Mel Brooks reflects on his career with brutal honesty

Mel Brooks is giving a candid take on his legacy as he looks back on nearly seven decades in entertainment.

The 99-year-old comedy icon reflected on his career on January 20 during a Q&A at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures after the Los Angeles premiere of the new documentary Mel Brooks: The 99-Year-Old Man. 

When director Judd Apatow asked how it felt to revisit decades of his own work onscreen, Brooks said the reaction was mixed.

“Sometimes I can step back and think, ‘That guy’s funny,’” he said. “And sometimes I think, ‘What an arrogant, stupid son of a bitch.’” He added that, overall, the experience was positive, even if it came with some self-criticism.

Brooks also revisited one of the lowest moments of his career, recalling the night he became convinced The Producers had ended his future in film. After early reactions suggested the 1967 movie was a failure, Brooks went home devastated.

“I was crying,” he remembered, saying he told his wife, Anne Bancroft, that his film career was over. At the time, he believed television would be his fallback - unaware that the movie would later earn him an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and become a cultural landmark.

Despite nearing a century of life, Brooks said he has no plans to slow down. He revealed he’s busier than ever, with multiple projects underway, including Spaceballs 2 and the television series Very Young Frankenstein.

Mel Brooks: The 99-Year-Old Man is now streaming on HBO Max.