Terms And Conditions
Mel Brooks had worked with Gene Wilder before in The Producers, and the actor had one condition for starring in Blazing Saddles. He would do it if Brooks agreed to get Wilder’s own film off the ground, Young Frankenstein. Brooks agreed, and Young Frankenstein was created, even receiving an Oscar nomination.
Bringing Music To The Fore
Commonly in films, if you’re hearing music it’s in the background, but Brooks wanted to do things differently. He hired Count Basie, one of the best band leaders in the world at the time to orchestrate the music. Blazing Saddles had the then very uncommon foreground music, and Brooks even wrote the film’s theme song.