WTF Happened to Airplane?

Surely the making of one of the funniest movies ever made can’t be that serious…and it really isn’t! OK, 1980’s AIRPLANE! was a tough sell and there were minor clashes between the directors and Paramount and lawsuits from a rival studio threatened the casting of numerous stars. But there was also perfect against-type casting, clever workarounds to silly DGA regulations and a complete reinvention of the spoof movie, all of which made AIRPLANE! one of the greatest comedies ever.. Oh, and there were fart machines, too!

And so let’s park the taxi, avoid the fish and check in on our drinking problem as we find out: WTF Happened to this movie?!

#Airplane #wtfhappenedtothismovie

[joshuahoover]

When my daughter was about 10 years old we were driving somewhere when she turns me and says daddy daddy, there's a problem with the engine! I was very confused so I turned her and said what what is it?
She responded it's the big metal thing underneath the hood in the front of the car but that's not important right now!

That's when I knew I parented good

[willswalkingwest]

Peter Graves. I worked at Disney between 1996 and 2001. My job gave me the opportunity to see every guest name in every room in every hotel on Disney property.
We were forbidden from acknowledging and celebrities, they were treated like normal guests, at least from my position.
And going and finding a celebrity would get you fired.
I have never really been star struck, I've met a few celebrities, mostly meh.
ANYWAY. I saw that Peter Graves was on property. He was staying at the Contemporary Hotel, next to the Magic Kingdom.
So on my day off, I went over there, as I did often but today I was going to keep an eye out for Mr. Graves.
After eating and walking around I figured I'd go up to his floor for the hell of it.
So I go up there and start walking towards his room. And suddenly his door opens up and he's walking towards me.
I do the "Hello Mr. Graves".
He was polite, he stopped to say hi.
Then I said, "Can you do the line?"
He got a bit frustrated, not angry, just a little annoyed and he said, "I never said that line on the show!".
Apparently he thought I wanted him to say the "This tape will self destruct in 10 seconds..." from Mission Impossible.
He said EVERYONE still asked him to say that. But he didn't say that on the show.
So I said, "No! the line from Airplane." "You ever seen a grown
He started laughing hard. He swore that NO ONE ever asked him to say that.
So he asks me my name. I said, "Bill".
So he puts his hand on my shoulder, looks straight at me and goes, "Tell me something Billy, You ever seen a grown man naked?"
He started laughing hard as he walked away. I was so chuffed.

[trinaq]

Leslie Nielsen is so iconic in this film. You'd never have guessed that he was once a dramatic actor, before making the switch to comedy. I was also surprised at learning that the basic plot of this film was lifted from a 50's movie, they just added the comedic elements.

[gunslinger]

"The hospital! What is it?"
"It's a big building with patients, but that's not important right now."

[randysmith]

Airplane, Blues Brothers, and Caddyshack all released the same summer. How times have changed.

[Great_Sandwich]

"Johnny, what can you make of this?"
"Well, I can make a hat...or I can make a brooch, or a pterodactyl..."

[Menhtrol]

"i take it Black, like my men."😂

[gnarlin]

That means that there's a two hour cut of Airplane out there. I'd love to see that.

[sfdudeca]

Okay, I’m gonna age myself here, but I saw this movie in the summer of 1980. The entire audience that night could not stop laughing uproariously. Everyone had a GREAT time. A lady sitting next to me seem to be crying since her eyes were tearing up from so much laughter. “Airplane” is GREAT stuff!!

[rhinox]

I haven't felt this awful since we saw that Ronald Reagan film.

[SignificanceOfThePassageOfTime]

“Just hang loose blood, we gonna catch a rebound on the medi-side.” -Mrs. Clever

[davidsoom]

I worked at an intl. airport when the movie came out. For months all the pilots, flight attendents, baggage handlers etc.would put on impromptu skits right out of the movie using our equipment as perfect props. My favorite was when a mechanic on a lift took an oil dipstick up to the jets window to show the captain in the cockpit.

[paulmckinstry]

After watching this movie numerous times over the best part of 40 years, I must confess I've never noticed the propellor engine sounds 😂

[jean-guygeoffroy]

We have clearance, Clarence.
Roger, Roger.
What's our vector, Victor?

😂😂😂

[kj]

I'm a lawyer and one day in court a judge asked me something that started with believe me when I tell you it was only the fear of being found in contempt of court that kept me from answering the question and then saying "And don't call me Shirley."

[Sashazur]

“They accidentally stumbled upon a movie called Zero Hour … they thought they could remake it altogether”
…
“THEY ACCIDENTALLY STUMBLED UPON A MOVIE CALLED ZERO HOUR…”

[jackmclaughlin]

My mother is Chinese and has always been stoic and serious. We caught this on tv one night and she laughed her ass off !!!!

[mark.]

God I love this film much.
And I love that the comments section is basicly the entire script.

"shouldn't we turn the runway lights on?"
"No! That's just what they'll be expecting us to do!"

[HardRockMiner]

- "That's a totally different thing all together."

- That's a totally different thing.

[erictaylor]

I was able to seriously impress a nurse when, in the ER I explained I was having an issue with my bowels. When asked "What is it? and I said, "It's a long tube in your body where your food goes, but that's not important right now."
Turns out she had seen Airplane! for the first time just the night before.
She loved it and went around telling her coworkers what I had done, and as I was leaving I saw her on break talking on the phone, talking to her BF.
How weird would it be to watch a 42 year old movie for the first time and the very next day someone uses a joke line form it on you.
Sometimes, life times things perfectly.