times roll. thank you for watching al jazeera america. i'm del walters in new york, "the stream" is next. >> hi. you are "the stream." dubb dubbed a comedian. pushed envelope in show business. >> we have all of the live feedback.

we grew up on the comedy with mel brooks and tonight you are checking something from the bucket list? >> yes, while in high school i made a bucket list of the dream interviews and mel brooks is on it. i watched all of the movies and even life stinks. >> you are a dedicated fan. >> we have the community that loves mel brooks movies. mikey is saying that the movies are classic. the jokes are clever. mel brook unites families. saying if you don't love young frankenstein you are not in our family. we watch it every year. here is a heart warming post, my grandmother's favorite movie is history of the world and we watched all of the mel brooks movies and laughing through the grief. it is good to be queen.

>> in the past 60 years, mel brooks did his share to shake things up on the silver screen and breaking the barriers as writer, director anding to or. he puts a spin on historical and religious events like the french revolution and the last supper. >> we have to talk, this could be our last supper. it is my first daughter. are you all together or separate checks? >> his humor is known for testing the boundaries on what is politically correct and exposing through the satires. the western spoofs racial sat fire make it a classic. who can forget the black sheriff

in the frontier town of 1874. with an emmy, grammy, oscar and tony. mel brooks is in a league of his own. welcome to "the stream." >> it is a pleasure to be here. >> we are honored to have you here. any slice of your career is great, the hits continue to come, old west to outer space and cyber space, it seems everything you touch turns to told. what is in is secret sauce? >> well, just enlarge and multiply what people are doing and thinking and actually being,

just multiply that and you have a funny movie. >> that's so not true. i think if that was as simple as that, everybody would have a funny movie. there is something special you do. think about the movies, my dad who is 74 or i talk to a friend of mine in the 20s, everybody snows blazed saddles and blazing saddles and history of the world, something you do that endured, what is it, what did you tap into? >> you know, that's a remarkably good question, but i don't 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 humor,

which he has. the community is talking about humor... gary says... nick says... mr. brooks, i was saying earlier to you i bought a thousand copies of your son's book to get you here and thank you for saying yes. you have been a major influence on modern comedy and you have a remarkable gift of using comedy to talk about slaifr ri, talk about anti-semitism and if you can do that today what is the

taboo subject now? >> oh, i don't know, it might be fox news. i'm not sure. >> you said that, not us. >> there's a lot of stuff happening in the world. i mean, i would, maybe we should take out all of congress and hang them. i don't know. we can't get anything done because of the fighting and the infighting in congress and it's not fair to the public. it is not fair to the general people of america that political insanity is not helping anybody. >> well, not just the political insanity but the political correctness and one of the brilliant things you have done is a way of making us feel

uncomfortable but confronting the subjects that nowadays are too politically correct to confront and have we gone too far on the politically correct? >> yes, you must use the n word or you don't have a bad guy to topple in the end. so it is important to be politically incorrect so you can make your point about what's human and what's good and what's right and you have to be bad to be good. >> the community is talking about what's the role of the artist here. nick is saying... mark says... and rj saying...

mr. brooks, the question is what the line today between being bold, subversive and prejudice, is there a line? i don't think there is a line. i think it is, you know, it is subjective. it is in the, it's our beginnings. it is in our education. it's in our belief system. i mean, why are we prejudice. why do we hate another person or a race. we have been taught. so my job is to unteach, unteach, to do outrageous things that explode new ways of thinking. mel, you can be outrageous and

lord knows you are amazing at being outrageous, it seems to many that comedy of three or four decades ago was smart, it was sophisticated and had a point and i'm disappointed now that comedy relies on being offensive, do you think that the national taste for what is humorous changed? >> no. we were taught when we were young smart, sophisticated black and white movies, making, we were taught that you need act 1, 2, 3, a structure, a story and a plot and an ending. and today, i think movies rely on crass behavior without a

point. without a structure. and when i grew up, all of that, i learned from just watching these black and white fast talking movies of the 20s and 30s that told me these are little playlets and you have to write a little play and there needs to be an ending. >> we have a lot of questions, two quick ones before break... dean asks... >> well, i think i was actually i remember a group of faces peering down in my crib and getting hysterical. looking at me. i must have been the funniest in the family. when we come back mel brooks is taking questions from the biggest fans and now up the

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how do you get the barber to cut your hair that way? >> i insult him. that was the late legend sid see car, a character that they came up with for the comedy caesar's hour. mel, your dad passed away when you were two and sid was a

father figure for you, and how so? >> well, he -- i worked for sid, therefore he was my superior so i guess he was kind of like my father but he was kind and cruel like any father should be. any way, we bonded and we had the same kind, same sense of hum humor. his real talent was making fun of human foibles and humanity. we were country. we never things about the news. we never took advantage of the political. we always did the human comedy and sid was gifted and indeed a gene was. he could do anything.

let me say something about al jazeera. when first on the air and i heard about it, i thought it was an arab, muslim and slanted, i didn't snow. i actually saw it on the local station and it was like a breath of fresh air. neither nbc on the left or fox on the right, giving me the news as earnestly and honestly as i every got it and that is why i slight al jazeera and i'm very happy to be here and doing this, even though the money is very small. >> yeah, we don't pay well, do we? >> no, no. >> thank you for that wonderful endorsement, mr. brooks. >> thank you, i'm muslim and not arab and not antise met tick.

