#1
Posted: 8/4/07 at 10:51am
Per Michael Riedel:
MEL Brooks loves green. And not just in monsters. The creator of "Young Frankenstein" has carved out what theater insiders are calling an "unprecedented" deal for himself that could earn him millions of dollars if the musical is a hit.
Brooks is entitled to 24 percent of the net profits from "Young Frankenstein," according to investment papers slipped to The Post by a highly placed source with a hump in Transylvania.
Which means that if "Young Frankenstein" earns as much as the $70 million his first musical, "The Producers," did, Brooks pockets around $17 million.
No writer - not even Andrew Lloyd Webber, the most successful composer in Broadway history - has ever laid claim to such a big chunk of a show.
Lloyd Webber, it's said, owns about 12 percent of "The Phantom of the Opera," the most successful stage musical of all time, with a worldwide gross of $2.5 billion.
("Phantom" is much more profitable than "The Producers," so don't cry for Lloyd Webber, Argentina.)
Not only does Brooks get the lion's share of profits, but as composer, lyricist, producer and co-writer (with his nicely compensated friend, Tom Meehan) he's also entitled to a substantial weekly royalty, which, according to the papers, amounts to about $100,000 - if the show sells out. That would mean an additional $5.2 million in his pocket each year.
That's in line with what authors of Brooks' rank command on Broadway. It's his percentage of the profits that's off the charts.
"It's a very big number," says a veteran producer. "From every angle, this show is to Mel Brooks' benefit."
Brooks' compensation package is so rich that unless "Young Frankenstein" is a sellout, through-the-roof, sell-your-firstborn-to-get-a-ticket smash, his backers - who include billionaire entertainment mogul Robert F. Sillerman - will be on the street, rattling tin cups.
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Riedel in NY Post
MEL Brooks loves green. And not just in monsters. The creator of "Young Frankenstein" has carved out what theater insiders are calling an "unprecedented" deal for himself that could earn him millions of dollars if the musical is a hit.
Brooks is entitled to 24 percent of the net profits from "Young Frankenstein," according to investment papers slipped to The Post by a highly placed source with a hump in Transylvania.
Which means that if "Young Frankenstein" earns as much as the $70 million his first musical, "The Producers," did, Brooks pockets around $17 million.
No writer - not even Andrew Lloyd Webber, the most successful composer in Broadway history - has ever laid claim to such a big chunk of a show.
Lloyd Webber, it's said, owns about 12 percent of "The Phantom of the Opera," the most successful stage musical of all time, with a worldwide gross of $2.5 billion.
("Phantom" is much more profitable than "The Producers," so don't cry for Lloyd Webber, Argentina.)
Not only does Brooks get the lion's share of profits, but as composer, lyricist, producer and co-writer (with his nicely compensated friend, Tom Meehan) he's also entitled to a substantial weekly royalty, which, according to the papers, amounts to about $100,000 - if the show sells out. That would mean an additional $5.2 million in his pocket each year.
That's in line with what authors of Brooks' rank command on Broadway. It's his percentage of the profits that's off the charts.
"It's a very big number," says a veteran producer. "From every angle, this show is to Mel Brooks' benefit."
Brooks' compensation package is so rich that unless "Young Frankenstein" is a sellout, through-the-roof, sell-your-firstborn-to-get-a-ticket smash, his backers - who include billionaire entertainment mogul Robert F. Sillerman - will be on the street, rattling tin cups.
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Riedel in NY Post
Updated On: 8/4/07 at 10:51 AM
