From Blazing Saddles to The Producers to Spaceballs, Mel Brooks has spent decades mastering his brand of screwball satire. These days, however, it often feels like real-life events could have come from his brain. As such, it's fascinating to hear Brooks' take on the current political climate in the United States.
Brooks is the subject of a new, in-depth profile in the Guardian and, in addition to discussing his career, the comedy legend eventually spoke out about American politics.
"The whole thing is crazy," Brooks said of Donald Trump's rise to power. "Trump was never a politician. He was never a senator. I don't think he was ever president of his high-school class. And then he got himself elected president of the United States. He didn't expect to win. He didn't take it seriously. Three hundred million Americans didn't take it seriously. Now they do."
While he may take Trump seriously, however, he's not intimidated by the president. "Trump doesn't scare me," he says. "He's a song-and-dance man. Pence and Bannon, those guys make me nervous.... We are not talking about Athenian democracy here."
On the movie side of things, Brooks mentioned that he'd happily make Spaceballs 2 if he were handed $50 million from Amazon or Netflix. Here's hoping one of those companies coughs up the cash.
Brooks is the subject of a new, in-depth profile in the Guardian and, in addition to discussing his career, the comedy legend eventually spoke out about American politics.
"The whole thing is crazy," Brooks said of Donald Trump's rise to power. "Trump was never a politician. He was never a senator. I don't think he was ever president of his high-school class. And then he got himself elected president of the United States. He didn't expect to win. He didn't take it seriously. Three hundred million Americans didn't take it seriously. Now they do."
While he may take Trump seriously, however, he's not intimidated by the president. "Trump doesn't scare me," he says. "He's a song-and-dance man. Pence and Bannon, those guys make me nervous.... We are not talking about Athenian democracy here."
On the movie side of things, Brooks mentioned that he'd happily make Spaceballs 2 if he were handed $50 million from Amazon or Netflix. Here's hoping one of those companies coughs up the cash.
