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Monty Python Crew To Reunite For Movie
dutchwhizzman writes "The surviving members of Monty Python have announced they will make a new movie. It will be titled Absolutely Anything. Graham Chapman won't be there to join them anymore, but they think the movie will still be in the spirit of Life of Brian, The Meaning of Life and other movies they made in the past."
... because none of us expected it.
...it should be something completely different
...and why is Graham Chapman not joining them?
The source says that Eric Idle isn't confirmed to be part of the project (yet). So it's not quite a true reunion (yet). So I'm not quite jumping straight out of my window out of sheer joy (yet).
Eric, my life depends on you.
Personally I think they shouldn't.
Maybe author a movie, but not star in it. They where great at the time (70's and 80's) but now they would risk looking outdated and desperately trying to cling to some sort of success.
So either produce something truly "completely different", or no. Leave those outstanding movies (and of course TV sketches) as they where. Don't do a "Godfather III" or a "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" or a "Blues Brothers 2000" (and on). Please.
Bugger.
This article made me break my vow of lurking!
Now I know for sure the straight of hormuz will be blocked !
...from the moment John Cleese's divorce was final and his ex-wife got half of everything. Woo hoo! Shortly after there was a new Monty Python documentary, and now this.
John cleese need some monies, and now(2008 an onwards) he can't say nay to anything.
Some years ago he was in commerials for Elgiganted. Saying stuff like,'In my divorce the judge awarded my wife with the tv-set, and I thought "that okay ha ha ha" but now i just remember that without the tv i can't watch the cricket and I'm so unhappy!' *some voiceover saying that Elgiganten sells a hdtv for X sek* "Thank god for elgiganten!"
aging celebrities know this. musicians, actors know that they only have so much time left.
why not put some more art out there while you still can? I hate to sound morbid but those guys only have a few years left and I'd love to have them put more of their comedy into the world before they go.
its the same way that many older 70's/80's rock musicians are coming back to do a high-def video concert tour. most of their older work was not video recorded (or not done well) and it would be nice to have at least a few HD moments to savor of them, for posterity. its not 'the same' as the old days but its far better than NOT having it! you can always choose to not view it, but if they choose to not produce it, neither of us have a choice.
so, kudos to them for wanting to throw some more of their artful style out into the world before they push up the daiseys.
--
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
Wonder what phrases they will leave to posterity and lazy journos this time? Still find python isms every day. I.e, http://www.cmswire.com/cms/search/a-week-in-google-hes-not-a-search-company-hes-a-very-naughty-boy-014273.php
They've all been HUGELY successful since their python days.... well except for Graham of course.
Instead of Robin Williams as a talking dog (ugh), splice together Chapman's voice from all his films and Monty Python episodes (like South Park and Chef) for that role. Then sprinkle photos of Chapman in his various outlandish outfits throughout the movie without making a direct reference to them.
I can dream. Feverish dreams.
I really like the Monty Python show, but a movie with the old crew? The original crew is now what, all over 70 now? I think this is really the case where you should not ruin the haritage of a good show, and just leave it in peace. It's the same with Indeaner Jones, where Harrison Ford is just too old to be a good Indianer again, so the best should have been just leave the Indeaner Jones trilogy in peace.
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Well, I can imagine that the title isn't actually "Absolutely Anything", but that "absolutely anything" is what they answered when asked what the title might be.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
At present, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, and Michael Palin are all signed on to the film. “Eric [Idle] knows about the project” but isn’t confirmed yet, said producer Chris Chesser.
Why no Idle?
Maybe he is stuck in Cardinal Fang's Comfy Chair
Silence is a state of mime.
It shouldn't be in the spirit of Life of Brian... it should be something completely different
Python doing something in their own style, but without coming across as stale or cliched would be the holy grail, I agree.
I can't wait for the master of the tantrum to rant again: John Cleese!
I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
Sorry to be a buzzkill, but it looks like it'll be just a movie by Terry Jones with the other Pythons being voice actors and nothing more. Heck, Terry Jones himself said that "It's not a Monty Python picture".http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16744299 None of the other Pythons are involved in the writing process.
