Mel Brooks in the Cultural Industries: Survival and Prolonged Adaptation

ISBN-13: 9780748649587 / Angielski / Twarda / 2012 / 232 str.

Alex Symons

Opis

Which strategies has Mel Brooks used to survive, adapt and thrive in the cultural industries? How has he gained his reputation as a multimedia survivor? Alex Symons takes a unique, artist-focused approach in order to systematically identify the range of Brooks's adaptation strategies across the Hollywood film, Broadway theatre and American television industries.By combining a cultural industries approach together with that of adaptation studies, this book also identifies an important new industrial practice employed by Brooks - defined here as 'prolonged adaptation'. More significantly, Symons also employs this method to explain the so far neglected way that Brooks's adaptations have contributed towards changing production trends, changes in critical attitudes, and towards the ongoing integration of the cultural industries today. An essential read for film students and scholars researching adaptation, this refreshing new approach will also be valued by everyone studying the cultural industries.

Spis treści

Introduction 1

A New Perspective on Mel Brooks 2

Mel Brooks: ‘Multimedia Survivor’ in the Cultural

Industries 7

Materials and Methods 12

1 Rethinking Adaptation Studies: Survival Strategies in the

Cultural Industries 20

Adaptations in the Modern Cultural Industries 21

Adaptation Terminology 28

Remediation 29

Hybridisation 30

Intermediality 32

Synergy 33

Prolonged Adaptation 35

Conclusion 41

2 From Sitcoms to ‘Parody-coms’: Writing for American TV,

1949–89 48

The Intermedial Origins of the American Sitcom,

1949–57 50

Get Smart: Reviving the American Sitcom, 1965–70 53

The Modern Transformation of the American Sitcom,

1975–89 60

When Things Were Rotten (ABC, 1975) 63

The Nutt House (NBC, 1989) 67

3 Prolonged Stardom: Audio Records, TV and Film, 1961–2004 79

Adapting the 2000 Year Old Man, 1961–83 83

Hollywood Film Actor, 1974–87 89

A Transitional Performance: Life Stinks (1991) 93

Comedy Legend and Sitcom Actor, 1995–2004 97

4 Recycled Hollywood for the TV Generation: The Rise of

Parody and the Fall of Mel Brooks the Director, 1974–95 110

vi contents

Rethinking New Hollywood: Intermedial Blockbusters in

1974 115

Blazing Saddles (1974) 118

Young Frankenstein (1974) 124

A New Film-Focused Strategy: The Fall of Mel Brooks,

1987–95 127

Spaceballs (1987) 130

Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993) 136

Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995) 141

5 The Integration of the Film and Theatre Industries: The

Producers, 1968–2007 154

The Producers (1968) 156

The Modern Revival of The Producers (1968) 161

The Broadway Adaptation: The Producers (2001) 163

Remade in Hollywood: The Producers (2005) 173

Conclusion 185

Bibliography 198

Index 217

　

Introduction

A New Perspective on Mel Brooks

Mel Brooks: ‘Multimedia Survivor’ in the Cultural Industries

Materials and Methods

1. Rethinking Adaptation Studies: Survival Strategies in the Cultural Industries

Adaptations in the Modern Cultural Industries

Adaptation Terminology

Remediation

Hybridisation

Intermediality

Synergy

Prolonged Adaptation

Conclusion

2. From Sitcoms to ‘Parody-coms’: Writing for American TV, 1949-1989

The Intermedial Origins of the American Sitcom, 1949-1957

Get Smart: Reviving the American Sitcom, 1965-1970

The Modern Transformation of the American Sitcom, 1975-1989

When Things Were Rotten (ABC, 1975)

The Nutt House (NBC, 1989)

3. Prolonged Stardom: Audio Records, TV, and Film, 1961-2004

Adapting the 2000 Year Old Man, 1961-1983

Hollywood Film Actor, 1974-1987

A Transitional Performance: Life Stinks (1991)

Comedy Legend and Sitcom Actor, 1995-2004

4. Recycled Hollywood for the TV Generation: The Rise of Parody and the Fall of Mel Brooks the Director, 1974-1995

Rethinking New Hollywood: Intermedial Blockbusters in 1974

Blazing Saddles (1974)

Young Frankenstein (1974)

A New Film-Focused Strategy: The Fall of Mel Brooks, 1987-1995

Spaceballs (1987)

Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)

Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995)

5. The Integration of the Film and Theatre Industries: The Producers, 1968-2007

The Producers (1968)

The Modern Revival of The Producers (1968)

The Broadway Adaptation: The Producers (2001)

Remade in Hollywood: The Producers (2005)

Conclusion

Bibliography

Index