Surely, and truly: New book shares backstory of ‘Airplane!’

NEW YORK (AP) — “Surely You Can’t Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane!”, an oral history of the 1980 comedy classic, will be published Oct. 3 by St. Martin’s Press. The book includes memories from the writing-directing teams of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker, along with comments from surviving cast members and such famous admirers as David Letterman, Maya Rudolph and Jeff Bridges. The blockbuster spoof starred Leslie Nielsen, who died in 2010, and a cast ranging from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Barbara Billingsley. The Library of Congress has formally endorsed the movie, adding it to the National Film Registry.