Do you realize that every time you read a book without pictures you become a production designer, casting director, and costume designer? Hell, you can be a director if you want to. Whether you know it or not, when you read a book without pictures, your brain fills in the blank spots. You can see the people, how they are dressed, which way they are moving, and what it looks like around them. Neat, huh?... (read more: click \'Introduction\' on menu above)
The Mysteries of Italy’s Ancient Torries are Revealed in “Barbarossa and the Towers of Italy” This film is the story of the thousands of torries built along the coast of Italy, each one in view of the other, to protect the villages from invasion of armies and marauding pirates roaming the Mediterranean Sea. These watchtowers are situated in some of the most beautiful and spectacular places on the planet, and have survived attacks by man and nature for thousands of years. The film... (more...)
A short video about the first time I met Mel Brooks and how I won the job on Blazing Saddles. I also talk about my friendship with Jack Starrett and our work on Cleopatra Jones. Read More →
Video clip: A short story about the first time I met Miss Katharine Hepburn, and the wild ride around Culver City… Read More →
I am often asked, with all the pictures I’ve done what my favorite is. It has to be this one. Look at my record; Nuclear destruction of the world, an insane western, another insane piece set in an insane asylum. (There’s a poetic fit for you.), a river boat – whore house, black exploitation pictures, and God only knows how many murders I have helped create. Now my dear friend, Richard Colla comes to me with a script. “Here,” he says, “this is a lovely little fairy tale starring... (more...)
Just knowing Anne Bancroft was such a thrill for me. But to work with her was icing on the cake. I have been in love with her, seems like all my life. Still am, even though she’s no longer with us. She and Mel were the perfect couple; an Italian Catholic and a Jew. A match made in heaven. And who knew Dom Deluise was such a good actor? Original Trailer for Fatso: Read More →
A short video about Harvey Korman and the Teutonic Twat… Read More →
It’s night. A dark, hot, dusty, and lonely night. Out on the edge of Lagos, Nigeria, you might as well be on the edge of nowhere. You’ve been drinking Cognac in a dive called the Bamboo Cabin, and it’s time to get out of there. The natives are getting as restless as you are. You’re waiting. It seems you’re always waiting. But the cognac has started to kick in, and it’s good to be alone. The shortcut back to the flat is dark, no moon, no ambient light. The trail through the bush is... (more...)
The little people did leave me with many memories. To put it mildly, I ain’t a big guy, but they made me feel like one. One morning we were preparing to shoot. It was very foggy, and the little people had on their Munchkin costumes. All those bright colors and ruffles, and those high voices made them seem like a garden of human flowers. There I was, standing in the middle of them. They were moving about and talking, and I was towering over them. I really did feel like John Wayne in a garden. ... (more...)
Late one sunny Kansas morning I was standing in a field of wildflowers in an area down by the Kansas River the runs through Lawrence. A great arched bridge was in the top of my frame, and I was sketching a set I was planning to put there. It was listed in the script as a tent city, but my sketch was turning into much more. Before my eyes a field of wildflowers was becoming a smoke-and-debris-choked gathering place for a number of victims who were unlucky enough not to have been blown to bits in... (more...)
