The Producers (1967 film) replied that Wilder was "a natural comic, you look like Harpo Marx," and said he would cast him as Leo Bloom once he finished the then-titled "Springtime for Hitler." When production arrived, Peter Sellers accepted an invitation to play Leo Bloom, but he never contacted again, so Brooks remembered Wilder, who was about to make his film debut in "Bonnie and Clyde." Wilder received the script to "The Producers" as Brooks visited him backstage during a performance of "Luv," and his co-star Renée Taylor was brought for a brief appearance as Eva Braun. Dustin Hoffman was originally cast as Liebkind.
The Producers (1967 film) Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay. In 1969, "The Producers" won a Writers Guild of America, East Best Original Screenplay award. In 1996, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists: In 2002, "The Producers" was re-released in three theaters by Rialto Pictures and earned $111,866 at the box office. As of 2007, the film continues to be distributed to art-film and repertory cinemas by Rialto. Brooks has adapted the story twice