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 of his movie career, Brooks tried TV again with "When Things Were Rotten", a Robin Hood parody that lasted only 13 episodes. Nearly 20 years later, in response to the 1991 hit film "", Brooks mounted another Robin Hood parody in 1993 with "". Brooks' film resurrected several pieces of dialogue from his TV series, as well as from earlier Brooks films. In 1976, Brooks followed up his two hit films with an audacious idea: the first feature-length silent comedy in four decades. "Silent Movie" was written by Brooks and Ron Clark, starring Brooks in his first leading role, Dom