A bucket list of interviewing and mel brooks was on it. I saw all of the movies, blazeelling saddles and even life stinks and we have a community that loves the movies and mikey a saying that the movies are clas classic, the jokes are funny. Mel brooks unites families, one saying if you dont love Young Frankenstein you are not in our family. We watch it every year. My grandmothers Favorite Movie history of the world and when she passed away we laughed through the grief in our own way. It is good to be queen. And tooz it is good to be the host. Yes, doing his share to shake things up oen the screen, from space balls to men in heights. In the film history of the world part one, putting a spin on the french revolution and the last supper. Does everybody want soup . We must talk. This could be our last supper. One question, are you all together or separate checks . His humor is known for testing the boundaries of what is politically correct to expose the lines in satires. The Blazing Saddles catching the heat for the scenes. It is a classic. The black sheriff in the Frontier Town of 1874. With an emmy, grammy, oscar and tony under the belt, mel brooks is undeeny able in a league of his own. Welcome. It is a pleasure to be here. We are honored to have you. Any slice of the career is a win for most people and the hits are continuing to come. From the old west, to outer space and cyber space, and now it seems that everything you touch turns to gold, what is in the secret sauce . Well, just enlarge and multiply what people are being and doing and then you have a funny movie. Thats so not true. If that was so simple, everybody would have a funny movie. Something special you do. I think about the movies, right, not mattering whether i talk to my dad who is 74 or a friend of mine in the 20s, Everybody KnowsBlazing Saddles and history of the world, something you connected generationally with the people and what have you tapped into . That is a very good question. I dont know. You know, i suppose you need talent or gifted or you have to take observations and put them through some kind of brain change and come out with a plan for, you know, for presenting comedy. And you have to have the humor and he has that. And the community saying humor is able to bypass the processer. Gary saying that being able to make fun and laugh at such people and nazis and the producers stripping them of the influence and power. Using comedy to examine the subjects and thinking about the beliefs in a new way. As i said earlier to you, i bought a thousand copies of your book to get you here, thank you for saying yes. This is honor me. You have been a major influence on modern comedy and have the gift to talk about slavery and more, and whats the subject now . Oh, i dont know, it might be fox news. Im not sure. You said it, not us. Theres a lot of stuff happening in the world. I mean i would, maybe we should take all of congress, you know, and hang them. I dont know. We cant get anything done because of the , i mean the fighting and the infighting in congress. It is not fair to the public. It is not fair to the general people of america that the political insanity is not helping anybody. Well, not just the political insanity, but what about the Political Correctness and the brilliant thing you have done is making us uncomfortable, but it is uncomfortable in a way to confront the subjects that nowadays are too politically correct to confront, have we gone too far on the politically correct scale . We have, we have gone too far. Tough use the n word or you dont have a bad guy to topple in the end. So it is important to be politically incorrect so you can make your point about whats human and whats good and whats right and you have to be bad to be good. And the community is talking whats the role of the artist here. Nick saying that the artist has free reign without the limits. Mark is saying comedy is intended make the people laugh. Anything is fair game. It is incumbent on the audience to know their limits and walk away. What is the line between being bold, subversive and if you will biggot or prejudice. I dont think there is a line. It is always, you know, it is subjective. Its in the, its in your beginnings. Its our education. It is in our belief. Why are we prejudice. Why do we hate another race or person . We have been taught. My job is to unteach. To do outrageous things that explode new ways of thinking. You know, mel, you can be outrageous and you are amazing at that, but the comedy of three or four decades ago was smart, it was so fis kated and had a point. And now im disappointed in the comedy and do you think that the national taste for what is humor rows changed . No, we were taught with the black and white movies and french atone, and people billy willeder making, we were taught that one act, two act, three act structure and a story and a plot and ending and today i think movies rely behavior without a structure. I learned by watching the black and white fast talking movies of the 20s and 30s that told me these are little playlets and tough write a little play and there needs to be an ending. We have a lot of questions, quick ones before going to break, do you have a favorite scene from the films. Kayly loves Blazing Saddles. Dean asks, who is the funniest person i dont your family. Well, i was. The funny faces peering into the crib. Mel brooks will be taking the questions from the biggest fans and now up your interaction with the show, we have a way to do that. Tv is no longer one way, share your thoughts throughout the show and disagree with the guest, great, tell us, receive graphs and quizzes and interact with the app users in real time. You can be the third cohost, vote, tweet and record the video comments well feature them on air. Use the air and drive the discussions on live tv. You are in the control word. Download it now. How do you get the barber to cut your hair that way . That is a character that mel brooks and the writing team came up with a caesars hour. Mel, your dad passed away when you were two and in some ways sid was a father figure for you and if so, how . I worked with sid, and he was therefore my superior and so i guess he was kind of like my father, but he was kind and cruel like any father should be, but any way, we bonded and we had the same sense of humor. Sids talent was taking fun of human humanity and we we were never country current, we never did anything about the news or nixon and nothing political. We always did the human comedy and sid was gifted and was indeed a genius. He could do humans and pinball machines. He could do anything. Let me Say Something about al jazeera. When al jazeera first on the air i thought it was probably arab and muslim and you know, slanted and maybe a little antise met tick. It is like a breath of fresh air. It is like the New York Times of news, neither nbc on the left or fox on the right. It is giving me the news as earnestly and honestly that i every got it and i salute al jazeera and very happy to be here doing this even