I know it's also a while back but Cleese and Palin were very good in "A Fish Called Wanda". Palin has been very good in his travel shows, when not getting sabotaged by his studio (Baron Munchausen distribution and getting pulled from Harry Potter) Terry Gilliam has been successful, Cleese is writing comedy and touring etc. I doubt they would bother to do a remake of anything because they have been making new material for years.
The only one of them that has redone material is Eric Idle with "Spamalot" and he's done a few things in the years since he wrote that. It may still be running at times but it nearly ten years since he wrote it.
Well, one thing's for sure: The film is going to be very good, or very bad. I can't imagine seeing a combined CGI-and-live-action sci-fi film with substantially all of the Python crew, plus Robin William's voice for "a wry talking dog named Dennis," and walking out unmoved one way or the other.
... because none of us expected it.
Except when you are, like me, Cardinal Ximinez.
Good stuff!
Well, I'll ask them, but I don't think they will be very keen. Uh, they already did that one, you see.
What?
He said they've already got one!
Are you sure they've got one?
Oh yes. It's very nice!
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This will be interesting to watch - In the 21st century, "Geek Appeal" movies generally tank at the box office (Serenity / Scott Pilgrim etc.) and I think these days Monty Python is generally in this category. (Spamalot did well, but this is a different business model...)
...news that really does matter!
New mod option wanted: -1 DrunkenRambling
its not 'the same' as the old days but its far better than NOT having it! you can always choose to not view it
I don't know. Sometimes the nostalgia is worth more as it exists in your own recollection (which is hampered by a new perspective), and sometimes you don't realistically have a choice not to view it.
I think it should be a combined effort with Kids In The Hall. At very least, that'll weed out the nerds with heart conditions from the gene pool.
Knowing their style of humor, that likely offhand comment WILL become the movie title.
Graham Chapman's place will be filled by Andy Kaufman.
...Clearly, you didn't watch much MONTY PYTHON when they were first on, or you would know that IS the title..
Or SOPA? Because all of us are expecting it....
....it's not a Python film, and that they'll just be providing the voices and aren't writing it together (on several sites).... ...I'm left wondering why I have to fill in the gaps for Slashdot's lazy journalism
....explode with delight
In a cybernetic fit of rage she pissed off to another age...
figure out a way to work the fish slapping dance into this movie.
I believe it will be magnificently difficult for the Pythons to produce something that depends upon the tremendous sense of timing that their brand of comedy requires. What they might want to try is some sort of live production (I know, far smaller audience) involving Robin Williams. And at the risk of a little peril, I'll keep my eyes open for that grail-shaped beacon...
... I'll concede that he's been in some decent films and has been quite good in them: Good Will Hunting, The Fisher King, Hook, Jumanji, Awakenings, Final Cut, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.
Well? We're waiting over here, so get on with it!
....its..../falls over/
Seriously though if they can get Cleese, Palin,Idle and Jones they should be able to capture the feel of the original. Gilliam was mostly animation and as Cleese put it "Graham added fire to the engine but he could never be the engine" as Chapman's function during writing was to be their sense of what was funny. The famous dead parrot was originally a broken toaster and it was Chapman that said 'How can we make this madder?" and got them thinking crazier until they came up with the Norwegian Blue, lovely plumage it has. Not that it won't be missing Chapman, Cleese said "he was always the best actor of the group" which is why he was the lead in LoB and HG, and his ability to deadpan....who can forget his "This is getting silly! stop that!" Major wearing a tutu? But if the guys are actually working together (according to TFA they haven't got Idle on board yet) like in the old days it ought to be better than a good 99.95% of the tripe coming out of Hollywood now. Maybe we can hope that this will start a revival of good silly yet thinking comedy again? Man after all the RomComs and stoner comedies the Pythons will be like a breath of fresh air after touring a sewage treatment plant.
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Also decent guest roles on Law & Order: SVU and a few other TV shows. Oddly, I find I like him better in non-comedic roles. For me, his comedy has become hit-and-miss, with much more miss.
- T
My favorite sketch is, however, a Chapman sketch, and that's the still very shocking Undertaker Sketch, which Chapman deliberately wrote to be as appalling as possible. During his alcoholic years he was indeed far too unreliable to ever take the lead, and in fact according to Cleese it got so bad that that was why left and did the first Fawlty Towers series.
