MONTY PYTHON'S "BRIAN" SET FOR RERELEASE The Associated Press Published 6:11 AM PST Monday, May. 03, 2004
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Monty Python's Flying Circus alumnus Terry Jones doesn't mince words about why the troupe's film "Life of Brian" is being rushed into rerelease this month.
"It's shameless commercial opportunism on our part," Jones told the Philadelphia Inquirer in Sunday's editions.
The original plan was to get the movie prints out in August, the month that marks the 25th anniversary of the Python's tale of an accidental messiah. Then came Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ."
"We just saw the opportunity and thought we'd take it," Jones said. "We're definitely trying to cash in on Mel's enormous success."
Jones, who directed the wickedly funny biblical send-up, also helmed "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" (1974) and "The Meaning of Life" (1983). A quarter-century ago, "Life of Brian" sparked controversy and bans.
"That was rather good, really, because it gave us a lot of publicity," Jones said. "It also gave us a great ad line in Sweden, because the Swedes regard the Norwegians as having no sense of humor, and as it was banned in Norway the Swedish distributor ran a line that read, 'This film is so funny it was banned in Norway!'"
Posts: 3385 | From: Sacramento, California, USA | Registered: Sep 2002 | Site Updates: 0
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I got very confused after reading this post because I had always been told, read, whatever, that the genius Terry Gilliam (Time Bandits, Fisher King, 12 Monkeys, Brazil, Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, etc. . .) had directed all the Python films, including Life Of Brian. So, at first I thought it was a typo above. Then I checked Internet Movie Database under "Terry Jones" and sure enough, it listed him as director of Brian, as well as the other Python films. So, I thought, I was wrong. Then, I looked under "Terry Gilliam" and, zang!, there he was listed as director of Brian and all the Python films. So, so, so. . .I'm really confused. Is "Terry Jones" a pseudonym for "Terry Gilliam" or did Terry Jones co-direct the Python films with Gilliam, or was Gilliam only an assistant director? I do know that Gilliam appeared here and there in the Python tv shows, and in the films, and I do know he did the bizzare dada animation pieces. At least of that I'm sure. Help?
Posts: 278 | From: Austin, TX USA | Registered: Feb 2004 | Site Updates: 0
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quote:...So, so, so. . .I'm really confused. Is "Terry Jones" a pseudonym for "Terry Gilliam" or did Terry Jones co-direct the Python films with Gilliam, or was Gilliam only an assistant director?...
Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam are two entirely different people. And they co-directed the various Python films together.
Gilliam did the animation bits, and generally oversaw most of the live-action scenes that involved the other members of the group. Jones then directed the scenes that didn't involve his character(s) in the shot.
According to one Python book I have, Jones took an interest in directing after taking a course on stage direction and TV studio production direction. He did not, however, direct any of Python's TV shows. But he did work on writing the pilot episode of Michael Palin's short-lived series, "Ripping Yarns".
Before joining "Monty Python's Flying Circus" came along, Jones worked for the BBC doing various jobs: production assistant, script editor, gag writer, etc.
After Monty Python's TV show ended, he worked on other non-Python movie and TV projects, as well as writing several children's books and even had his own newspaper column, but Jones rarely performs in front of the camera these days.
Hope this clarifies it somewhat! Posts: 3385 | From: Sacramento, California, USA | Registered: Sep 2002 | Site Updates: 0
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