Producers Film to Shoot in Brooklyn, Not Canada

By Andrew Gans
29 Sep 2004

The eagerly awaited movie version of the hit Tony-winning Broadway musical The Producers will be filmed in Brooklyn.

The New York Post reports that the Mel Brooks film, originally scheduled to shoot in Canada, has changed its locale due to a special tax incentive, part of a bill recently signed by Governor Pataki. At a Sept. 28 press conference with Pataki, Brooks joked, "I'm going to shoot this picture just for the tax benefits." The Tony-winning composer later added, "You don't know what it means to me emotionally to be back here [in Brooklyn]."

"The Producers" will be filmed at the new Steiner Studios, located at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The new facility was specially built to accommodate Hollywood-style productions.

Films that shoot 75 percent of their work on a New York sound stage are now eligible for a 10 percent state tax credit and a 5 percent tax credit from the city. The original "Producers" film — on which the musical is based — was also shot in New York.

The upcoming movie musical will co-star Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, re-creating their stage roles for the silver screen. The "Producers" cast will also include Will Ferrell as Franz Liebkind, Nicole Kidman as Ulla, Roger Bart as Carmen Ghia and Gary Beach as Roger De Bris.

The original 1968 "The Producers" film about a conniving producer starred Zero Mostel as producer Max Bialystock and Gene Wilder as Leo Bloom. Others in the cast included Kenneth Mars as Franz Liebkind, Renée Taylor as Eva Braun, Christopher Hewett as Roger De Bris, Lee Meredith as Ulla and Andréas Voutsinas as Carmen Giya. Mel Brooks won an Academy Award for Best Screenplay for "The Producers," and Gene Wilder was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

The Broadway production of The Producers plays the St. James Theatre, 246 West 44th Street.