Post-Screening Q&A with Karen Wilder

“I love this film! It’s a warm and wonderful tribute to my dear friend, Gene. Don’t miss it!” - Mel Brooks

REMEMBERING GENE WILDER is a heartfelt tribute to the beloved star of such movie classics as “The Producers,” “Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein,” and “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.”

This multi-talented performer is dramatically brought to life through never-before-seen home movies and photographs, as well as the intimate insights of friends and colleagues, including Mel Brooks, Alan Alda, Carol Kane, Harry Connick Jr., Rain Pryor, Gene’s wife, Karen Wilder, and Peter Ostrum, who portrayed “Charlie” in one of Gene’s most memorable roles, “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.”

Born Jerome Silberman in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Gene’s roots in comedy can be traced to a directive he received as a child. When Gene’s mother suffered a heart attack when he was eight, her doctor instructed him, ‘Don’t ever argue with your mother. You might kill her. Try to make her laugh.’ Rather than shrinking under the burden of this repressive command, the youngster channeled his talents into comedy, first on stage and later, after meeting Mel Brooks, in a series of memorable performances that solidified his place among the movie greats.

Gene’s portrayal of such outlandish (volcanic) but all-too-believable characters as Leo Bloom in “The Producers,” the Waco Kid in “Blazing Saddles” and Dr. Frederick Frankenstein in “Young Frankenstein” allowed him to bring a fearless and fanciful sense of humanity to each and every role. When he teamed with Richard Pryor in a series of groundbreaking comedies, the pair formed perhaps the most successful interracial comedy team ever to grace the silver screen.