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The movie classic that became a Broadway sensation now becomes a movie musical event - Mel Brooks' The Producers, the enduring Broadway hit that won a record 12 Tony Awards, returns to the screen under the direction of Susan Stroman, director/choreographer of the acclaimed stage production, with Tony winners Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick recreating their triumphant stage performances and Uma Thurman and Will Ferrell singing and dancing in their first big-screen musical. Sony Classical will release the film's original soundtrack recording on Tuesday, November 22, 2005.

A Brooksfilms production released by Universal Pictures and Columbia Pictures, produced by Mel Brooks and Jonathan Sanger, The Producers premieres in exclusive, single-screen engagements in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Toronto on Friday, December 16, 2005. The film will open on 1,200 screens nationwide on Sunday, December 25, 2005, and it will expand further on Friday, January 13, 2006.

The soundtrack will include most of the hit songs from the stage production, for which Brooks wrote the music and lyrics, including "We Can Do It," "I Wanna Be a Producer," "Keep It Gay," "Along Came Bialy," "That Face" and, of course, "Springtime for Hitler." With Thomas Meehan, Brooks also wrote the musical's book as well as the film's screenplay. Stroman won Tonys for her direction and choreography of the Broadway production, and she is making her debut as a film director. In addition to Nathan Lane's Tony-winning portrayal of Max Bialystock and Matthew Broderick's acclaimed Leo Bloom, Gary Beach reprises his Tony-winning performance as Roger De Bris, and Roger Bart once again plays De Bris' assistant Carmen Ghia. Joining them in the film are Uma Thurman as Ulla, Max and Leo's secretary, and Will Ferrell as the playwright Franz Liebkind.

"I've never been happier than when I was writing the musical score of The Producers," Brooks says. "One song after another tumbled out of my head in what was the most soul-satisfying experience of my career. And in my less than humble opinion, I must say that it turned out to be surprisingly good."

For the film, Brooks has written a new end-title song - "There's Nothing Like a Show on Broadway" - which Lane and Broderick will introduce on the soundtrack. As a second end-title track, Ferrell has recorded "The Hop-Clop Goes On," a "power ballad" arrangement of his character's song from the show, "Der Guten Tag Hop-Clop." Also, the score has been rearranged for larger musical forces by Douglas Besterman, who won a Tony for his orchestrations of the stage production.

Based on the 1968 film of the same title for which Brooks won an Oscar® for his screenplay, The Producers opened to critical acclaim on Broadway in the spring of 2001 and became an immediate hit. It swept the theatrical awards for the 2000-01 season, winning the Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and New York Drama Critics Circle awards for Best Musical. Its total of 12 Tony Awards shattered a record set almost 40 years earlier by Hello, Dolly! In 2005, the London production won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical.

Sony Classical made the original cast recording - which went on to win a Grammy® for Best Musical Show Album - and also produced a documentary film about the recording session, Recording The Producers: A Musical Romp with Mel Brooks, that won a Grammy for Best Longform Music Video.

Sony Classical, RCA Red Seal and deutsche harmonia mundi are labels of SONY BMG MASTERWORKS, a division of SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT. For e-mail updates and information regarding Sony Classical, RCA Red Seal, deutsche harmonia mundi artists and Arte Nova, promotions, tours and repertoire, please visit www.sonybmgmasterworks.com.

Lane and Broderick may be an odd couple, but with $21 million in tickets sold, they are theater superstars. Broderick has had memorable moments on film ("Ferris Bueller's Day Off," "Election") and won two Tony awards; Lane has two Tonys, a decent film resume and a short-lived sitcom. Individually they've had fine careers, but together they're not just gin and vermouth—they're a martini. They became a sensation in "The Producers" in 2001. Lane played the schleppy, conniving Bialystock, and Broderick was a skinny, uptight accountant named Bloom. "It's that old cliche of opposites attract," says "Producers" director Susan Stroman. "Nathan's delivery is fast and loud, and Matthew's is underplayed and quiet. It's the perfect combination."

Everyone knew Lane and Broderick would be a hit in "The Odd Couple." They're playing virtually the same characters they did in "The Producers"—Lane is slobby Oscar and Broderick is fusty Felix, which is ironic since, in real life, Broderick is the slob and Lane the neatnik. But no one expected them to sell out the entire run before the first curtain. "I've produced 70 shows, and that's never happened," says producer Emanuel Azenberg. "If George Bush wanted to buy a seat, he'd be pressing his luck." (Though you can buy tickets from middlemen online—for upwards of $1,000 each.) Azenberg says the audience responds to Broderick and Lane because they actually seem like a couple. "They trust each other; they are affectionate with each other. They don't argue over who gets this dressing room or that billing. It's nice," he says. "I want to say they're the new Lunts, but I'd get run over by a truck." Judging from a dress rehearsal last week, there is something special about their Oscar and Felix. They bellow (Lane) and whine (Broderick), but there's a softness, too. This may be the first "Odd Couple" where you'll really believe that Oscar and Felix could be best friends.

Lane and Broderick had better be good—they're reportedly getting paid $100,000 a week each, a number Azenberg won't confirm. "If this show sells all its tickets, they are entitled to whatever they want," he says. There is already talk about the guys' continuing beyond April, but even if they don't, there's more Broderick and Lane to come. The movie-musical version of "The Producers" is due in theaters in December. Will it be as good as the stage show? Probably not. But the film does have one advantage: at least you'll be able to find a ticket. © 2005 Newsweek, Inc. © 2005 MSNBC.com (URL: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9630677/site/newsweek/)

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