Mel Brooks‘ life and career will be chronicled in a two-part documentary set up at HBO documentary Films, with Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio. The project is already in production.
Per the official logline, the project will offer “an expansive yet intimate look at one of comedy’s most hilarious and influential minds, whose work has had audiences around the world laughing for more than 70 years.”
The documentary will be edited by Joe Beshenkovsky, reuniting him with Apatow and Bonfiglio, as the three were also behind the HBO documentary “George Carlin’s American Dream.” Kevin Salter serves as executive producer.
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“I went into comedy because of my love for Mel Brooks,” Apatow said in a statement. “This project is the dream of a lifetime.”
Among the best known films Brooks wrote and directed during his 70-year career are “The Twelve Chairs” (1970), “Blazing Saddles” (1974), “Young Frankenstein” (1974), “Silent Movie” (1976), “History of the World Part 1” (1981), “High Anxiety” (1977) and “Spaceballs” (1987), also starring in several. On TV, he created the hit sitcom “Get Smart,” which ran on NBC from 1965 to 1969 before moving to CBS until its 1970 finale. Brooks is one of 19 “EGOTs” having won awards at the Emmys, Grammys, Oscars and Tonys, with other accolades including WGA Awards and Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations. Brooks is 98.
Apatow Productions is the company behind comedy series and films including “Freaks and Geeks,” “Girls,” “Anchorman,” “Step Brothers” and more, with more recent projects including “Bros,” “Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain,” and “Flipside.” Alongside the Brooks and Carlin docs, Apatow also produced HBO’s “The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling.”
