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
Brooks Ashmanskas Brooks Ashmanskas Brooks Ashmanskas (born June 14, 1969) is an American stage actor. He has appeared both on Broadway and Off-Broadway as well as in regional theatres. He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical and a Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical for playing various characters in "Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me". In 2016, he was featured in "Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed". Ashmanskas is originally from Salem, Oregon, and graduated from Bennington College. Ashmanskas was in