But it was very much Chapman's sense of the bizarre that was used so effectively. He may not have been the out-and-out creative force that the others were, but I doubt the Python's would have seemed very much like the Python's without him. He was of the same kind of anarchic breed as the Python's idol, Spike Milligan (another brilliant comedian and writer who had his own terrible demons).
They all served their function, and that's what makes any potential reunions seem somewhat underwhelming to me. If Idle's not involved, then you lose that element of it, and if Gilliam isn't involved, then you lose that sort of hallucinatory visual style. Python really is a very good example of how the sum is greater than the parts. They've all gone one and done some rather good things (yes, I even enjoyed Yellow Beard), but only Gilliam has ever managed to achieve things that came close to equaling his brilliance in Python.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
From the short python sketch(es?) long after python that I've seen them (or part of them) do for tv-specials or somesuch, I'm a bit nervous about this. Maybe they cobbled something together hastily and/or their hearts weren't into it, but that/those sketch(es) looked to me like old men trying to plagiarise their former selves through unoriginal python boilerplate. It was like it was lacking soul or fire, like the old stuff was art and this wasn't.
It seemed like they had become more assimilated into boring normalcy. I have a theory. I think they may have stopped smoking hashish.
I really hope they can prove me wrong.
Some of my favourite people are from th US; Vonnegut, Chomsky, Bill Hicks.
Slashdotter: Timothy, we're all a little mystified by your claim that the new python film stars Graham Chapman.
Timothy: It does, yes.
Slashdotter: Who died over ten years ago?
Timothy: Uh, that's correct.
Slashdotter: Are you lying?
Timothy: No, no, it's just that he's very popular.
Slashdotter: Does he have a big part?
Timothy: He is the star of the film.
Slashdotter: And dead.
Timothy: Well, we dug him up and gave him a screen test, a mere formality in his case, and...
Slashdotter: Can he still act?
Timothy: Well...well, he still has this-this enormous, ah-ah, kinda indefinable, uh...no.
Slashdotter: Was decomposition a problem?
Timothy: We did have to put him in the fridge between takes.
Slashdotter: Ah, what sorts of things does he do in the film?
Timothy: Well, we had him lying on beds, lying on floors, falling out of cupboards, scaring the children, ahm...
Slashdotter: But surely Graham Chapman was cremated?
Timothy: Well, we had to use a standin for some of the more visible shots.
Slashdotter: Ah! Uh, another actress.
Timothy: Dead actress. But Chapman was in shot the whole time.
Slashdotter: How?
Timothy: Oh, in the ash tray, in the fire grate and vacuum cleaner...
Slashdotter: So Graham does not appear in the film?
Timothy: Not as such.
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Well I agree the whole is ALWAYS better but sadly Graham's gone so we have to take what we can get and even Python on their worst days you have to admit was world's better than the stoner and romcom crap we've been getting of late. I agree Chapman was seriously a dark writer and Idle with his wordplay needs to be there but frankly we've had such horrible shit, we're talking nothing but fuck jokes and fart jokes and dope jokes that even if they are just a third as witty as they were during the olden days they'll still kick ass. sadly even the Brit humor seems to have gone downhill with everything being "lowest common denominator" which sadly these days is about as witty and intelligent as beavis and butthead.
So while I will always probably picture Chapman first when i think of Python, usually his colonel in the tutu telling everyone to "stop right this minute its much too silly!" along with the pepperpots honestly after seeing what passes for comedy these days having ANY new Python will be so damned refreshing after a sea of bodily functions bits it'll seem like Xmas to me.
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I read an interesting commentary on why Holy Grail and Life of Brian were so different from Meaning of Life. Sadly, I don't remember who wrote it. The basic premise was that the first two movies were filmed on location, so all of the Pythons were rooming together, eating together, revising together. MoL was a studio picture and all the Pythons went home after the day's shooting was done and they didn't have the intimate contact and interaction that the first two films engendered.
I hope this one turns out to be a location shoot. I guess we'll find out, and I'll certainly do my best to see it opening day.
