DISPATCH FROM THE DENVER FILM FESTIVAL • DAY 5

Today, our daily coverage of the 48th Denver Film Festival takes a brief detour for an emergency landing at Sunday’s fun 45th anniversary screening of “Airplane!” which featured an on-stage conversation with co-director David Zucker and actor Robert Hays at the sold-out Paramount Theatre in downtown Denver.

The much-anticipated gathering promised a showing of “The Unreleased Director’s Cut,” which turned out to be “The Released Director’s Cut” from back in 1980. In other words, there was no added content, no remastered digitizing, no deleted scenes. Turns out that was all just a rather brilliant marketing joke – and if you didn’t take that joke very well, then you probably aren’t the kind of film fan who descended on the Paramount on Sunday for the pure nostalgic pleasure of laughing at some of the most stupid yet cutting-edge, inappropriate, politically incorrect laughs in movie history – along with 1,800 other brethrens of stupid.

It was a rather glorious rewatch. The movie, which lampooned 25 years of pop-culture zeitgeist, from “Jaws” to “Saturday Night Fever” to “From Here to Eternity” to Ronald Reagan, holds up startlingly well. 

That said, of the approximately 2,453 punchlines, puns and sight gags in the film (guessing), approximately 2,442 could never – ever! – make it into a similar movie being made today. Which is too bad, because nothing has the unique ability to unify disparate people in divided times than pure silliness.

You know, like Peter Graves, who was famous at the time for playing the covert intelligence leader in the popular “Mission Impossible” TV series, asking an impressionable young boy: “Joey, have you ever been in a Turkish prison?” (It was a reference to “Midnight Express,” one of the most popular films of 1978.) No sacred cows here.

It is impossible to overstate the impact that “Airplane’s” rebellious comedy stylings had on both audiences and all comedies to follow. At the time, we simply could not believe what they were getting away with: Beaver’s mom translating jive. A series of passengers committing suicide rather than listen to Hays’ war-damaged pilot character drone on. A proper young white girl saying of her coffee, “I take it black – like my men.” You had to see the film again and again to get all the jokes you missed over all the laughter.

“Airplane!” cost $3.5 million to make and grossed $83 million at the box office. That’s $328 million in today’s dollars. But its greatest legacy remains this: It elevated stupid to an art form.

Colorado’s Trey Parker and Matt Stone were watching in 1980. The moderator of Sunday’s post-screening talk in Denver quoted the “South Park” creators as saying that, as boys, “Airplane!” was to them the “Star Wars” of comedies.

“We just remember being in the theater and thinking like this is a whole different kind of comedy. The tone of it was just something we’ve never seen before and thought was so funny. We went to see it several times with different friends. It was a really big deal.”

That post-screening convo brought out some fascinating facts about the movie – and, regrettably, a few sorta creepy remarks from Zucker and Hays long the way.

The fun stuff:

“Airplane!” is a full-on parody of the forgotten 1957 film “Zero Hour,” in which a traumatized war veteran must take over an imperiled commercial flight after everyone who ate fish becomes sick – including the pilots. A doctor keeps sticking his head into the cockpit, like Leslie Nielsen. The captain is visited by a boy named Joey.

The pilot in “Zero Hour” was Pro Football Hall of Famer Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch, which inspired the stunt casting of Kareem-Abdul Jabbar as the “Airplane!” co-pilot.

“It looks like they got the production accountant to play the co-pilot in ‘Zero Hour,’” Zucker deadpanned on Sunday. Two decades later, stunt-casting athletes in movies was becoming a thing again – like O.J. Simpson in “Capricorn One.” “And so we thought, ‘Why don’t we get an athlete to play the co-pilot?’” Zucker said. “Our first choice was Pete Rose, but we were filming in the summer, and he was doing baseball.

“Our executive producer sent the script to Kareem’s agent with an offer of $25,000, but he turned it down. And we said back, ‘Well, what do we have to do?’ And his agent says, ‘Kareem wants this expensive Persian rug for his collection, and it costs $30,000. So if you can add $5,000, then I will let him buy the rug.’ And he said yes.

“Two months later, there was an article about Kareem in Time Magazine – and there he is, pictured with a Persian rug.”

Zucker said several stars campaigned to play Capt. Ted Striker, including Barry Manilow. Others were courted, like David Letterman. “He was funny and he had leading-man books, but he didn’t want to be an actor,” Zucker said. Hays got the role, in large part, because he wasn’t trying to be funny.

We also learned that Julie Hagerty beat out both Shelley Long and Sigourney Weaver for the role of Elaine. And that Barbara Billingsley (the Beaver’s mom) only became the Jive Lady after Harriet Nelson declined. 

It was all a hoot. That is, until Hays said something about a co-star’s baby fat, and Zucker was asked by an audience member what it was like to work with Simpson on the “Naked Gun” franchise. “I really don’t want to talk about him,” said Zucker, which was the right answer. Until, prodded, he attempted a truly horrible joke about selling Simpson his knife collection. The audience groaned – and not in the good way.

But who’s ever to say where the line is? That’s kind of the whole point of “Airplane!”

Hays then tried to rescue Zucker with an O.J. joke of his own, and it kind of worked. (Maybe because it was actually funny.)

