Tweet   The chemistry between Zero Mostel as Max Bialystock and Gene Wilder as Leo Bloom is immediate in this early scene where Leo retreats to the comfort of his baby blanket in the face of Max’s dominating personality.  The Producers (1968) is an American satirical dark comedy film written and directed by Mel Brooks. The film is set in the late 1960s and it tells the story of a theatrical producer an More..d an accountant who want to produce a sure-fire Broadway flop. They take more money from investors than they need and plan to abscond to Brazil after opening night. The film stars Zero Mostel as the producer and Gene Wilder as the accountant and features Kenneth Mars as the WWII Nazi soldier/playwright and Dick Shawn as the actor who ends up playing the lead in the musical within the movie. The Producers was the first film directed by Mel Brooks. He won an Academy Award for his screenplay. Decades later, it was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry and placed 11th on the AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs list.