As a young boy, Judd Apatow says he wanted to grow up to be like Mel Brooks, the filmmaker of such comedy classics as "Blazing Saddles" and "Young Frankenstein." Now Apatow has co-directed a two-part HBO Max documentary about his idol, "Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!"

Hollywood

A new documentary directed by Judd Apatow, co-directed by Michael Bonfiglio, examines the life and career of Mel Brooks, the 99-year-old comedy icon. The film, streaming on HBO Max, delves into Brooks' upbringing in Brooklyn, his service in World War II, and his fearless approach to comedy, including his satirical takes on Nazism and racism in films like 'Blazing Saddles' and 'Young Frankenstein.'

The documentary also highlights Brooks' close friendship with Carl Reiner and his achievements across film, television, and theater, including his rare EGOT status. Apatow reflects on Brooks' legacy as a groundbreaking comedic force whose work has influenced countless comedians and continues to resonate with audiences worldwide.

Judd Apatow on comic genius Mel Brooks

If you're blue and you don't know where to go to, why don't you go where fashion suits? Bring them to me! Young Frankenstein is just one of the films that made Mel Brooks a comedy legend. Now at age 99, Brooks is the subject of a new documentary, directed by one of his biggest fans, Judd Apatow, who's talking with Tracy Smith. I'm very honored to be asked to present the award for best director, because I'm pretty sure that means the Globes people think I'm also one of the best directors. At the Golden Globes last week, Judd Apatow cracked up the room, but he's more at home behind the camera. You'll look good after this, man. Thanks, man. Apatow has helped create some of the more memorable moments on film. One, two, three. Oh, you! None of these journals are the same. He's also made documentaries about some of his idols, like Gary Shandling and George Carlin. This is your home. You have a giant Buddha. But his latest subject hardly needs an introduction. A house needs a Buddha. Every house needs a Buddha. How'd this get decorated? Who picked this? My late great wife Anne Bancroft. She had good taste in everything except husbands. Why'd you decide to do one on Mel? Well, Mel is the reason why most of us went into comedy. You know, when I was a kid, I was born in 1967, and all these Mel Brooks movies came out while I was a little kid and trying to figure out what the world meant and who I was. And here was this hilarious, tiny Jewish man who was really loud and brash and confident and seemed like the coolest guy in the world. And I think me and a lot of people thought, oh, that's the job you would want. You would want to be Mel Brooks. Mel, why did you become a comedian? Sex. I see. Mel Brooks, the 99-year-old man, streams this week on HBO Max. Co-directed by Michael Bonfiglio, it's the surprisingly personal origin story of a comedy legend. A Brooklyn kid raised by a single mom whose four sons went off to war. I was sent from a provincial tenement in Brooklyn to France. 1104th Engineer Combat Battalion. The Germans had just left France? Yeah. And so your job was to make sure they didn't leave behind booby traps? Right. 45-degree angle with your bayonet, go through the soil, find, find, find, dink, dink. Uh-oh. And I said to him, you know, did you ever think that you were going to die? And he goes, only every second of every day. Oh, my goodness. Mel Brooks came home from the war, but he never really stopped fighting the Nazis. Springtime for Hitler and Germany. Why do you think Hitler was a frequent target for him? The fear that it was going to happen again, and that if you don't keep pointing out how horrifying this is, then it can, you know, slowly bubble back up, which is something we see right now. And Mel was the one always pointing the finger, so. Yeah. Hey, boys, look what I got here. Hey, where are the white women at? And he was equally fearless against racism. His 1974 film Blazing Saddles is the story of a black sheriff in a racist town. Critics were divided over the raunchy comedy, but it was a monster hit with moviegoers. Pardon me, boy. Is this the Transylvania station? Yeah, yeah. Truck 29. And just a few months later, he came out with this. Walk this way. This way. We all know that there are all these great movies that he's done, but two of them came out in the same year. Yeah. Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. What did that do for Mel Brooks' status? He just became Beyonce for a little while. I mean, he was a real sensation, and it was kind of shocking, right, to two of the best comedies of all time come out in the same year. And we didn't talk about this in the documentary, but there was some sense that Blazing Saddles was so daring that maybe he made sure to make another movie so that if they really turned on him with Blazing Saddles, he already had another one to show him. I am not an animal! It wasn't all just for laughs. Mel Brooks also produced dramas like The Elephant Man, but he did it quietly. He didn't put his name on it. He thought it was a distraction and he would think the movie was silly because his name was on it. But yet it's a Brooks film, so I think people figured it out. I think he should put his name on there. What has kept you alive for 2,000 years? An enormous fear of death. No history of Mel Brooks' life would be complete without a mention of his best friend, the comedy giant Carl Reiner. It's one of the great friendships of all time because they were friends for, I mean, 70 years, maybe more. And, you know, some people are just magic together. They just fit, and they adored each other more than I've ever seen two people adore and respect each other. And I asked him, you know, what is the core of this, and he said, he's my father. Carl was only four years older, but Mel looked up to him. And later in life, as widowers, they leaned on one another. Anne Bancroft died in 2005. Estelle Reiner in 2008. How do you think he went on after Anne died? I think it was very, very hard. You know, he famously would go eat dinner and watch a movie with Carl Reiner at Carl Reiner's house and did that for many, many years. And they supported each other, and that's how both of them got through it. And then after Carl died, Mel would go to Carl's house alone and eat dinner and watch a movie. And I asked him why, and he said, because it feels like he's there in some way. I want everything I've ever seen in a movie! Leo, say you'll join me! I'll do it! My God, I'll do it! Mel Brooks, who will turn 100 in June, has two Oscars, four Emmys, and the Broadway version of his hit movie, The Producers, has 12 Tonys, a record that still stands today. He also won three Grammys, so that gives him rare EGOT status as the winner of an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. High anxiety! What's more, he's lived long enough to see how his work endures, in his films and in the countless comedians he inspired. What did he say when you asked him about his legacy? He said he thought he was put on this earth to make people laugh, and he did that. What do you think Mel Brooks' legacy is? The main one is probably the funniest person of all time, and creator of some of the best films of all time, one of the great Broadway musicals of all time, who had the courage to make comedy both about unimportant things and the most important things, and he did it longer than anybody.

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Nuuk

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Breakdown