Monty Python's Holy Grail goes Broadway

Sixyphe writes "First sighted on Yahoo News, it would seem that Eric Idle of Monty Python fame is working on a Broadway musical adaptation of everybody's favorite source of accurate medieval data, Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The goal is 2005, and the working title is Spamelot (and not Spamalot, contrary to what an AP wire claims). And as a bonus to all you North-American Python fans, Eric Idle is soon to be touring in Canada and the US."

Comments

From the least (and nastiest) of the Pythons...

[el borak]

Ever wanted to know what Idle is really like? Or why his fellow ex-Pythons rarely work with him? The original page is gone, but The Wayback Machine comes to the rescue. A choice quote:

The other Pythons have become accustomed to this attitude over the last 30 years - and because they have continuing business interests in common - have to tolerate it. Living 6,000 miles away from him and seeing him only very occasionally helps.

But they are unsparing about him behind his back. "Eric Idle gives selfishness a bad name" is John Cleese's openly-expressed and widely-repeated description of his former colleague.

Holy grail in Russia..

[adeyadey]

Did you know that the "Holy Grail" was a huge hit in the Soviet Union at the time - something like No 3 at the box office? The Soviet censors liked the films send-up of religion (& imperialism - remember the socialist peasants!), and passed it as being suitable viewing, maybe missing the strong thread of anarchism that pervades all of Pythons work. You could argue that it was cultural erosion like this that helped bring down the Wall..

The film itself was shot for peanuts in a damp part of scotland in just a few weeks. The actors really were damp and cold when performing it, giving the film an authentic grimness missing from glossy Hollywood takes on medieval Britain. All the music was cheap "mood-music" taken off some LP. Gilliam is a great director who doesnt make nearly enough films, in my view.