Hollywood legend Mel Brooks will be the subject of the new HBO documentary “Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!”
“The thing that was most surprising about him was just how unbelievably quick-witted he still is,” co-director Michael Bonfiglio told The Post.
“[He has] comic instincts [that are] so fast, and he’s still so fun. He was just incredibly quick.”
It will be premiering in two parts, on Thursday, Jan. 22 (8 p.m. on HBO) with a second part on Friday, Jan. 23, the doc was co-directed by Bonfiglio and Judd Apatow.
Mel Brooks documentary will feature Rob Reiner
It documents Brooks’ life and legendary career, including his marriage to “The Graduate” star Anne Bancroft (who he was married to from 1964 until her passing in 2005 from cancer at 73), his humble beginnings, his movies such as “Young Frankenstein,” “Blazing Saddles” and “Robin Hood: Men in Tights” and his friendship with Carl Reiner.
Interviews in the doc include Brooks himself, reflecting on his life and work, his adult children such as Max Brooks, and various industry legends including Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller and Dave Chappelle.
Late industry legends Rob Reiner and David Lynch also appear in the doc in on-camera interviews.
Rob was interviewed for the doc before his slaying at 78 on December 14th.
Lynch, passed away January 16th, 2025, of cardiac arrest due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
“David Lynch had stopped doing interviews because of his health. We interviewed him in October, less than three months before he passed,” Bonfiglio said, explaining that they began making the doc in “the spring of 2024.”
Brooks exec produced Lynch’s 1980 film “The Elephant Man.” On-screen in his interview, Lynch credited Brooks with saving his then-foundering career.
Bonfiglio said Lynch, “made an exception to his ‘no more interviews’ rule for us, because he loved Mel so much. And so, that was a really special day.”
