Andrew Bergman, Mel Brooks & Co.

Do you subscribe to the "too many cooks spoil the broth" philosophy? Well, (to quote Adult Swim) maybe too many cooks spoil the broth, but they fill our hearts with so much, so much love.

Mel Brooks doesn't think that too many cooks—er, comedy writers—is possible either. He collaborated with four other dudes, including the famous comedian Richard Pryor, to write this script—and Richard Pryor's edgy, race-based humor fingerprints are all over this movie. (P.S. Pryor was also supposed to play Bart—alongside Gene Wilder who he supsequently worked with several times—but his drug problems axed the possibility. [Source])

The original was actually created by the screenwriter Andrew Bergman, who brought the idea to Mel Brooks and ended up collaborating with Brooks' entire team to create the finished product. And get this: Andrew Bergman is actually a Ph.D.-trained history scholar—with an award named after him no less. Makes sense, since the film is rooted in history.

So if you like Blazing Saddles, be sure to say thanks to a history teacher.