From Quad Cities Times

Mel Brooks is cooking up a new horror film to be made in Rock Island.

The $5 million movie - "Pizzaman" - will start shooting in September and is the latest non-comedy project from Brooksfilms, which made "The Elephant Man" (1980), "The Fly" (1986), "The Fly II" (1989) and "84 Charing Cross Road" (1987).

Mr. Brooks, the 85-year-old comedy guru, is best known for spoofs such as "Blazing Saddles," "Young Frankenstein," "The Producers," "High Anxiety" and "Spaceballs," as well as the Broadway musical hit version of "The Producers" (which originated as a straight film in 1968 starring Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder).

The project has been in development at least three years, and while the plot remains under wraps, Hollywood Reporter said the screenwriters are longtime Brooks collaboratorsRudy De LucaandSteve Haberman, who co-wrote 1995's "Dracula: Dead and Loving It," produced by Brooksfilms.

"Pizzaman" will be the film directing debut of Mr. Haberman, who co-wrote the comedy "Screw Loose" (1999), which starred Mr. Brooks.

The Quad-Cities helped land the new film because Great River Production principal Rainer Soehnlein is a business partner of Mr. Brooks, said Doug Miller, GRS co-founder and executive in charge.

GRS, a consulting andproduction management company at 1724 4th Ave., Rock Island, launched in June to help attract and assist other Quad-Cities film and television production. It's separate from GreatRiverProductions, which was formed to make the $15 million computer-generated film "Troll," which is still waiting for final legislative approval of a change in Illinois film tax-credit law to start production.

"Great River Studios has been in communications with the production company and is awaiting approval of the Illinois Film Office," Mr. Miller said of "Pizzman"'s application for state tax credits.

Betsy Steinberg, managing director for the Illinois Film Office, said her office has received an application from Brooksfilms for the movie, but could not provide details. The production will be eligible for tax credits, but Brooksfilms won't be reimbursed until after the production ends and the state audits its expenditures, she said.

The film will shoot in the area for five weeks, and be released in theaters next year, Mr. Miller said.

Ms. Steinberg said she hopes GRS succeeds because "we're hoping to grow outside of Chicagoland." The Matt Damon film "The Informant" was shot in Decatur and Springfield, and the new Superman flick, "Man of Steel," is being filmed in Plano, west of Chicago, she said.

Mr. Miller said they hope to hire as much "local" as possible. "We need expertise in areas leaning heavily toward special effects."

He said he expects many film professionals from the Chicago area will work on the movie, which will be the biggest-budget film made in the Illinois Q-C, he said. "Sugar" (2008), a baseball movie made in Davenport and Burlington, had a similar-sized budget.

"They want something that looks like suburban America, which is what we do very well," Mr. Miller said.

The fact that this low-budget horror film is atypical for Mr. Brooks is interesting, he said."He's so known for his comedies, a lot of people don't realize he gave David Lynch (who produced "Blue Velvet," "Twin Peaks" and "Mulholland Drive") his start.

Auditions will be scheduled soon for "Pizzaman."