though the money is very small. We dont pay well, do we . No, no. Thank you, mr. Brooks. Thank you so much. I am muslim. Im not arab and paying the mel brooks in compliments. We have a huge fan that has a question for you. Take it away. Hi, i want to ask how can you keep [indiscernible] day after day and change your mind to ignore the actual setting . I dont know. It is a good question. You know, it is like, it is the ability to ad lib. Something comes up and you see it and nail it. We had a 90 minute show of the show of shows and all live and 907 minutes and six comedy sketches and just, i dont know, we just did something magical. We just did it. Speaking about the upcoming comedian, ryan here in d. C. And mel brooks has impacted you, take it away. Mel, im curious which historical figure, which funny historical figure is funniest of all times . Louis the 16. He was fooling around and repairing the watches and never they were going to chap chop his head off. You stay up until 3 00 a. M. In the morning every night, what do you do . Between 12 i eat cheerios and 23 i cry and then go to sleep. That is nearly the truth. Laughter and tragedy of life. We have the community tweeting in, comedy makes messages in groups that makes it accessible. How big a role have the film comedies made for the outsider groups and ken conveys a sentiment, in watching the movies as a kid, i was amazed at how you brought the jewish culture to the forefront and a swagger to all of the characters and the jews seen as ethnic and comedy main streamed them and can that help those today like the arabs and mexicans etc. Well except for lesbians you are right. Im kidding. I just took that opportunity. I agree if there is really a funny guy and he happens to be muslim, hes funny. And we are going to love him and be grateful to him for making us lauf and appreciating things. The women that you have worked with in hollywood saying it is miserable making comedies with some of the men but you it is always great you let the women be sexy and funny and that is a rare find and it is still tough for the female comedians in hollywood. Why is that tough . There is a great deal of male prejudice and i think even comics, i hate to say this, like doing things at the improve, male comics didnt think that females or ladies had the right kind of forethought or timing or explosive power, and that is bull, nonsense. Sara silverman that kills me and ellen degeneres. It is nonsense. Ladies are just as funny as men and not as funny looking but funny. Mel, i have a question for you, i noticed Young Frankenste frankenstein, and brooks films such as elephant man, there is a relationship with the comedians not giving them the proper respect for the serious behind the craft and do you feel sometimes your role as a director and as writer is not as respected as it should in society . That is a good question. It is a matter of baggage. You take the baggage with you. I make sunny faces and write funny things and produced the elephant man and kept my name away from that, if i brought the baggage of my name to it, the audience would expect something silly and funny and stupid and we had a very important story to tell. You are referring the brooks films and that unbelieve shl enterprise you have done and give the viewers a sense of the movies coming out the production company. It is amazing. Thank you for asking that. Brooks films have done great films. The first one late great wife ann bancroft fatso and that is a classic. And theres frances, the story of frances farmer. There is my favorite year, maybe peter o o tooles best. A brilliant film and i mean theres, im going to be on tcm some time in march and Robert Osborn is interviewing me and doing six brooks films and with some of the ones i mentioned and i will let you about it. Look for tcm to broadcast that. We will. It is amazing, the dimensions here. The names of the films and people saying i know that, probably didnt know it was connected to mel brooks. There will never be a mel brooks, what is the next thing in this generation of the comics. We are asking mel who he thinks it is and you tweet us the same. Well be right back. K news. You guys cant see and im looking at mel in the monitor and hes laughing. That is great. Familiar face there. Dave chapel and giving him a break on the big screen and opportunities for many of the up and coming comics. Well, david, go ahead. Mellow, mel, someone that shares some of the characteristics of your style as you influenced and impacted the comedians in their generation, including myself . David, try to get a job in a deli and make sandwiches and if you fail, go back to comedy. Comedy is very hard and never give up. Never stop being a comic, you will make it. I promise you. We have a number of questions for you. Heres one. My producer bribed me and said i needed this. Space balls, when will then be now, mr. Brooks . [laughter] that was so much fun. I cant tell you working with the late great john candy and rick and everybody on, you know, and all of the ass holes that worked, that was their names, im sorry, major ass in charge of them. That is so much fun. Working on the ship that, a great production designed of terry marsh designed. So the answer is soon. We have one more, can todays film audiences appreciate slapstick and screw ball comedies or a lost art . It is a lost art. I dont have time to say anything else. [laughter] you know, i dont know, it is coming back to the people. The three, we have three new great late night hosts. Jimmy fallon, jimmy kimel and conan and they are there and encouraging great comedy, physical comedy and from that Something Wonderful will be born and come to us, you know, on the big screen, hopefully. Mel, a lot of artists, including your son max decided not to go the traditional hollywood route, but you have navigated around that in working with the big studios and how did you pull that off . Well, i lied to them. I told them things i never intended to do. I told them the budget. I told them i was always hiring clark gable and Carol Lombard and never did. What you do is go out to lunch with the heads of the studios and you pick up the tab and they are impressed and then buy a lot of the one of the favorite quotes coming from sid caesar and saying the following, in between goals a thing called life, enjoyed live and if you dont you are a fool. Do you yourself a guy that lived and enjoyed the ride . Unfortunately i have been doing more in between. I think i have been doing a lot more life in the last 20 years than show biz. Mr. Mel brook, it is a pleasure having you on the show. It was a great experience. The only disapointment is that what i get paid to do it. Otherwise it was fun. Good evening everyone. Welcome to al jazeera america. Im John Seigenthaler in new york. Morning from the u. S. To russia not to intervene in ukraine. Still in hiding, reports that the former president is under russian protection and may speak. Day of action, sending a message to free al jazeera staffers held 61 days for doing