It very nearly did. It is ALWAYS a world where such a project is nearly discarded. The way they got it made, and I've got a DVD with 'making of' commentary about this, is by working insanely hard and cramming in so many jokes at such a breakneck pace that the result is just giddy, demented comedy.
That will ALWAYS be possible. You don't get to half-ass it and think just being offensive is enough. Check out the Red Letter Media take on 'Top Secret': these producers had a LOT more going on than just being offensive, and that is absolutely a factor in 'Airplane', hugely so.
The secret is that the offensiveness is only one of many surprises executed at a audacious, rapid pace. In 'Top Secret' they got considerably more surrealist, but that's exactly when you can get away with an offensive joke: disorient with confusion, then pull a silly gag where it's apparently mean but the target of the gag is actually the straw-man power guy (HEDley…)
No matter WHEN you're doing this, if you half-ass it you've got no chance. Comedy's actually a lot of work.
> taste and culture are local phenomena. Genius is above that
A movie is a commercial enterprise created in the local time and space. They are converting so called "genius" into a medium to communicate it.
Too early / too late, too slow / too fast. Get it wrong and genius is not genius at all it is just stupidity. There is quite a bit of selection bias when you consider that the subject matter is 40 years old, and how many brilliant minds have tried and failed over that period.
Find the secret to threading the genius through the eye of the needle and you have gold.
That will ALWAYS be possible. You don't get to half-ass it and think just being offensive is enough. Check out the Red Letter Media take on 'Top Secret': these producers had a LOT more going on than just being offensive, and that is absolutely a factor in 'Airplane', hugely so.
The secret is that the offensiveness is only one of many surprises executed at a audacious, rapid pace. In 'Top Secret' they got considerably more surrealist, but that's exactly when you can get away with an offensive joke: disorient with confusion, then pull a silly gag where it's apparently mean but the target of the gag is actually the straw-man power guy (HEDley…)
No matter WHEN you're doing this, if you half-ass it you've got no chance. Comedy's actually a lot of work.