December 21, 2005

The Players: Matthew Broderick & Nathan Lane

As The Producers who can make a show so bad it's good, these song-and-dance dynamos bring out the best in each other.

By Jason Matloff, Premiere Magazine

It may be cold outside, but to Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, it’s springtime for Hitler once again. The powerhouse pair are reprising their roles as Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom in the film version of Mel Brooks’s Tony-winning musical, and if their chemistry onscreen is anything like it is here, expect The Producers to settle in for another long run.

PREMIERE: What do you say when people wonder whether yet another version of this story is necessary?
Lane: [good-naturedly] Oh, blow me!
Broderick: Mel Brooks says he’s looking into Claymation. . . .

What was different for you this time around?
Broderick: Having Will Ferrell and Uma Thurman changed everything quite a bit.
Lane: Uma’s stunning and very funny. She’s, you know, a movie star—she was fabulous. And even though [Ferrell’s playing] a Nazi, he’s like an exuberant sixth-grader.
Broderick: It’s out of craziness more than cruelty. You enjoy his Nazi.
Lane: It’s very much the stage show on film. It’s not like it’s been rethought as some dark, gritty, sexy, Chicago-like version that’s happening all in Leo Bloom’s head. It’s actually happening like an old MGM musical.

Did Gene Wilder, who played Leo in the original 1968 movie, ever come to see you on Broadway?
Lane: He came early in previews. I remember that afterward, my dresser said, “Gene Wilder was here today.” And I thought, oh my God, I’m glad I didn’t know.
Broderick: I’m very glad I didn’t know. I really couldn’t have stood it. I almost can’t stand hearing about it now.
Lane: There was a knock at my dressing-room door [after the show], and a little old lady came wandering in. She looked at me and said, “Hello.” And then I heard this very familiar voice in the hall say, “No, Mother, don’t do that, he won’t know who you are.” It was Gene. Then he walked in. I just said, “I love you,” and he said, “Well, I love you, too.” And I started to cry and he hugged me.
Broderick: I actually felt a little faint [seeing him]. I also remember he held my hands while we were talking.

You’re now doing The Odd Couple onstage. Are there any other famous duos you’d like to play?
Lane: I think we’d be very funny as the Wright brothers.
Broderick: Sherlock Holmes and Watson.

Who would play whom?
Broderick: I’m sure I’d be Watson.
Lane: No, you can be Sherlock.
Broderick: Batman and Robin.
Lane: I don’t think so.

Is there anything you find annoying about each other?
Broderick: I mean, look at him. He’s an animal.
Lane: Even if there was something that annoyed you, he charms you out of it by the end of the day. I think we allow the other person to be who they are. [laughs] This is so fuckin’ wholesome.

Are you going to miss each other after The Odd Couple?
Broderick: No.
Lane: No.
Broderick: We’re going to do eight or nine things together and then have a very public breakup.