Mel Brooks’ comedic output has varied widely over the years, but just about everybody agrees on one point: Young Frankenstein is pretty great. The writer and director’s 1974 send-up of Universal monster films might be the triumph of Brooks’ eye for comedic talent, featuring Cloris Leachman, Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, and especially Marty Feldman at the top of their respective comic games. Now, readers will be able to hear the story of Brooks’ Oscar-nominated spoof in his own words, with Hachette Books announcing Young Frankenstein: A Mel Brooks Book.
Co-authored by Rebecca Keegan, and featuring a foreword from Judd Apatow, the book promises to be the definitive behind-the-scenes story of the movie, as told by the director himself. It’ll also feature interviews from Leachman, director of photography Gerald Hirschfield—who was key to capturing that classic James Whale-homaging look—and producer Michael Gruskoff. (Sadly, Wilder, who co-wrote the movie with Brooks, doesn’t appear to have contributed to the project.) If nothing else, it’ll hopefully contain some fun tidbits on the backstory and motivations of the movie’s wonderful cast of characters, like Feldman’s Igor, or Leachman’s Frau Blücher. *horses scream*