“We’re a Broadway story! It would have been heartbreaking not to shoot this movie in New York.” -Mel Brooks
Along with wanting to retain as much of the original Broadway cast and crew as possible, the filmmakers were adamant about one other thing: the new movie, just as the original 1968 film, would have to be filmed in New York.
It may only be a coincidence, but the first movie musical to film on location in New York City was 1949’s On the Town, with its opening scenes at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. So perhaps it was fitting that The Producers, set in 1959, would film at the Steiner Studios, a new, state-of-the-art facility at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. In fact, The Producers has the distinction of being the first feature film to shoot in the impressive 100,000-square-foot facility. Taking a page from the old MGM musicals, they constructed sets on four of the five stages—including a ’50s version of Broadway’s historic Forth-fourth Street and Shubert Alley—on an enormous 27,000 square-foot-space with ceilings that are 45 feet high.
“We’re a Broadway story!” exclaims Brooks. “It would have been heartbreaking not to shoot this movie in New York. And here we are in Brooklyn, only eleven and a half blocks away from where I was born and bred. Mostly bred. We were so poor the neighbors had to give birth to me,” he jests.
“To get this movie right, it had to be made by New Yorkers,” suggests production designer Mark Friedberg. “As much as I designed what you see on our Shubert Alley set, there are hundreds and hundreds of hands in the making of it, and every stroke of paint or layer of dust meant significant decisions made by people who are living here in New York.”
Perhaps one of the greatest advantages of filming in New York was the proximity to Broadway’s most talented singers and dancers. More than 3,700 dancers auditioned for approximately 350 coveted roles in spectacular production numbers including “Springtime for Hitler,” “Prisoners of Love” and “I Wanna Be A Producer.”
“To have these singers and dancers from Broadway who are so professional, devoted and committed has been a joy,” says Stroman.
William Ivey Long, a Tony-winning costume designer who has been a frequent collaborator of Stroman’s jokes, “Every single person that Susan Stroman has ever worked with, and I think she was born on the half-shell from Zeus’s imagination, is in this movie. You can walk down our 44th Street set any day and you’ll see the best of the best of Broadway here.”
“Matthew said that shooting this on film can be like doing a very quiet Wednesday matinee.” -Nathan Lane
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, Broderick, Beach and Bart 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.
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