In Full: John Cleese & Eric Idle speak to Lateline

so thanks for both you for joining us on Lake luck not at all not being really oh you gotta go as sorry I thought that I did another minute that was a good sign yeah yeah yeah sure I'm that for the end though okay we keep that to the beauty read it carefully okay we can edit we can edit but we've got a very important question to ask you before we begin and that is are you where we go are you heretics heretics hmm what lacks with fleas well I could put it another way Apple States I can't of class so sorry those use Matakana closes very good keys non-believers we destroy icons that's what we do have you ever committed a heresy against not only mother willingly yes every - yes because I believe in the separation of church and planet yeah anyway you've admitted it all right a minute or what well the heresy yes because I was looking for proof that nobody expects the Spanish which was going I was just feeling ashamed for you I don't terrible thing is it my my main weapon is surprise subverted amigo subversion is what we do yes I've been hurt I think we do yeah because I mean I for example of hads a lot of fun last two weeks with political correctness you see now my views are heretical to people who believe in political correctness right yes and I'm also very odd because I think as more than just a materialist planet materials reductionist planning which is I think what he and his friend Brian Cox believe we just believe in a huge universe of billions of Mars now you know why that's completely pointless well I would die no there's no well be point because it would be animals like us existing and thinking and giving interviews on Australian television that's not in the middle this huge explosions no is it Erica beautifully you'd actually saying that there is a meaning to life I know that's the first upper third you admit it I didn't say there was a meaning I said it's quite an interesting question to look at how humanity can arise and consider itself inside this enormous explosion that quite weird and the the God answers are completely pathetic and useless and get you nowhere because who made God but the idea that we evolved and with these thoughts is actually very fascinating to me no I designed this thing about political correctness that John is talking about and and what I'm wondering is could you do what you used to do now without a social media environment that I don't think we could I don't think you would ever get an executive to okay it now but I don't think the audiences were we did it oh - no I think we cut I cut one joke for political correctness what was it and I thought cut because arm that we have a silly link we have silly Olympics and there's one joke where there's 100 yards for the Deaf and the guy comes out with a gun and get bang and they stay there a funny joke in its time but then I thought actually that is laughing at an infirmity hmm it's not kind of fast on a joke that deaf people can enjoy well I enjoyed it I'm deaf do you write it so I'm having a lot all moment all all human is great also all humor is critical you know you may make stupid jokes while you you know I mean stupidity is an infirmity isn't it John what would you steer away from now there I mean if you if you do agree that political correctness has changed the landscape would you steer away from anything why I would have to consider each case I mean a certain things I don't want to hurt people but at the same time it's a bit deep illogical career it's a bit like a granny only made not arriving at a party whenever was having a good time and she comes in they all start sort of buttoning up and becoming self conscious and behaving properly and then when she leaves you can have fun again well a lot of humor is about just enjoying life and spontaneity and because you make a joke that put somebody down we're always teasing each other it's with affection it's nasty teasing that we want not know not all teasing nasty teasing you cut out and the certain racial jokes are certainly wouldn't tell because they're just mean and actually not funny right tell us about the kind of humor that we're going to see with your show in Australia because you've made the point it's not a Python show but on the other hand you have said Eric people don't want new material but we give them that anyway I mean these it's more like a science after like a conversation about 53 years or even been known each other and then it goes into changes nightly and then we do some bits of material which they don't know well and it's nice to give a sketch that they haven't heard I like that and it's more fun for us to they were written at the same time as Python for a show that he and I used to do together with marty Feldman called the 1940 agent but nobody knows this material and any of it could have gone into Python but we don't want to go and do the old Python stuff anymore because we just did that definitively at the o2 and it was as Eric said it was a sweet goodbye yes that's it 10 sold-out shows were you surprised that this happened I mean I I wouldn't have been particularly surprised if I were you I mean it seemed to me that you guys decide when the Rolling Stones of Comedy so why not well I I rarely stones never stopped being on the road though they're always selling tickets but we didn't we haven't means it