Getty Images, Emanuel M Schwermer/ DigitalVision / Getty Images, Stanley Chen Xi, landscape and architecture photographer/ Moment / Getty Images, Luis Alvarez/ DigitalVision / Getty Images, Hill Street Studios/ DigialVision/ Getty Images, Jose A. Bernat Bacete/ Moment / Getty Images, Kseniya Ovchinnikova/ Moment / Getty Images, Towfiqu Photography/ Moment / Getty Images. The names of some of the TV variety "Comedy Cavalcade" show skits seen or referred to in the film were the "Boss Hijack" and "The Musketeer" sketches. Now, in the original script, theres a scene which I shot that would have played after whats in the movie. So, Im on this mission, because if he says yes, Im going to get to make a movie. Swann's limo is a 1951 Cadillac Fleetwood 75. | Original Score: 4/5 I cant say there was a favorite. The appearance of the hero, in full character mode, to save an underling from the real-life bad guys also was seen in Hearts of the West (1975). And one says, I think Alan Swanns beneath us, and the other guy says, Of course hes beneath us, hes an actor.I cannot imagine anyone but Peter OToole as Alan Swann. The restaurant scene has Alan Swann stealing another man's date. Or you could be someone who spent all their free time studying and reading for school, which may have influenced your love for puzzles and brain games. Albert Finney had been offered the role, but he had not committed. Was that what making My Favorite Year was like for you?It was the most fun, theres no question of that. Peter O'Toole's Best Actor Oscar-nominated performance was the only one in the category not in a Best Picture nominee that year. The list of people M-G-M would go with was very short, because who are you going to believe with a sword in their hands? Start this quiz to find your result. I turn something down, he does it, he turns something down, I do it. When I got back home, Paula who had made WHATS NEW PUSSYCAT? He thought the script was really good, but he had done two or three movies in a row and he said he wanted to get back to the theater. I came to him before we shot and I said, The camera is so close, I cant pad this wall. He said, I was brought up in music hall. With the exception of his performance in The Stunt Man (1980) two years earlier, My Favorite Year was O'Toole's most critically acclaimed performance since The Ruling Class in 1972 and he still hasn't topped it. According to Cameron Mitchell, his Boss character was based on Jimmy Hoffa, while the character of Herb was modeled after Neil Simon. He directed me in the national company of Barefoot in the Park and [the film] CATCH-22 [1970]. The new tax law was a boon to Cindy and Jeff, who just bought a home. | Original Score: 3/5 What is your favorite food? The star of the TV Show is called King Kaiser and is based on Sid Caesar. Answer some fun questions and find out. I grew up loving Errol Flynn and those swashbuckling movies. By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and So, Im actually talking to Peter OToole, and he said he had heard about the project and to send him a script and we would get together the next day. A delightfully, zany film and one of my personal favorite comedies of all time. | Original Score: 4.0/4.0 Then he comes back, and he said he had to go, that there was a crisis at Fox. In the street scene following the "hot dog" shot, the block Benjy and Swann are walking in is a real NY street dressed for 1954. What is another word for a kitten's whiskers? Let's take a brief look at the life you've lived so far. It was a magical experience because of the screenplay and everyone involved. 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