Tag: Hugh Wilson

Retrospective: 40 Years Since we first Signed Up for ‘Police Academy’ By Jesse Striewski

The world just seemed like a much more simple place “back in the day.” Growing up in the ’80s, we were able to push a few more boundaries, poke a little more fun, and overall, just laugh at little bit more without being so easily “offended” (nor did we have the same kind of manufactured hate being pushed down our throats that Hollywood has tried so effortlessly to do so as of late). And most importantly, we were all capable of being “equals” without ever even knowing it at the time.

I was still just shy of preschool when the original Police Academy made its world premiere on March 23, 1984. Yet just a few short years later, I would be introduced to the series via replays of the numerous films on cable television, and seeing its eventual extensive catalog represented on the shelves of video rental stores seemingly everywhere I went. I saw a part of myself in lead actor Steve Guttenberg, who portrayed the wise-cracking Carey Mahoney, and felt it was possible to just maybe be a “police officer” too someday thanks to our similar lanky frames.

The initial seeds for Police Academy started in the mind of Producer and series creator (and one time Rewind It Magazine interviewee) Paul Masalanky, who, while filming The Right Stuff in 1983, got the idea after seeing a group of goofy cadets on the sidelines of the production. This simple moment proved to be vital, and would spawn a worldwide franchise that would eventually see six sequels and two television shows (one animated, one live-action).

In the first film, we’re introduced to said troublemaker Mahoney (Guttenberg), who after finding himself in some hot water with the law, is given the option to sign up for the desperate Police Academy that has recently lowered its standards in lieu of jail time. It’s here we’re introduced to a group of similar, bizarre misfits in the form of Larval Jones (Michael Winslow), Moses Hightower (Bubba Smith), Eugene Tackelberry (David Graf) and Laverne Hooks (Marion Ramesy), among many others (but “diversity” and” inclusion” definitely did not exist back then at all though guys. Nope, not at all).

A young and slender Kim Cattrall played the posh love interest for Mahoney, Karen Thompson, while George Gaynes played the brilliantly inept Commandant Lassard with ease. There’s also some classic banter exchanged between Mahoney and his nemesis Lt. Harris (G.W. Bailey in one of the best “bad guys you love to hate” roles ever put on screen).

By the following year, Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment was already hitting theaters (in my opinion the best entry of them all, featuring my personal favorite character “Zed” played by Bobcat Goldthwait for the first time), which was quickly followed by Back in Training (1986), Citizens on Patrol (1987), Assignment Miami Beach (1988), City Under Siege (1989), and eventually the direct-to-video Mission to Moscow (1994), each having their own varying results.

When I interviewed Maslansky back in 2021, I asked him why he thought the series had such the long and successful run that it had. He told me; “It was almost like a sitcom; you had (original Director) Hugh Wilson who came from WKRP Cincinnati, and then Jerry Paris (Director of parts 2 and 3) who was of course Gary Marshall’s guy. And that’s really why we were prepared for it; we had a cast that was steady, and every year everything was just serendipitously there, and the studio kept asking to make another one because the results were just so damn good, and the cost for these pictures was not that much. It was just really a smooth operation, and I had the right directors, production managers, and just overall people in general all the time.”

All these years later, neither my love for the series, nor my respect for law enforcement, have faltered at all. And somewhere I still even have action figures from the toyline that was made for the animated series back in the late ’80s/early ’90s (maybe I’ll dig them out again someday). Hopefully the legacy of Police Academy will remain untouched and remembered for just the way it was and we’re not forced to endure yet another atrocious remake “with a message” any time soon.

Interview with Film Producer/Writer Paul Maslansky By Jesse Striewski

When legendary film producer/writer Paul Maslansky originally agreed to speak with Rewind It Magazine, I doubt he knew the extensive knowledge I had on such films of his like Police Academy and Ski Patrol. And no doubt he was unaware how endlessly I watched these films when I was hospitalized for many months after a freak car accident when I was just eleven years old (something I rarely mention), or how I wanted to be a police officer for the longest time “when I grew up” thanks to the Police Academy films (I would come close, working many years side-by-side with law enforcement in the security field, in addition to journalism).

So when Maslansky begun recounting to me recently over the phone the story of how he initially came up with the idea for Police Academy on the set of 1983’s The Right Stuff after seeing a group of misfit police cadets, I was already prepared with a question, and asked if he thought he still would have came up with the idea or not that would ultimately spark an entire franchise had he not been there that day to see those inspiring recruits. He seemed genuinely surprised and impressed; “You know, that’s a damn good question…I’ve never been asked that before! But I always wanted to make “gang” comedies ever since Animal House, which I thought was extraordinarily good, and that was an inspiration in many ways. So I don’t know whether or not I would have ever come around to it. It was really the moment, when I saw what was happening right in front of me that inspired me to write the story. Damn good question, though!”