performed together since the Hollywood Bowl in 1980 so it was a very long time between shows and we said we'll do it again you know after that length of time yeah yeah but we didn't know we really didn't know and people saying well what's going to be like is it going to be a terrible flop and we didn't know but then we read the material through and we all started it was an after this material you remember that review and we weren't sure that we thought what if we think it's is funny maybe they were but when we saw the first show 16,000 tickets in 44 seconds we were founded and suddenly there were film crews from all over the world we didn't expect that it was a complete surprise and I think it's partly because the British press are always so negative they're always to cut you down to side they were running articles like is Monty Python funny well the answers it's funny for some people and not for others well it does raise a question that Mick Jagger I mean he was a kind of self parody in a way that Mick Jagger said it's a bunch of wrinkly old men trying to relive their youth and make a lot of money but he was being very funny yes I mean you know I was very sweet and he said would surely do yeah absolutely absolutely so it was really funny so did you make a lot of money we made enough money we spent too much really because there was a possibility it might have gone on the road so then all that set was built just for those 10 shows and so that cost a bit and we had a lot of boys and girls singing and dancing and orchestras but we made enough to pay off our lawyers which was great well we were waiting for you to come on the road with that show to Australia with we've got the two of you which is a1 fortunately my complaining I came on Ireland going easily sell his own book so nice he just talked about yourself every bloody no he writing bloody vocals yours what does he find interesting oh this place two volumes have you wrote not sorry wait oh so so Palin actually stopped this from happening did he just result assured we realized we couldn't figure out why but we always had a rule that if the pies ins don't wanna ver person doesn't want to do he can't force him but we didn't know why didn't want to do it no it was very funny when he pointed out he got straight after things will stare did his own - oh yeah that's why you don't want to be on the road nobody actually to be fair it is that everybody has their own free choice yeah what do you want and there's no reason why they should do something out of pressure and halfway through the shows he turned to me will addressed us count judges about to go on wearing terrible glitter and underwear I said I think I think I've had enough of this nice of ya I think I've had enough of this - listen we've done it this is this is enough and I think that's right because otherwise you're just becoming parodies of yourself repeating things even though there's an audience but oh you're in Cleveland will having a good time it wasn't so much with being a performer but we were just enjoying the process of the laughing and teasing yeah but how'd you die America now it's Cleveland and tomorrow it's really Apple this you know you become the Eagles you know can I just make the point though you two did go on the road before you came here you've been to Florida now is but don't switch on called me up they said would you like to come on till with you know to Florida haven't done that and this is not like Oh to could nothing could be more different I know I realize that but I guess the point I'm making here is Florida's the retirement kappa yeah of the United States and I'm wondering whether explain that did you did you take the view that your audience are getting on I tried to find people who are older than we were but the truth is I thought I'd like to do a tour I said to hell well what do you what do you think it won't be fun so I thought well where can we go where it's warm and we don't have to fly all the time and the great thing about Florida is you you do each city's about Torres Drive remember once we never flew an outdoor here I'm afraid that's the one thing we're rather dreading you know all this stuff Canberra to person in back to city area but I guess the what I'm getting out I suppose is is has the Python humor translated to a younger generation through YouTube and so on when you looked out into those audiences did you see a mixture or were these generations yeah as oldies their children or forties and there's their children's children and their children's children yes so yes the it appeals it seems extraordinary you see nine year olds ten year olds and they like it they particularly like Holy Grail nine year olds because it's adults behaving as children yes learning to ride horses so they love that yeah well I have to tell you that when the messages were floating around the Lateline office about the fact that we're going to do these interviews and a few jokes cropped up and some of their younger colleagues didn't seem to get them and immediately I shot off an email to them that said that's the sort of blinking Philistine Pig ignorance I've come to expect from the non-creative garbage said although you load some spotty behinds etc etc and I I came so close to a workplace nuisance suit that I was wondering John if it came to that would you come to my defense oh of course I would