“His acting was like his murdering,” Hays said. “He got away with it – but nobody believed him.”

NIECY’S DAY IN THE SUN

OK, back to the Denver Film Festival. 

Sunday was a glorious celebration of accomplishment and authenticity when actor Niecy Nash-Betts accepted Denver Film’s fourth CinemaQ LaBahn Ikon Award at the Denver Botanic Gardens. The award is presented each year to an artist from the LGBTQIA+ community whose work has made a lasting cultural impact. This just two weeks after being named Time Magazine’s Out100 Icon of the Year.

I asked Nash-Betts about her acting range. How is it possible that the same actor who played the self-obsessed and obliviously abusive Deputy Raineesha Williams on the all-improvised comedy “Reno 911!” also won an Emmy Award for playing Jeffrey Dahmer’s terrified real-life neighbor in “Monster”? Turns out, Niecy’s range is all the rage.

“Listen, let me tell you something,” she told me in jest. “I just heard a rumor on the street that the industry has given me the moniker ‘Niecy: The Range.’ I didn’t know that, but I appreciate it so much because that particular gift is really rare: People who can make you laugh and can make you cry – and I am grateful for it.

“When I first said I wanted to become an actor, someone said, ‘Well, do you want to be a comedic actor? A dramatic actor? A TV host? What?’ And I said, ‘Yes, yes to all of that.’”

Nash-Betts was twice wed to men before marrying her now wife, Jennifer Betts, in 2020. Their officiant was actor Colman Domingo, who was the inaugural recipient of Denver Film’s LaBahn Award back in 2022.

“He was the perfect person to officiate my wedding because he understands my relationship; he understands our friendship; and I just love him so much,” Nash-Betts said, with a twist: “He didn’t wear the perfect outfit, though. He wasn’t a fashionista back then.”

And as for succeeding Coleman with this award, she added: “Listen, my friend is one of the kindest and gentlest souls I know. And so much talent in one body. I mean, if this is a passing of the torch – then I humbly accept.”

Nash-Betts said being honored with an impact award in 2025 from a community she did not publicly identify as a member of until five years ago is especially meaningful to her. 

“Let me just tell you: I have been received with open arms by this community,” she said. “I really did not know how impactful just loving who you love out loud would be in the world. It is my hope and my prayer that my spouse and I are part of just normalizing loving who you love.”

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY

Creede, Colorado’s first of two days in the film festival spotlight is today’s first screening of the documentary “Creede U.S.A.” at 3 p.m. at the Holiday Theater, 2644 W. 32nd Ave. It’s followed by a chat with filmmakers, residents and reps from Creede Repertory Theatre. They’ll do it all over again at 11 a.m. Wednesday.

DUAL SCREENINGS OF THE DAY

Two big awards will be presented at simultaneous screenings Tonight (Tuesday), so pick your cinematic elixir:

• The iconic Gus Van Sant receives the Excellence in Directing Award after a 7 p.m. screening of “Dead Man’s Wire” at the Holiday Theater. The film is being favorably compared to “Dog Day Afternoon,” another true and truly bizarre heist film. It’s being hailed as a timely exploration of how disillusionment can lead to extreme actions thanks to powerful performances from Dacre Montgomery as hostage and Bill Skarsgård as hostage-taker.

• “The Chronology of Water,” Kristen Stewart’s debut as a film director, is being described as “an astonishingly poetic and raw piece of filmmaking.” The film, which adapts Lidia Yuknavitch‘s 2011 memoir, follows her journey from an abusive childhood to competitive swimming to drug and alcohol addiction, and finally to becoming a writer. Imogen Poots, who delivers a fearless, career-defining performance, will be here to receive the fest’s Excellence in Acting Award. 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Denver Botanic Gardens

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“The piece of advice that I have used the most was from my grandmother. She said: ‘Pull up, push through, and never look like what you’re going through.” – Niecy Nash-Betts

DISCOUNT TICKETS

Adventurous moviegoers looking for a bargain will find them at this year’s fest. Each day, Denver Film is designating a few films or events that can be had for $5 when purchased in person. Box offices open 30 minutes before the first screening of the day.

Tuesday’s $5 films or events:

• “La Grazia,” 12:30 p.m. at the Sie FilmCenter (Italy)

• “Creede U.S.A.,” 3 p.m. at the Holiday (U.S.)

• “Two Prosecutors,” 3:45 p.m. at the Sie FilmCenter (France and six others)

• “Promised Sky”/”Promis le ciel,” 4 p.m. at the Sie FilmCenter (Tunisia and two others)

TICKETS AND INFORMATION

Go to denverfilm.org

John Moore is the Denver Gazette’s Senior Arts Journalist. Email him at john.moore@denvergazette.com.

MORE OF OUR DENVER FILM FESTIVAL COVERAGE:

• Our interview with Delroy Lindo

• Here are five films you don’t want to miss

• Look who’s coming to Denver 

• Spotlight on Colorado films like ‘Creede U.S.A.’

• Daily Dispatch from the Denver Film Festival: Oct. 31

• Daily Dispatch from the Denver Film Festival: Nov. 1

• Daily Dispatch from the Denver Film Festival: Nov. 2

• Daily Dispatch from the Denver Film Festival: Nov. 3