Mel Brooks was so brazen in its satire that major studios would not touch it, nor would many exhibitors. Brooks finally found an independent distributor who released it as an art film, a specialized attraction. In 1968, Brooks received an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for the film, beating such writers as Stanley Kubrick and John Cassavetes. "The Producers" became a smash underground hit, first on the nationwide college circuit, then in revivals and on home video. Brooks later turned it into a musical, which became hugely successful on Broadway, receiving an unprecedented twelve Tony awards. With the moderate financial success of
Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks at the Cannes Film Festival Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks at the Cannes Film Festival Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks at the Cannes Film Festival is a live 1963 comedy album by the American comedians Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks, recorded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was the third album released by the pair, and their last recording for 12 years. It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Performance at the 6th Annual Grammy Awards in 1964; it lost to Allan Sherman's song "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (A Letter from Camp)". Characters on the album include the Italian film director "Federico