“I’m not an actor, I’m a movie star!”

The Next Reel’s Speakeasy is a new ongoing series of ours in which we invite an industry guest to join us and, instead of bringing their favorite cocktail, we have them bring along one of their favorite movies to talk about. In this inaugural episode, actor Abraham Benrubi joins us to talk about one of his faves, Richard Benjamin’s 1982 comedy gem “My Favorite Year,” starring Peter O’Toole and Mark Linn-Baker. We talk about the cast – from the brilliant (and Oscar-nominated) performance by O’Toole and the fantastic Linn-Baker to everyone else involved like Jessica Harper, Joseph Bologna, Bill Macy, Lainie Kazan, George Wyner, Selma Diamond and even an appearance by queen of the “Titanic” herself, Gloria Stewart. We chat about the origins of the story from writers who worked for Sid Caesar’s “Show of Shows” and how this fits in the world of live TV from the 50s. And we discuss the script and how it moves assuredly from the madcap comedy antics to some wonderfully poignant moments that really tug at your heartstrings. It’s a wonderful film to kick off this new series, so check it out then tune in!

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