i am paying in compliments. >> hi, i want to ask [indiscernible] >> i don't know. it is a good question. you know, it's like, it is the ability to ad lib. something comes up and you see it and nail it. we had a 90 minute show and we only had, all live, and it was 90 minutes and six comedy sketches and we just, i don't know, we did something magical. we just did it. >> speaking about the upcoming comedian, we have ryan, mel brooks played a huge impact on you, take it away.

mel, i'm curious which historic historical figure is the funniest of all times? >> louis the 16. he was naive. >> mel, i was watching a documentary and you stay up until 3:00 in the morning every night and what do you do? >> well, usually between 1-2 i eat cheerios with nonfat milk and 2-3 i cry and when finished crying i go to sleep. [laughter] >> that is nearly the truth. >> yeah, laughter and tragedy of life. we have the community tweeting in, comedy can make messages in groups more accessible to

nonmargin nonmarginalized people. how big a role of the film comedies negotiating for a safer space for the outsider groups. and conveying a sentiment, watching your movies i was amazed at bringing your jewish culture to the forefront and the jews were seen as ethnic and outsiders and comedy seemed to main stream them, and is that vehicle helping those today? >> well, except for lesbians you are right. i'm kidding. it was just the opportunity to make you laugh. i agree. you know, if there is really a funny guy and he happens to be muslim he's funny. we are going to love him, and we are grateful to him for making

us laugh and appreciating the things we never thought of before. >> the women that you have worked with in hollywood say it is miserable making comedies with some me but with you it is great, you let the women be sexy and funny and that is a rare find and still tough for the female comedians in hollywood, what is it so tough? >> there is still a great deal of male prejudice and that even comics, i hate to say this, even male comics didn't think that females or that ladies had the right kind of force of timing or explosive power and that's, you know, that's just bull. that is nonsense. between sara silverman that kills me. i adore her.

and el len degeneres and i mean it's nonsense. ladies are just as funny as men and not as funny looking but funny. >> mel, i noticed that combroing frankenste frankenstein, beautiful movie, and elephant man, and it seems like society has a bargain they love them but not giving them the proper respect for the seriousness behind the craft. your role as a director and writer not respected as it should in society? >> that is a good question. it is a matter of baggage. you take the baggage with you. i'm mel brooks, i make funny faces and say funny things and

make funny movies and also produced the elephant man and kept my name away from it. if i brought my name to it the audience expecting something hilarious and silly and stupid and we had a very important story to tell with a very important character. >> you are referring to the brooks films and that unbelievable enterprise silently and give a sense of the movies coming out of your production company, it is amazing. >> thank you for asking that. brooks films have done great films. the first one my late wife ann bancroft did fatso and it is a classic and i get letters from the people still seeing that. the story of frances farmer, it is a great film, clifford

directed that beautifully. and my favorite year, maybe peter o' toole's best film. the doctor and the devils, and a brilliant film and i mean, there's, i'm going to be on tcm some time in march and i'm interviewed and we are doing six brooks films, six brooks films and with some of the ones i mentioned. i will let you know about that. look for tcm to broadcast that. >> it is amazing, the dimensions here, the names of the films, oh, i know that, but not know it is connected to mel brooks.

there can never be another mel brooks, what is the next best thing in this generation of c e comi comics. tweet us. we'll be right back. thinks it is, and you tweet us the same. we'll be right back. >> start with one issue ad guests on all sides of the debate. and a host willing to ask the tough questions and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5pm et / 2pm pt only on al jazeera america s.

>> now, i'm looking at mel and he's laughing. that is great. a favorite ever where. a familiar face in there.

dave chapel and giving him the break on the big screen and the opportunity you have given to many up and comers. david, go ahead. >> hey, mel, it is an honor. can you share the characteristics of your style of those you impacted, including mooirs. >> daiftd get a job in the deli making sandwiches and if you fail at that go back to comedy. comedy is very hard. seriously never give up. never stop being a comic, you will make it. i promise you. here is a question, i have a series of them... talking about the classic scene

from space balls, when is then now, mr. brooks? >> that was so much fun. i can't tell you working with the late great john candy and with rick and everybody on the, and all the assholes that worked, that were those names, major asshole was in charge of them. that was so much fun. working on the ship, a great production designed. it was fabulous. >> the answer was soon. one more... >> it is a lost art. i didn't have time to say anything else. no, you know, i don't know, it

comes back with the people. i mean, you know the three, we have three new great late night hosts jimmy fallon, jimmy kimel andconan and they are all there and encouraging the 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 hollywood route because of feeling their art and craft is compromised but you have navigating around that 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 what the budget

would be and went over that. i told them i was always hiring clark gable and carol and i never did, i had don instead, almost clark gable. but you do is you go out to lunch with the heads of the studios and you pick up the tab, and they are impressed and then they buy a lot of the bullshit. >> there is life that has to be lived and enjoyed and if you don't you are a fool. do you consider yourself a guy that lived and enjoyed the ride? >> i think unfortunately i have been doing more in between. i think i have been doing, i think i have doing a lot of life in the past 20 years than show bis. >> what a pleasure having you on

the show. thank you for being here. this is is great experience, but the disappointment is the pay for doing it. it was really was fun. >> welcome to the news. the top stories. armed men supporting russia are taking over the capital in ukraine. >> i was forced to leave ukraine under the immediate threat of my life and life of my family. >> he's staying he's still the