Lane plays down-on-his luck theater producer Max Bialystock who teams up with his neurotic account, Leo Bloom (Broderick), to scam his investors out of money. The two cook up a scheme to put on play that's sure to flop, with the idea in mind of pocketing all the extra money they raised. Their plan backfires when the play, "Springtime for Hitler," turns out to be a roaring success.
Nathan Lane on “The Producers” and His Career: “It’s always great when people show up to see your work, you know, and I’m always happy about that. Everything comes in cycles in show business. There are times when at first they fall in love with you, then they get sick of you and then…then they love you again. It’s sort of a natural evolution in show business.
‘The Producers’ is sort of a once in a lifetime kind of phenomenon and I was very grateful to be a part of it. In terms of the theatre at any rate, I’ve been doing this for 30 years so it’s an audience that has watched me grow up on the stage really. It’s sort of the one place where I know that, you know, that people will buy tickets. It’s an important thing to be able to fill a theatre because it gives you some choices in terms of your career.”
Nathan Lane on His Approach to the Movie Version of “The Producers:” “Well Mel [Brooks] first mentioned it while we were recording the cast album – nobody will say that anymore. I joked with him and said, ‘Well, you know, Danny DeVito and Ben Stiller will be great in the parts.’
Really, thanks to the success of Chicago it did finally happen. It’s unusual for the person who originated the part onstage to do it on film and so I was very grateful and thrilled to be able to do that, because it’s a great part and great parts are hard to come by.
…The major difference is that there’s no audience. You have to let go of that. And because it’s a very audience driven show it’s just going back to basics, as you would with any movie. I mean, obviously there’s a familiarity with the material and a comfortable feeling of you know this character very well. But it’s the same sorts of problems and obstacles. And also you just wanted to give Susan [Stroman, the director], some choices, you know? The material demands a kind of size and theatricality and you have to honor that.”
Nathan Lane on Comparisons to Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel: “Look, that’s always there - Gene and Zero’s performances. The show itself had enough new material that it… We felt like we inherited these roles and then it…started to feel like our own roles after a while, because there were a lot of things that we got to do that was all new.
There’s an inevitable comparison. Some people will accept that and some people won’t. You have no control over that, you know, and no one admires those performances more than myself. You just try to live up to the material, you know, and do the best job you can and whatever people say, they’ll say. But it’s great fun to finally put it on film.”
Nathan Lane Recalls His First Meeting with Matthew Broderick: “The first time I met him I think it was… I think it was the premiere of ‘The Lion King’ and we had done voices in it. We didn’t work together but, you know, we met and he’s shy. He’s not unlike me, he’s a little shy… And so, you know, I think we both thought we hated each other but were just too shy to really talk.
I had met him a couple of times socially, but just to say hello to. It was really when this project started to happen that we actually got together and had a dinner and talked. But it was just one of those things that’s just luck, really, you know that you hit it off with someone. There’s this so-called chemistry and it’s just a mutual respect and admiration and, I think, a similar sense of humor. It just really worked out.”
Nathan Lane on Mel Brooks’ Sense of Humor: “Well it’s influenced generations. He’s a comic genius and an adorable human being, and I’m very glad we came into each other’s lives. He’s one of a kind. I mean there’s nobody like Mel Brooks. You know, we all as kids, I went to see the movies and listened to ‘The 2000 Year Old Man.’ He was a huge influence and hero. And so to get to work with him was extraordinary.”
