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1-20 of 24 articles from 2009 « Prev | Next »
Monty Python Enters New Jersey Governor's Race; Copyright Infringement Charged Against Chris Christie
1 November 2009 10:00 PM, PST | Cinemaretro.com | See recent CinemaRetro news »
The members of Monty Python are accusing New Jersey candidate Chris Christie of copyright infringement.
By Lee Pfeiffer
The New Jersey governor's race is already one of the dirtiest and most bizarre campaigns imaginable. Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine should be coasting to re-election in a state that is largely liberal and largely Democratic. However, Corzine is fighting for his political life despite having virtually unlimited funds from his personal fortune to throw into his campaign. He has also had the benefit of several high profile campaign appearances by President Obama, who is extremely popular in this state. His main rival, Republican Chris Christie, a former Us Attorney, can't take much comfort, either. Despite running against a very unpopular incumbent, the best he has been able to do is draw even in the polls . (The election is Tuesday). Both men have run increasingly vitriolic campaigns, with Christie accusing Corzine of capitalizing »
- nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
Cleese And Idle Clashed On Urine-drinking Sketch
22 October 2009 1:11 AM, PDT | WENN | See recent WENN news »
Monty Python's Flying Circus stars John Cleese and Eric Idle clashed over a urine-drinking sketch, which the BBC banned from the troupe's cult comedy series.
Idle came up with the skit about a wine expert mistaking chardonnays and champagne for "wee-wee", and Cleese sided with TV bosses, who feared the segment was too off-colour to broadcast.
Cleese says, "I sided with the BBC... I found (it) really rather distasteful."
But Python pal Terry Gilliam insists the sketch wasn't cut from the show because it suggested the expert was drinking urine - but because the TV bosses read a little too much into one part of the skit.
He explains, "Apparently, one of the glasses of wine had a slight rose tint to it, which, to the BBC's mind, this was menstrual urine. Everything they came up with was more and more absurd... They were really twisted." »
Cleese: 'Chapman Should Have Been Fixed'
21 October 2009 6:36 PM, PDT | WENN | See recent WENN news »
Funnyman John Cleese has opened up about tragic Monty Python pal Graham Chapman in a new documentary, suggesting the late comedian "should have been sent back to the factory and fixed".
Cleese created the comedy troupe with the Life of Brian star, who lost his battle with cancer in 1989, but he now admits he never really understood his friend and found him tough to work with, especially when his well-documented heavy drinking became a real problem.
In a new U.S. TV documentary series, marking the 40th anniversary of Monty Python's Flying Circus, Cleese reveals, "He just didn't work properly... The simple stuff - getting the lines right, hitting his mark, he just was not an efficient creature... He was always late."
Chapman's former partner David Sherlock insists Cleese was "most uncomfortable" around the funnyman after he discovered Chapman was gay.
In the documentary, Month Python, Almost The Truth (The Lawyer's Cut), Sherlock says, "He discovered he'd been working all this time with someone he thought he knew, but now discovered he didn't know."
Cleese admits, "We were all surprised... We didn't mind that he was gay, but we were very, very surprised and I think Graham, sometimes, took the surprise for disapproval."
And Cleese wasn't the only member of the comedy troupe who struggled with Chapman.
Terry Gilliam says, "Graham was just a frustrating person. I never could make out who Graham was."
And Terry Jones adds, "Graham was a mystery... The only times I had lunch with him, we really hadn't got much to say to each other, really."
Michael Palin admits Chapman's drinking problem was a real issue. He recalls, "Sometimes he'd be quite funny and other times... he'd just irritate people for the sake of it." »
Coogan Was A Monty Python Parrot
20 October 2009 6:31 PM, PDT | WENN | See recent WENN news »
Funnyman Steve Coogan has the Monty Python's Flying Circus troupe to thanks for getting him hooked on zany comedy - because he was his family's human video recorder as a child.
The actor/comedian was a big fan of the cult show in the days before the Vcr and he had to memorise skits and sketches so he could reenact them for family friends.
The Tropic Thunder star explains, "You couldn't replay it... My mum might be talking to a friend and she'd say, 'Did you see that...? Steve, do it, do what was on the show last night.'
"So I would just be a video recorder; I'd just try and replicate what I had seen."
