Step One: You start with Broadway’s smash hit "The Producers–The New Mel Brooks Musical," winner of a record-breaking 12 Tony Awards, and based on Mel Brooks’ Oscar-winning 1968 film "The Producers."
Step Two: You have two major film studios, Columbia Pictures and Universal Pictures, join forces to bring the musical play to the big screen.
Step Three: You enlist the phenomenal Susan Stroman, winner of five Tony Awards, including two for directing and choreographing "The Producers–The New Mel Brooks Musical on Broadway," to make her motion picture directorial debut with the film version.
Step Four: You bring the original Tony Award-winning stars, Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, back to recreate their signature roles and surround them with two of Hollywood’s biggest talents, Academy Award nominee Uma Thurman and comic superstar Will Ferrell.
And before you can say "Step Five," you have the makings of the big, fun-filled, laugh-a-minute musical movie event audiences have been waiting for: "The Producers."
The movie classic that became a Broadway sensation is now a comedy-musical movie event. Jokes Brooks, "First it was a movie, then it was a Broadway musical, now it’s going to be a Broadway musical movie. I think the next thing will probably be claymation."
In the film, Broadway producer Max (Lane) is famous for his spectacular opening night flops. Leo (Broderick) is an uptight accountant who virtually discovers gold while reviewing Max’s books. When Leo realizes that you can actually make more money with a flop than with a hit, the two team up and begin a search for both the worst script and the worst director they can find to ensure failure.
The script selection seems easy when the duo stumble upon "Springtime for Hitler," an homage to the Fuhrer penned by Franz (Ferrell), a German sympathetic to the Nazi cause.
But when the scheme fails, Max and Leo find themselves with the worst possible outcome: a hit. To make matters worse, Franz is just a little peeved that Hitler was depicted disrespectfully–and he has a gun. Will Max and Leo survive the playwright’s wrath? Will they go to jail for cooking the books? And will Leo ever submit to the advances of sexy Swedish receptionist/actress Ulla (Thurman)?
"There’s something timelessly appealing about this story," says director/choreographer Stroman. "Like any good musical, each character fulfills all his hopes and dreams. Audiences either see themselves in Leo, a caterpillar who wants to become a butterfly, or they see themselves as Max, a man who was on top and wants to rise to the top again. Our movie also has an endearing love story–the mousy accountant wins the most beautiful woman in the world."
In contrast to most films that have little or no rehearsal time in advance of shooting, "The Producers" had the benefit of key principals from the musical who have worked together for years. Lane and Broderick opened the Broadway show in April 2001, and several have since participated in alternate roles and alternate companies. Lane, for instance, opened the London production in the role of Bialystock after only a few days’ notice. Not long after, he was nominated for and won the prestigious Olivier Award.
"Nathan Lane is a once-in-a-generation Broadway performer," says co-author Thomas Meehan. "He’s in that rare class, someone who comes out on a stage and just mesmerizes you. He has this incredible energy and excitement and great comedy timing."
"Matthew Broderick, on the other hand," he continues, "is a kind of a sly humorist who really makes you care about Leo."
"What Matthew is able to do is imbue this mousy guy with not only great comic timing but a sense of pathos as well," says producer Jonathan Sanger.
"Because the actors are so familiar with the material and the characters, it’s given me the freedom to add layers to what they already know," Stroman explains. "Matthew and Nathan are natural stage actors, and they’re also natural on film. They know what it’s like to perform for 1,500 people, and they know what it’s like to perform for one camera. I’m very lucky to have them on board."
From the actors’ perspective, the transition from performing their roles in "The Producers" on stage to screen was initially a bit startling. For years, Lane and Broderick had shared the musical’s phenomenal success with wildly enthusiastic, applauding audiences whose laughter often exploded over their lines of dialogue. They had learned to adapt or "put air" between certain sentences as needed for the audience response. Once in front of the cameras, however, that audience of 1,500 people had shrunk to approximately 60 or 70 crew people on set with them.
Lane jokes, "Matthew said that shooting this on film can be like doing a very quiet Wednesday matinee. We were so used to an audience being there, and they can be an active part of the process with a certain rhythm. But you have to let go of all that–to go back to what it is your character wants and needs."
Observing the differences between the theater and film performance, Broderick adds, "Movies are very slow, and you have to have energy when you need it over a three-month period with a lot of waiting around. In a play, you’re sort of shot out of a cannon. It’s a very different feeling."
"The Producers" will be shown exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas–Glorietta 4 and Greenbelt III–starting July 26.