When you sympathize with stupidity, you start thinking like an idiot.
having ANY new Python will be so damned refreshing
I certainly hope so. It would be so sad if this generation grow up thinking Monty Python was a bunch of old farts who were only vaguely amusing, and never go on to explore their older works because of this one movie.
It's possible their humour has become a bit dated though wrt what kids/teens these days find funny. When I watched it when I was a kid, Monty Python (and the Goodies, Not The Nine O'Clock News, etc) were the funniest things ever. When I put the Holy Grail on for the kids (aged around 5, 7, 9, and 14 at the time - i'd kind of forgotten about the spanking and oral sex references until the castle anthrax scene started :) a while ago the 14yo enjoyed it but still didn't really connect with it the way I would have even at a younger age. The younger kids were pretty "meh" about it.
Watching the shows they watch on ABC3 (Australian government/taxpayer sponsored kids channel), I can kind of see why. Those shows are fantastic and often far sillier than MP ever were, and you can kind of tell that some of the writers probably grew up with MP themselves. MP and other comedy in that style was my first exposure to that sort of "silly" humour, but now it's everywhere.
As much as I like and respect the members of Monty Python, they're not the same, their comedy is not the same, and comedy is not the same. Which is not to say that they're bad now, just that they've each hit very different comedic strides in the past 30 years. Cleese is more Nearly Headless Nick than the early 80's Robin Williams. Heck, Robin Williams is more like Nearly Headless Nick than the early 80's Robin Williams. Gilliam's such a legendary director that it's easy to forget he was a Monty Python member. Terry Jones is hardly ever on camera now, but has been writing an awful lot (including Labyrinth). And Palin, well, working actor and all that.
When a reunion like this happens, it's always nice to trot out the old gang for once, shower them with applause for the years they've done good work, and pretend that the work isn't mildly disappointing. 99 times out of 100, you can't recapture that lightning. Being influential means that everyone after you copies you, and that makes you less interesting.
We've grown up with Monty Python. We owe huge debts of gratitude and culture to their body of work. But let's not pretend that when the blonde bombshell from the 1970's shakes he tassles again it will be the same as 40 years ago. Entertaining? Yes. Worth seeing? Yes. The same? If they try to be the same, they're going to be dead in the water.
The ______ Agenda
Our international copyright regime specifically incentivizes *against* this happening. If the whole purpose of copyright is to ensure the artist is able to no longer make new art but live off of the old stuff, this is exactly the result you'll see.
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Good!
Python 2.7 or Python 3?
The explanation I read was that writing proved quite laborious and that Cleese vetoed a final rewrite, which probably would have cleaned up the unevenness. I have a hard time believing that spending time on location helped Grail at all, as everyone spent most of the time absolutely miserable and Chapman spent much of the time suffering through severe alcohol withdrawal. On top of that, everyone found the co-directing of Gilliam and Jones quite unbearable, as Jones directed things in a fashion compatible to the Pythons but they found Gilliam's methods far more tedious (this is why the next two films were directed by Jones alone).
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
Heh, two of those are Terry Gilliam films. He was very good in The Fisher King.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
I hope they use Owl Stretching Time. It would be fun to go to the root of it all!
Good Morning Vietnam was a nice blend of both.
But, mostly if his comedy isn't a take off on his "this is me high on cocaine" riff then it falls flat. For example, that's why his King of the Moon performance works.
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I think the movies might be the wrong way to introduce Python to a new audience. I think that Flying Circus is a far better way, in large part because they weren't trying to carry an entire film plot. As much as I love the films, I still think the first three series of Flying Circus are superior.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
I have to agree with the other poster you don't start someone on MP with the movies, frankly they just weren't as good as the series. i would start them with one of the many best of compilations, that will give you all the classics like cheese sketch, dead parrot, lumberjack, I started my boys out on MP that way and now both love the Python. Man the local college kids STILL eat up MP, my oldest says you can stop anywhere on the campus and go "I'm a lumberjack and I'm okay" and 50 kids will call back "He sleeps all night and he works all day". But I'd give them a best of MP along with French and Saunders, followed by are You Being Served. I have yet to find anybody who doesn't like Sloakum and Humphries. That will give them a nice taste of the best bits and from there they can decide where their tastes lie, my youngest loves Served while the oldest loves Red Dwarf and both love Python.
