It must have seemed like a good gag to turn Mel Brooks' The Producers
into a real Broadway musical. The premise of the 1968 comedy classic
was that sleazy impresario Max Bialystock and dweeb accountant Leo
Bloom launch a stage show destined to make money by assuring failure.
But the punch-line was even funnier. The Producers became a Great White Way legend, winning a record 12 Tonys in 2001 and birthing a comic partnership between the high octane Nathan Lane and wisely cool Matthew Broderick. Now The Producers is a movie again -- this time with Will Ferrell as a Nazi playwright and Uma Thurman as a Swedish ingénue. Bottom line? Lane and Broderick are giving those
who couldn't afford a $500 Broadway ticket a chance to see what all the
fuss was about. The actors took a break from their current Broadway run
in The Odd Couple to discuss planting a big wet one on the audience and never going to bed angry.
Did you ever think that the show would turn into a movie?
Matthew Broderick: Never! The whole thing has been shocking.
Nathan Lane: Obviously there was an interest in the movie musical again because of Chicago.
Matthew: They wanted to film the play and make a DVD. But Mel
said, "I want to make an MGM-style musical." I was like, "That'll never
happen." But when Mel says things like that, he means it.
Nathan:Chicago was dark and sexy and The Producers is nothing like that. It's not happening in Leo Bloom's head -- people are actually singing and dancing.
Matthew: Nathan and I were immediately, "Well, who are you going
to cast in it?" Mel said, "I want you guys." Sure enough, three years
after that conversation we were shooting in Brooklyn.
Was there a big difference in playing to the cameras as opposed to an audience?
Nathan: When we did the show, it was like we reached out and
grabbed every audience member and gave them a big, wet kiss. "Hi! We're
here to entertain you."
Matthew: Working onstage [is like] talking to somebody across
the street. You would naturally do it a little bigger than if they were
sitting right opposite you. So when a camera is three feet away from
you, it's instinctive to not go crazy.
Nathan: But we're not doing Capote. It's a big, splashy Broadway
musical. Either you embrace that, or you go to see another movie. All
of the same acting rules apply. There's no secret formula -- it's all a
matter of size. Doesn't it always come down to that? Size?
Matthew: Almost every part in the movie is somebody I have
worked with onstage. It gave a nice feeling of camaraderie on the sound
stage. It felt like you were doing a play at the same time as making a
movie.
Nathan: Was there a difference working with Matt in the movie as
opposed to on stage? In the play he was on vodka and on the movie it
was bourbon. That's the major difference.
Was there a lot of improvisation on the set?
Matthew: We tried to encourage that a little bit. Part of what
was fun about the play was that you felt like anarchy was coming, and I
hoped the movie would keep some of that.
Nathan: With a movie, you're praying for those happy accidents
which make for spontaneity. A lot of things in the show came out of
improv in rehearsal or performance. That's how Mel started -- in a room
with 12 guys screaming out jokes for Sid Caesar. Whoever has the best
line wins.
Matthew: We would shoot five or six takes and try various things. Soon you settle on what feels right.
Nathan: They gave me a room full of prisoners, so I said, "Hey,
how many times do I have to tell you -- no knife fights during
rehearsal!" and "What are you in for, a lack of rhythm?" I'm just
vamping 'til we start the number, but stuff like that keeps it alive
and different.
Where does your chemistry together come from?
Nathan: It's the sex that keeps us together. We never go to bed angry.
What was it like throwing Uma Thurman into the mix?
Nathan: She's a big old movie star - gorgeous and adorable. After Kill Bill, Uma was extremely athletic and agile. So learning the choreography wasn't all that different from learning martial arts moves.
Matthew: I had to relearn some of our dances together myself, so
I got to rehearse with her for weeks. Those dances took a long time to
learn, but it was great fun to do it with her.
Nathan: No, there was no fraternity hazing of the movie stars. I was thrilled that Uma and Will Ferrell were there. I was like, "Well, maybe somebody will go see it now!"
Do you feel like you have a sense of closure with The Producers now?
Matthew: Everybody felt like that the last time we went into the
show, although we knew the film might be coming. I guess the film is
probably the last chapter of The Producers for me, yeah.
Nathan: Unless we do the weekly TV series.
So what's next for you both when The Odd Couple finishes?
Nathan: I have no plans. You got anything in mind? You wanna go to Bermuda?
Matthew: We want to, as Nathan says, "See other people for a little while."