And he became a Monty Python perfectionist: "I'd get angry if I saw people trying to describe what was in the show, and getting it wrong." »
Review: 'Python: Almost The Truth' a joyous experience, begins on IFC Oct.18
18 October 2009 12:03 PM, PDT | Monsters and Critics | See recent Monsters and Critics news »
Monty Python means more to me than just a left-of-center British comedy, it was a show I always caught with my dad, late at night, after Tom Snyder's "The Tomorrow Show." The humorous skits and graphic cartoons so bizarre in concept for its time entertained mightily, and their films always were my favorites, still in high rotation for the home DVD collection. The trouple of British (and an American) came together In 1969, working up a new comedy concept at the BBC. "Monty Python's Flying Circus" is now 40 years old. The 40th anniversary of the troupe is celebrated in an engaging and revealing six-hour documentary series, .Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer.s Cut),. which begins »
- April MacIntyre
One of the First American "Python" Fans Recalls Series' Early Days -- in Canada
16 October 2009 7:21 AM, PDT | Huffington Post | See recent Huffington Post news »
I'm lucky. I got to see Monty Python before most Americans - both on TV and live. Over the years, this long-time newspaper TV critic has been asked: What's your all-time favorite series? Without hesitation: Monty Python's Flying Circus, the brilliant BBC series marking its 40th birthday this week with a series on the Independent Film Channel. The timeless comedy was brilliantly written and acted, and that's largely why it still stands up and still doesn't look dated. Why did I get to see Python before most Americans? I moved to Montreal in 1970 just as the Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC) was beginning to air the iconoclastic British import. (It finally premiered in the U.S.on PBS in 1975 -- after it had ended its BBC run.) Plus, the Pythons did their only North American... »
- Bill Mann
Monty Python Recordings Saved By U.S. Fans
15 October 2009 6:31 PM, PDT | WENN | See recent WENN news »
Early episodes of cult British comedy Monty Python's Flying Circus would have been lost forever if BBC bosses hadn't landed a deal to air the TV show in the U.S.
The cult series, starring John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Eric Idle and the late Graham Chapman, was picked up by BBC network bosses in 1969.
But there would be no trace of the troupe's early comedy shenanigans if the funnymen hadn't broken into the American market in 1975 - because network executives were eager to erase the original recordings of Monty Python to clear some space in their vaults.
Cleese explains, "The technology was so clumsy; I mean the tapes that the shows were stored on were so wide and took up so much space that the BBC started wiping the shows."
Jones adds, "There were no VCRs (video recorders), no DVDs in those days. The BBC nearly wiped all the shows. We got a call one day from our video editor saying they were about to erase all the shows - the BBC had put them onto Phillips cassettes, the only thing we had at the time. So, for a time, I thought the only record we had of the first Monty Python series was in my basement!
"In fact, the BBC would have wiped the Python TV shows if they hadn't suddenly sold them to the United States, so thank you the United States!"
Cleese reveals he suffered a similar fate with another TV comedy he made with late pals Chapman and Marty Feldman - and would have nothing to look back on had it not been for a superfan in Sweden.
He explains: "I did a show with Graham and Marty Feldman, called At Last the 1948 Show, and they (BBC bosses) completely wiped it.
"It wouldn't exist apart from the fact that, quite seriously, some guy in Sweden found seven episodes in a vault and sent them (to Cleese). So these classic series got completely wiped because the technology took up too much space." »
John Cleese on 40 years of 'Monty Python,' 'Fawlty Towers,' and sex!
14 October 2009 3:14 PM, PDT | EW.com - PopWatch | See recent EW.com - PopWatch news »
It is now 40 years since the legendary and hugely influential comedy show Monty Python's Flying Circus was first broadcast in the U.K. How do we know this? Well, partly because Python member John Cleese is so unbelievably decrepit. "I'm old and incontinent!" laughs the comedian. The Python crew's 40th anniversary is also being marked by a series of events. Tonight the five surviving members (Cleese, Terry Jones, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, and Terry Gilliam) will reunite for an appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Tomorrow they will grace (and possibly silly walk across) the stage of New York's »
- Clark Collis
Q+A: Terry Gilliam for The Imaginarum Of Doctor Parnassus
13 October 2009 9:30 AM, PDT | The Hollywood News | See recent The Hollywood News news »
In the dark days following the death of Heath Ledger, Terry Gilliam was grieving the loss of a close friend and couldn't bring himself even to contemplate what would happen to the film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, that they had both been working on when the young Australian actor sadly passed on.
"It was a terrible time," he says. "And frankly I was just devastated by the loss of such a great guy. The film didn't really come into it at that point."