I also wanted to know just how it was possible to churn out so many films in one series six consecutive years (from 1984-1989) in a row. He informed me; “It was almost like a sitcom; You had Hugh Wilson who came from WKRP in Cincinnati, and then Jerry Paris who was of course Gary Marshall’s guy. And that’s really why we were prepared for it; we had a cast that was steady, and every year everything was just serendipitously there, and the studio kept asking to make another one because the results were just so damn good, and the costs for these pictures was not that much. It was just really smooth operation, and I had the right directors, production managers, and just overall people in general all of the time.”

And does he have a film in the series other than the original that’s his personal favorite?; “I do have a favorite other than the first, and it’s because it was under great difficulties making it, and that was the last one, in Russia. I made a number of films in the Soviet Union, and then I decided to bring Police Academy there for Mission to Moscow, and Warner Bros. said they wouldn’t finance it. But eventually they agreed, and then we went over, and it was then they had the counter revolution in the middle of the picture (Laughs). But we managed to complete it, and it’s really a silly movie that a lot of people seem to enjoy.”

I also asked a little about his background and how he got into filmmaking. He informed me; “I went to one year of law school at NYU, and I have to admit it wasn’t my calling, so we decided it would be best to part company (Laughs). But I met some terrific people at that time, and up until even quite recently they remained friends of mine, but sadly most have passed on. But I did go to an extraordinary undergraduate school, Washington and Lee University in Lexington, VA, before I went to Kansas City University after I got out of the military. But I was a C student at best, because I had so many other interests, especially music, and played jazz trumpet.”

He continued; “Once I left school, I decided to play music in Paris, and I was successful at that. I eventually met a young Danish film student, Benny Corsone, who was studying in film school at the time. He had to make a documentary film for his class, and he asked me to produce it. The film won a modest prize at Cannes, and in any event, a producer by the name of Charlie Schneer, was working on a film called Jason and the Argonauts, and had seen my film, and called and asked me to interview…and from there I became his assistant and we shot it in Italy. And that was really my baptism by fire and start in serious filmmaking. And eventually I decided to produce myself, and made a picture in Rome with Christopher Lee called Castle of the Living Dead with a guy named Warren Kiefer.”

But the whole reason for my conversation with Maslansky in the first place was thanks to recent interviewee and Ski Patrol star Roger Rose, who told me of their plans to remake the film. Maslansky filled me in a bit more; “Roger came to me a couple of months ago and said there were some people really interested in getting Ski Patrol going again, and I said, ‘Why not?’ So now we’re in the process of trying to get MGM, which we discovered wound up with the underline rights to the film. It’s gone through a couple of different hands over the years, and MGM is in the process of being taken over by a different group, so it’s been difficult to get to the right people there at the moment. But I have a feeling that ultimately, we’ll be able to pursue it properly. And we’ve also got the interest in of group called the Workaholics; it was one of their favorite films, and they would very much like to do that.”

He then gave me some background on how the original film came to be; “One of my neighbors at the time, Wink Roberts, was a stuntman and a damn good skier, and said, ‘Let’s make a movie called Ski Patrol,’ and the next thing you know, we’re making the movie (Laughs). It helped at that time that the Police Academy films were a great success, so it was easy to produce another gang comedy. And that’s really the genesis of it all. And then Roger came to me about doing it again with the Workaholics guys, and they were so enthusiastic about doing it that I said, ‘Let’s proceed!’ But I think nearly any ski resort in the country would be happy to have us film there right now, because I think unfortunately there’s been a bit of a decline in the sport recently, certainly because of Covid.”

And when asked if Rose will show up in the new film or not, he assured me; “Oh yeah, I very much want Roger to appear in it, and maybe get some of the older guys from the original film to make appearances, too. A lot of them are still around, but it’s different with Police Academy, every year we seem to lose more. We just lost a wonderful guy, Art Metrano (Captain Mauser from the second and third installments, who passed away earlier this month on September 8 at age 84), who lived down there in Florida. We’ve lost so many more of them, including Bubba Smith, George Gaynes, Marion Ramsey, David Graf, and said directors Hugh Wilson and Jerry Paris.”

I asked Maslansky to tell me a little about Metrano, with which I’ll end on; “Art was a tough Brooklyn guy, and had one of the quickest wits, but also had a wonderful comedy act. He was a religious man, and a damn good father. We were buddies and used to hang out, and he was as brave a man that you could find after his horrific accident that paralyzed him in the late ’80s. But through it all, his sense of humor was infectious, and he used it to make people laugh during the many months he spent in that hospital ward. It was remarkable the amount of good cheer there was as a result of Art’s presence. And working together with Lance Kinsey in the two Police Academy films he did, they were just a terrific pair. I sure will miss him.”