A Rabbi in Hollywood (for English speaking people)

Why I like Mel Brooks ?

In the motion pictures industry there are many rewards. I do not believe much in the awards, praise and rewards, and I like better sometimes those who are not rewarded. The list of non-winners. One of the awards is the Oscar, perhaps the most appreciated. I do like the one of the American Film Association, which is given for life achievement, for the contribution to film culture, including the TV. Like all awards is debatable, subjective. The awards sometimes create bad conscience, unfair issues, with much politicking and beating around the bush. The truth is that like all awards it is granted the human condition.

It started in 1973, so it is young. And we have absences, major absences in the list (Charlie Chaplin ... and many others). There was many great candidates alive in 1973 and many already dead.

For the first candidate there were not many doubts (and we see there were so many candidates !) Mr. John Ford . The 2013 award is to Mr. Mel Brooks . 

Big ceremony with great shows , songs, friends, colleagues, fans, Hollywood buzzing.

Nearly four years ago, at the Kennedy Center  Mr & Mrs Obama plus Bruce Springsteen participated in a tribute to Mr. Brooks. Many great actors repeated the numbers of their films. The president did not seem to understand much grace of jokes. Mr. Brooks enjoyed the performances at his age acting as a schoolboy, repeating the lyrics, the beat of the singers, he wanted to jump, dance, sing and do not stop. His dream, really, was to be Frank Sinatra, he realized that was impossible. He accepted himself as a comedian and he is far from being a good director. He's a smart man. I think he's right. He is quite good joking, about the Jewish neighborhood, Jews in America or wherever they are; his memories, childhood and family, what he heard and saw. Probably the rest bores him, but as a good Jew must live, even making jokes about Jews. Of course, he probably would not admit a joke that is not his, about Jews.

Fortunately Gene Wilder crossed in his life, who provided a touch of witty writing that makes the difference, and put order in the chaos of Mr. Brooks and thus came " The Producers "" The Young Frankenstein, "" Blazing Saddles. " In the latter with the condition that Mr. Brooks would not act.

Then he ventured, with his fantastic wife, to do a remake of "To bo or not to be", being neither Ernst Lubitsch or Jack Benny , or asking for help from Mr. Wilder because the script was the original, who would dare to change it?

He is a comedian and makes me laugh, a very complicated thing. In U.S. I discovered that the TV series in Spain called "The super agent 86" was originally named " Get Smart ". At the end,  in the titles it was written created by Mel Brooks. Of course ! it could not be otherwise.

In the movie "Twelve chairs" someone says: You want the best, expect the worst ", all his own words.

Many thanks Mr. Brooks