Young Frankenstein Opened the Door for Star Wars
That same day, producer Mike Gruskoff suggested showing the script to Alan Ladd Jr., aka Laddie, who had just joined the leadership team at Twentieth Century Fox. Ladd loved it, agreed it should be in black and white, and authorized a budget of $2.4 million.
Ladd was promoted in 1976 to president of Fox’s film division, which Brooks said was in large part thanks to the $86 million box-office returns for Young Frankenstein, which made its money back many times over.
Brooks wrote that this success to Ladd “in a position to greenlight over three hundred films during his illustrious career, including High Anxiety (1977), Star Wars (1977), Alien (1977), Blade Runner (1982), A Fish Called Wanda (1988) and Thelma and Louise (1991),” wrote Brooks.
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