But gradually, encouraged by his collaborators including his daughter, Amy Gilliam, who is a producer on the film, he began to accept that finishing it would be a fitting tribute to Heath even though, at first, he couldn't see how they could do it. Ledger died in January 2008 with the British end of the production completed but with weeks of shooting still planned on sound stages in Canada. »
- Paul
Monty Python turns 40: ComicMix Quick Picks for 10/6/09
6 October 2009 4:21 AM, PDT | Comicmix.com | See recent Comicmix news »
Still slow going around these parts, but have these tidbits to keep you warm during the cold season:
Not strictly comics-related, but the work of Monty Python is close enough to our hearts here at ComicMix that we'd feel remiss in not wishing them a happy 40th anniversary-- the first episode of Flying Circus aired October 5, 1969.
To celebrate, IFC announced it will air all episodes from the original Monty Python's Flying Circus sketch comedy series starting October 18th as part of the network's "Python-a-thon" week through the end of 2010. IFC has acquired all four seasons of the Monty Python series (45 episodes). IFC's "Python-a-thon" runs October 18-23 consisting of the original six-part docu-series Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer's Cut) each night at 9 pm followed by a Python feature film at 10 pm and capped off by an episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus at 11:30 pm. Additionally, IFC will air »
- Matthew Weinberger
Have some Spam in honor of Monty Python's 40th anniversary
5 October 2009 6:09 PM, PDT | AOL - TVSquad | See recent AOL - TVSquad news »
One of the world' most quotable and iconic comedy shows made its television debut 40 years ago today.
Monty Python's Flying Circus first appeared on British television on Oct. 5, 1969, a show that branched into four feature length films, launched the careers of six very funny dudes and inspired millions of countless nerds to quote their most famous lines to death (myself included).
I'm sure everyone with a working set of eyes and a television set remembers the first time they saw Monty Python. What's your earliest memory of the show and more importantly, did it include any images of nude ladies?
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Reality-Free, British TV
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- Danny Gallagher
'Monty Python's Flying Circus' turns 40
5 October 2009 4:07 PM, PDT | EW.com - PopWatch | See recent EW.com - PopWatch news »
Today marks the 40th anniversary of the first episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus, so we're celebrating both the specific troupe but also modern sketch comedy as we know it. Before comedy geeks swapped Simpsons esoterica or Mr. Show references, before a Kids in the Hall line served as the password to the sketch-dork club house, there was Monty Python. Here's 10 ways they changed comedy, and here's my favorite Python bit of all time, which isn't from the TV show but I think still counts: Is it the best? Perhaps not -- that might be no one expecting the Spanish Inquisition, »
- Margaret Lyons
Iiiittttt's....Monty Python's 40th Anniversary
5 October 2009 3:37 PM, PDT | GetTheBigPicture.net | See recent Get The Big Picture news »
And now for something completely different...
Monty Python's Flying Circus, the masterful absurd sketch comedy series, first aired on BBC 40 years ago today. The first episode (October 5, 1969) contained the famous "Funniest Joke in the World" sketch, and two weeks later came "Nudge Nudge." It would be almost two full months before the legendary "Dead Parrot" sketch, one of Python's signature moments.
The series would run for four seasons, after which the ensemble turned their attention to movies, including two undeniable classics, Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Life of Brian, both of which featured the late Graham Chapman in leading roles. »
- Colin Boyd
Celebrate The 40th Birthday Of 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' With Our Five Favorite Sketches
5 October 2009 3:00 PM, PDT | MTV Movies Blog | See recent MTV Movies Blog news »
Forty years ago today, the world became a funnier place with the grand debut of "Monty Python's Flying Circus," the television series showcasing the hilarious and often twisted comedy of the Monty Python sketch group, which included the likes of John Cleese, Terry Gilliam and Eric Idle among others.
But 40 years is a long time, as many of you out there -- myself included -- weren't even alive at the time of the show's inception. Hell, maybe your parents hadn't even met yet. Nonetheless, the various sketches and skits of "Flying Circus" hold up incredibly well today, and every young fan of comedy owes it to themselves to partake in at least the bare essentials of the comedy troupe's catalog.
Of course, there are an almost unlimited amount of gems to choose from -- but these five sketches are some of my favorites, and are as good a place to »
- Josh Wigler
Forty Years of Dead Parrots and Crunchy Frogs: Happy Birthday, Monty Python's Flying Circus!
5 October 2009 1:30 PM, PDT | Pastemagazine.com | See recent PasteMagazine news »
Forty years ago today, the lads of Monty Python debuted their wonderfully absurdist Flying Circus show on British television. Although it was sandwiched in a terrible spot in the Sunday lineup, it went on to gather a cult following and become a worldwide phenomenon. Thusly did dead parrots, the Spanish Inquisition, Spam, and a whole host of silly walks enter the common parlance. »
Happy 40, Monty!
