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
Mel Brooks America's two funniest filmmakers." That year, Brooks produced the dramatic film "The Elephant Man" (directed by David Lynch). Knowing that anyone seeing a poster reading "Mel Brooks presents "The Elephant Man"" would expect a comedy, he set up the company Brooksfilms. Brooksfilms has since produced a number of non-comedy films, including David Cronenberg's "The Fly", "Frances", and "84 Charing Cross Road", starring Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft, along with comedies, including Richard Benjamin's "My Favorite Year", which was partially based on Mel Brooks' real life. Brooks sought to purchase the rights to "84 Charing Cross Road" for his wife, Anne