Last year marked the 40th anniversary of the release of “Airplane!,” the comedy I wrote and directed with my brother Jerry and our friend Jim Abrahams. Just before the world shut down, Paramount held a screening at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, followed by a Q&A in which an audience member asked a question we never used to receive: “Could you make ‘Airplane!’ today?” My response: “Of course, we could. Just without the jokes.” Although people tell me that they love “Airplane!” and it seems to be included on just about every Top Five movie-comedy list, there was talk at...