5 October 2009 2:43 AM, PDT | JoBlo.com | See recent JoBlo news »
October 5th, 1969 at 10:55pm, British TV audiences, albeit not a lot of them then, heard an announcer come onto BBC1 and forever change their cultural landscape with 6 simple words: "And now, for something completely different." And different, they were. It was 40 years ago on this day that John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Eric Idle and the incomparable Terry Gilliam took to the airwaves under the name Monty Python's Flying Circus. There's way to much to be... »
- Tony Lang
Fantastic Fest Review: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
28 September 2009 5:26 PM, PDT | FilmSchoolRejects.com | See recent FilmSchoolRejects news »
The secret screenings of Fantastic Fest are always a big draw. For some, it is the ultimate payoff for dropping serious bank on a VIP badge (ideally guaranteeing you a seat). In my first year, being that I had a regular badge, it represented endless waiting and missing several other films on the off chance that it would be something really spectacular. On this particular night of Fantastic Fest, at this particular secret screening, we witnessed something spectacular in The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. The trouble is, when all was said and done, I still have no idea what to think of this film. Trying to summarize the plot of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is like trying to eat a sandwich the size of a moped; wouldn't know where to begin. It is basically the story of a traveling sideshow featuring a magic mirror that lets all who pass through it enter their own imaginations. The »
- Brian Salisbury
The Sketchy History of Sketch Comedy Movies
10 September 2009 4:14 AM, PDT | ifc.com | See recent IFC news »
Monty Python's 1983 film "The Meaning of Life" effortlessly set the gold standard in sketch comedy movies -- which, for clarification, we'll define here as feature-length anthologies of stand-alone comic bits that don't serve to push along any overarching storyline. But while the Pythons' greatest film (gauntlet thrown down!) omitted a plot, their skits were still tied together by the most timeless of through lines: the trials of human life, presented in chapters like "The Miracle of Birth," "Middle Age" and "Death." Furthermore, 1971's "And Now For Something Completely Different," a re-filmed compilation of greatest hits from the first two pioneering seasons of "Monty Python's Flying Circus," is arguably the silver medalist of its kind, and good luck coming up with a third film that actually deserves the bronze.
The cold, hard truth is that sketch comedy movies are nearly impossible to pull off, and most are doomed to fail the test of time. »
- Aaron Hillis
Python Stars To Reunite For New York Tribute Party
18 August 2009 3:01 PM, PDT | WENN | See recent WENN news »
The surviving members of comedy troupe Monty Python's Flying Circus are set for a series of reunions to mark their 40th anniversary in October.
John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin have agreed to take part in a get together at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York City on 15 October, where the quintet will be honoured with a special British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award for their contribution to film and TV.
The reunion event will also feature the premiere of new six-hour Python documentary Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer's Cut).
The film will be shown in its entirety on U.S. cable channel IFC on 18 October.
Original Python Graham Chapman died from cancer in 1989. »
Movie Reviews: 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus'
22 May 2009 2:20 AM, PDT | Studio Briefing - Film News | See recent Studio Briefing - Film News news »
Terry Gilliam has come a long way since the late '60s, when he admittedly became one of the original copyright infringers by cutting out photos and pictures from magazines and newspapers and using them inventively as graphic inserts in the BBC's Monty Python's Flying Circus without permission. Gilliam has now let his imagination loose in a movie about a traveling circus act called The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Although the film co-stars Heath Ledger in his final performance (he died while the film was still in production), it is not the performances or the script that captured the attention of audiences who previewed it at the Cannes Film Festival today (Friday), where it was shown out of competition. Reviewing the film for the BBC, Emma Jones commented, "There's no doubt that the imaginary world [Gilliam has] created is awe-inspiring, but it's ultimately designed for an art house audience. The critics at Cannes loved it, but most cinema-goers would need to see it more than once to start untangling the multiple themes." Peter Bradshaw wrote in Britain's Guardian newspaper: "When Gilliam shoots off into his surreal wonderland, his film has a kind of helium-filled jollity and spectacle. ... a reminder of the old Python magic. But the film's convoluted curlicues are tiring, insisting too loudly on how 'imaginative' everything is. And when it descends into the real world -- Lucy out of the sky without diamonds, as it were -- the film can frankly be a bit ho-hum." »
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1-20 of 24 articles from 2009 « Prev | Next »
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