Having been a big fan of the original Zero Mostel-Gene Wilder version of The Producers, I noticed in the 2005 remake that they have an ostentatious establishing shot where they show the theater and the bar across the street in the same shot. "Aha, I thought, they’re going to have that scene where Bialystok and Bloom reteat to the bar before the intermission, and overhear the raves from the theatergoers about how great and campy “Springtime for Hitler is”
Only they didn’t. The scene isn’t there, and it was very clearly set up.
Now I learn that Ernia Sabella was to have played (did play, evidently, in scenes now on the cutting-room floor) the bartender. This would’ve reunited Sabella, Broderick, and Lane – Simba, Timon, and Pumbaa from The Lion King – in a live-action shot. The Producers (2005) - Trivia - IMDb Not necessary, but a cute plus.
So why did Mel do it? Were they [that pressed for time? Did he not want to be held hostage to a Disney film?
Who knows. Jeez, lots of scenes end up on the cutting room floor when movies are edited.
Probably for running time: they also cut out a couple of musical numbers to make the movie shorter.
It wasn’t in the play. The 2005 movie is a treatment of the play, not the original movie. Lots of things are different.
It may not have been in the play, but a.) It was very obviously set up by the shot of the bar that it was planned to be in the movie; b.) It was shot. I get the impression now that this version may have included a song, so it may well have been cut for time reasons.
Could be. Most musicals need a song nomination for an Oscar (and the attendant box office boost), and AMPAS rules state that a song can’t be nominated unless it’s original to the film, not adapted source material, which is why every movie version of a Broadway musical has at least one new song in it.