April 25, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Leslie Unger - (310) 247-3000
                        lunger@oscars.org
      

“Airplane!” Lands at Academy

Pictured here: Julie Hagerty, who plays Elaine in the film, Leslie Nielsen (background), who plays Dr. Rumack and Otto, who plays himslef.

Beverly Hills, CA — Writers/directors Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker and actor Robert Hays will be among the participants in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ cast and crew reunion and screening of “Airplane!” on Friday, May 19, at 8 p.m. Academy Governor and producer Hawk Koch, whose father’s company produced the film, will serve as host and moderator for the discussion. The event will take place in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

The legendary comedy is structured around the fateful flight of a commercial airliner. After the crew becomes sick from eating bad fish, an ex-Navy pilot is called upon to safely land the plane, which counts singing nuns and jive-talking dudes among its passengers. “Airplane!” (1980) stars Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Julie Hagerty, Robert Hays, Leslie Nielsen, Lorna Patterson, Robert Stack, Stephen Stucker and the inflatable Otto. With an endless barrage of one-liners and sight gags, this spoof of 1970s disaster movies helped usher in a genre of films that continues to this day.

Tickets for “Airplane!” go on sale May 1 for $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members. The may be purchased in advance at the Academy during regular business hours, by mail, or if still available on the night of the screening when the doors open at 7 p.m. The Academy is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For more information call 310-247-3600.

Editors: Please note that downloadable images are available at http://photos.oscars.org/.

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