because what we discover is the young people like it but therefore in any England for some reason the BBC which has the sole terrestrial rights for Monty Python hasn't put us on for fifteen years and that the result of that is that a lot of young people don't know about it and factor when it was last seen so in the map in America it's always on there o stuffings on YouTube and they you know but it was always on PBS in America which is fantastic yeah it's very cheap and they played all the time so everybody could find it yeah and you were both in the I guess I'm going to take us to the real quality of the comedy and the way that it became the sort of cutting edge of comedy when Python first came out in that particular skit from which those lines came the revolving knives architecture you know both in that who wrote it to who writes justice yes we did this cruel to you then necessary violence in there which ii full of lies it was a pretty wild idea I mean designing and building it when people go through the front door on a sort of moving walkway for revolving knives it's just me did you just say revolving my yes that's when the first time you learn it's a great revelations case traumatic that the guy only is ever designed Abbott was no man I think he started to write we just started make each other laugh and we never thought about what's the target audience there was none of that stuff we didn't even know what the viewing figure was can you believe that but there was a thing called AI which the audience appreciation index appreciating that's right and and we always scored highly on that which meant that the people who'd seen the show really liked it but we never bothered about audiences and it was all to do with make each other less brave of the BBC was there some smart executive of thought actually yes let's give these guys their head would they ever do that this was one executive no they wouldn't do it now they've killed come the BBC is completely screwed up comedy because it's become a bureaucracy and they think like bureaucrats and your Chris shouldn't be in charge of comedy yeah what do you think Eric and I think this is I think it's right I think it's the same executives do not on the whole do well with comedy they can't understand it they can't read it they can't spot it coming and but they think they because they spend their whole time - with other executives about what's working but they have you know it's like a marshal trying to understand sex you know what I mean they cannot understand it from the inside so why was it different back then why were they more daring they just wanted a they have a slot to fill it was like 10:30 at night nobody was watching and they wanted to go a little later in the evening and they just put this on he was a famous star time he'd been in the frost report and not the 48th show so when those arrive reliable we've all known as right exactly I mean wait to see this guy who has had a large entertainment called Michael Mills bless him and he said what are you going to do we didn't know we hadn't discussed it can you believe that yeah pitch meeting and he said go where make 13 programs but although that sounds so wonderful there were when the minutes of the BBC were released a few years ago they discovered that there was a meeting of the heads of department that one we'd been going about five weeks the heads of department setting out at nine of them said they didn't like show so there was always this sort of Deadwood at the top that didn't really know what they were doing so tell me about the teams because it was notoriously competitive within the Python team according to accounts we've written the BBC website actually refers to the ruthlessly self-critical pythons were you constantly critiquing each other's their self-critical about the material it's a writer's commune so we try to make it as funny as possible and we we read things people would very good at Critias I said listen that was really funny up to about page three and then it just stopped so somebody else would take it and add or suggest an idea so you got very good editing ideas as I said you know I mean if I drip the sketch with Python then I had him and and and Jones and the little bandy licking up a lid you know this is this is high-quality criticism if they say the thing stops working at this point and why don't you take it in that direction and you really take that seriously well that's got to be part of the secret hesitation ground Chapman of course you know passing hugely lamented but you know well yeah fairly but now we were sharing the mummies much much better I've rethought about from that point of you must admit but you John you and Graham wrote together from quite early on didn't you Cambridge in sixty about 61 62 and then he left Cambridge a year before me like I was a year before Eric and he went off and became a doctor and he did some cabaret while he was there and I was still at Cambridge and then the show that got me into show business one of the guys dropped out and Graham came into that and after that he left when we got to America he came back to become a doctor and when I came back we started writing you together for the frost report for David Frost Ronnie Barker Ronnie Corbett and he when you already had grabbed it nobody grained it he didn't know you know I saw him in Cambridge circuit so