"The Producers" To Film In The Brooklyn Navy Yard, Really! (1 Viewer)

[Peter Kline]

Press Release September 29, 2004:

Mel Brooks will shoot the film version of his hit Broadway musical "The Producers" at a new movie studio in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Brooks, a Brooklyn native, said new financial incentives and his love of New York helped persuade him to shoot at the recently opened Steiner Studios.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. George Pataki credited new state and local tax credit programs with attracting Brooks' film to New York.

Brooks had another reason.

"The bagels, just the bagels alone," he said. "You go to Toronto, they're mushy."

"The Producers: The Movie Musical" will star Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell. The $45 million production will begin shooting in late February, Brooks said Tuesday at a press conference at Steiner Studios.

Lane and Broderick will repeat their roles as the rapscallion producer Max Bialystock and his nebbish accomplice Leopold Bloom. Brooks is producing the new film, to be directed by Susan Stroman, who directed and choreographed the stage show.

The stage musical was based on the original 1968 movie by Brooks starring Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder as two producers who set out to swindle investors by creating a musical flop. Brooks wrote the original film, which became a Broadway success in 2001 and won a record 12 Tonys.

Steiner Studios is the centerpiece of the city's efforts to revitalize the Navy Yard, a World War II shipbuilding hub that had lapsed into disrepair. Another five films are expected to be shot there soon, a Steiner official said, although they have yet to be publicly announced.

 

[MatthewA]

The one thing about this film is that it has two "ghosts" to contend with: The original movie and the stage show. Comparisons will be endless and unending.

 

[TheLongshot]

Except that it does have the main stars of the Broadway production. (Broderick and Lane)

As for the ghosts of the original film, I think the Broadway run took care of that.

Jason

 

[Michael Reuben]

I agree.

M.

 

[Peter Kline]

It will have the same producer and director and writing team as well. "Opening" it up to other locations will do it good. Also, unlike earlier films of Broadway musicals, this won't have the disadvantage of being expurgated... it won't be censored.

 

[Lew Crippen]

And the ghost of Larry David.

 

[Jason Adams]

Holy crap! I go to a high school 200 yards away from there! Now I'm really interested in an internship there.

 

[Peter Kline]

Just Off The Press:

 

[RafaelB]

You cracked me up! How true.

Rafael.

 

[Michael Reuben]

Here again, it's interesting how perceptions differ. I thought Broderick's portrayal of Leo was much inferior to Wilder's; in fact, at points he seemed to be trying to channel Wilder, and the comparison was never in his favor. As a stage performer, Broderick has tremendous grace and presence, and it served him well in The Producers (as it did in the revival of How to Succeed in Business and as it's currently doing in the off-Broadway revival of The Foreigner), but I'm always aware that it's Broderick pretending to be a character.

M.

 

[Peter Kline]

Although the role, Max B. calls for an over-the-top personna, I'd bet that the movie version will be toned down a bit. There is a tremendous difference in how one plays a role in a theatre and on film and comparing performances in different situations is a bit unfair in my opinion.