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followed by are You Being Served. I have yet to find anybody who doesn't like Sloakum and Humphries.
You know... I just never 'got' that show. I was probably too young to fully appreciate it at the time (certainly the pussy jokes went right over my head) but still... even now when it's on i still normally just give it a miss.
But you're right, the movie was probably a bad place to start. It's all I had though, and my kids watch too much tv as it is so i have mixed feelings about introducing more of it :)
its the same way that many older 70's/80's rock musicians are coming back to do a high-def video concert tour.
They're doing it because their record labels utterly ripped them off in the early years & they didn't have enough wealth to carry them through retirement, and "the real world" post-band wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Probably, the labels are getting them back inexpensively, under contract; as in "we'll allow you to promote your music, which we own, so long as it turns us a profit".
40 years past their prime, no Eric Idle (as per the article)... be prepared to be underwehlmed I sadly think...
www.itjerk.com
Sorry to be a buzzkill, but it looks like it'll be just a movie by Terry Jones with the other Pythons being voice actors and nothing more. Heck, Terry Jones himself said that "It's not a Monty Python picture".http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16744299 None of the other Pythons are involved in the writing process.
The interviewers had a really hard time pretending to give a fuck.
From the link:
A talking dog that will ham the shit out of every scene named Dennis will be voiced by Mrs Doubtfire actor Robin Williams.
FTFY. Will not watch.
Well the joke in AYBS really they need to be at LEAST 16 to get a lot of it as there is a LOT of wordplay in that show, especially Sloakum and Humphries. Mr. Humphries could tell the filthiest stories while not using a single curseword and making sure there was a completely innocent explanation to get by the censors but if you pay attention to some of his stories you'll think "How did they get THAT past the censors?". But for the younger ones I'd go with Python best of and French and Saunders as they had a lot more visual gags and their stuff wasn't quite as randy as AYBS. Of course once they are older AYBS and AbFab with "poor old, dear old, sad old Patsy" are hilarious but again you have to be able to keep up with the word play. oh and for younger ones Red Dwarf is also very visual while still having jokes for the older ones.
The nice thing about the older British comedies is that you have shows for every age, from the heavy visual and slapstick to the heavy wordplay to the bawdy, it all comes down to picking the right show for the right age. When mine were little they'd fall over laughing at Benny Hill, they thought his chases and the way he was always smacking the bald guy was just too funny, now they watch a lot of Red Dwarf, AbFab, and Vicar of Dibly. So just pick a couple of best ofs for shows you think are about their speed and go for it bro. Frankly any of it is better than the current American TV which is waaay to much into sex jokes and bodily functions. American TV has always been less subtle and now its about as subtle as a punch in the balls.
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'One Hour Photo'.... and 'Jakob The Liar'. Robin Williams' (i think) two best roles.
twisted/tormented old freak and doomed good guy.
Good Idea, oh Lord!
Behind Python Dave Allen was my favorite (though he's Irish, does that count?) The man was almost the wittiest man that ever lived. His monologues alone were quite brilliant. To some extent I consider Craig Ferguson to be his heir (and certainly the most interesting person on late night).
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
I'm not trying to equate it with Monty Python, but have you seen "30 Rock"? I would definitely call it silly yet thinking. There's a lot of intellectual humor, mixed in with really bizarre/off the wall humor. (A lot of the off the wall stuff involves Tracy Morgan, who I really disliked on SNL, but he's funny in limited doses on this show, doing basically the same thing.. yeah, it's weird.)
Disclaimer: I'm not a huge Monty Python fan. (There are a bunch of funny sketches, but just like if you watch ENTIRE old SNLs, I think you'll realize it's always been a couple of good sketches and a bunch of crap.)
Uggh. That's my example that British sitcoms can be just as horrible as American sitcoms. (Of course, in the U.S., we usually see _mostly_ only the good British ones.)
(BTW, "Coupling" is among my favorite shows ever.)
I'm curious what book(s) you got that information from. I've started re-reading some Python books, recently finished Graham Chapman's Liar's Autobiography, he doesn't talk too much about shooting Grail, more about Brian.
Thanks!
When you sympathize with stupidity, you start thinking like an idiot.