The Producers, Original Sony Classical Soundtrack Release of Film Version of Mel Brooks' Smash Hit Show Starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick

The movie classic that became a Broadway sensation now becomes a movie musical event -- Mel Brooks' The Producers, the enduring Broadway hit that won a record 12 Tony Awards, returns to the screen under the direction of Susan Stroman, director/choreographer of the acclaimed stage production, with Tony winners Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick recreating their triumphant stage performances. Sony Classical will release the film's original soundtrack recording on Tuesday, November 22, 2005. A Brooksfilm production released by Universal Pictures, produced by Mel Brooks and Jonathan Sanger, The Producers opens in theaters nationwide on Wednesday, December 21, 2005.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050908/NYTH031 )

Onscreen, The Producers reunites much of the team from the original stage production of The Producers. The film will include all the hit songs from the stage production, for which Brooks wrote the music and lyrics, including "The King of Broadway," "We Can Do It," "I Wanna Be a Producer," "Keep It Gay," "Along Came Bialy," "That Face" and, of course, "Springtime for Hitler." He also collaborated on the musical's book with Thomas Meehan, as well as the film's screenplay. Stroman won Tonys for her direction and choreography of the Broadway production, and she is making her debut as a film director. In addition to Nathan Lane's Tony-winning portrayal of Max Bialystock and Matthew Broderick's acclaimed Leo Bloom, Gary Beach reprises his Tony-winning performance as Roger De Bris, and Roger Bart once again plays De Bris's assistant Carmen Ghia. Making their singing and dancing debuts in the film are Uma Thurman as Ulla, Max and Leo's secretary, and Will Ferrell as the playwright Franz Liebkind.

For the film, Brooks has written a new end-title song -- "There's Nothing Like a Show on Broadway" -- which Lane and Broderick will introduce on the soundtrack. As a second end-title track, Ferrell is slated record a "power ballad" arrangement his character's song from the show, "Der Guten Tag Hop-Clop." Also, the score has been rearranged for larger musical forces by Douglas Besterman, who won a Tony for his orchestrations of the stage production.

Based on the 1968 film of the same title for which Brooks won an Oscar® for his screenplay, The Producers opened to critical acclaim on Broadway in the spring of 2001 and became an immediate hit. It swept the theatrical awards for the 2000-01 season, winning the Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and New York Drama Critics Circle awards for Best Musical. Its total of 12 Tony Awards shattered a record set almost 40 years earlier by Hello, Dolly! In 2005, the London production won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical.

Sony Classical made the original cast recording -- which went on to win a Grammy® for Best Musical Show Album -- and also produced a documentary film about the recording session, Recording The Producers: A Musical Romp with Mel Brooks, that won a Grammy for Best Longform Music Video.

Sony Classical, RCA Red Seal and deutsche harmonia mundi are labels of SONY BMG MASTERWORKS, a division of SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT. For e-mail updates and information regarding Sony Classical, RCA Red Seal, deutsche harmonia mundi artists and Arte Nova, promotions, tours and repertoire, please visit http://www.bmgclassics.com/ and http://www.sonyclassical.com/.

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SOURCE: Sony Classical

CONTACT: Doreen D'Agostino of Sony BMG Masterworks, Publicity,
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