that we won't go that's right well we we were the three Cambridge people and then a Mike Michael Palin and Terry Jones we'd sort of met passingly but they were part of the writers table for frost which was a remarkable writers table because the the script editor was marty Feldman yeah it's the key isn't it because you don't often find writers and performers wrapped up in the same parcel I mean you get it with Woody Allen and some of the people around his kind of group that he grew up with but so this is an unusual dinner way way unusual tell me this um where did the idea of merging silliness with big intellectual themes come from Eric it did go right back to Cambridge days I think the inner comedy is often that little and the large isn't so you know you if you're going to talk about Proust then you're going to have a competition summarizing is a very funny idea and then I think we decided to do that's only I think that comedy happened first and then we found the label afterwards and then oh it's silly he said if it made us laugh and we we we knew a bit about prose not much but a bit and we knew it was pretty long book so summarizing proofs it wasn't as though we were all experts the proofs but that was the kind of thing that made us make the others laugh and a philosophy in a minute because that probably be a good way for us to to end a kind of interview but just going back to this on the art what made Python unique among many things was the way that skits merged one into the other now Spike Milligan started doing that a bit they say that he started it and Python perfected well we looked at how he's doing what we were going to do yeah but luckily spike was always on the extreme edge Navi anybody watched him and he was pushing it and the Union about six shows and we we still persisted in that was it was fun to have a sort of theme the things seemed to link and then that was you were the big secret was Gilliam so his artwork links everything together so it's like it's in a framework that seems to make it all about something even though it's just a series of scales that was quite inspired I mean that no one had ever seen anything like that I can remember seeing it at the time and thinking and the BBC women when we talked about animation that we we said you can't afford it we do we do and I'm Terry had to go off and sit down with the executives and convince them he could actually do it for very very little money what was it about growing up in Britain that inspired this kind of off-the-wall surrealism attached to comedy I mean we think back a little into the past and you know The Goon Show did this on radio not as Edgeley I think you have to go back earlier than that was something very strange that in the Victorian era you know we had nonsense poetry yeah anywhere yeah right it's like it's not it's not not sense it's the opposite of sense nonsense and that's quite an interesting concept and then the Lewis Carroll Lewis gonna be added also has big cultural roots yes but I think what for me it was always be on the and there was a thing happened at the end of the war when suddenly everything was miserable bleak and depressing and this young generation came through in all fields rock and roll art photography fashion and we just happened to be the wanting comedy comedy came in a little bit later cuz the big thing in the theater was look back in anger with John Osborne right that was about 56 and in 62 peter cooke dudley moore alan bennett was one of our great playwrights to life and Jonathan Miller still no absolutely brilliant comedians they put a show together and for the first time ever they were making fun about all these things that we've been deferential about like like the Prime Minister and the file system the class system Church of England sermons I mean we never heard any other stuff exactly there was socially necessary because everybody just come back this war and then things were changing we're shifting and it's very stuffy of the 50s it was fairly secure despite the Cold War I don't think people were that living in a state of anxiety like they do now but it was stuffy yeah it seems to me you you were part of a breaking open that the culture really interestingly all that generally that's a later ins up sort of you know completing the process by trying to allow everybody to sort of come up through the rags as it were and in a way that was probably the the bitter end of the class system that you guys were right there yes but the car system has an event extraordinary thing it hasn't really ended we all thought it was out on its way out on the 60s but sorry I kind of missed your point because I was thinking gone that's okay I'm talking about this breaking open thing it wasn't you were like breaking open the culture but you weren't overtly political we're doing politics are not to tell you why because there's this beyond the fridge fantastic stage show and it was such a hit in London but only in London and then the BBC only about four months later did the first national satire show with David Frost that was the week that was that had ever been done and political satire was such a hot subject that they flogged it to death for four years we came along we got bored with political stuff so we kind of went in a new direction which was silly and naughty and generically funny rather than specifically funny about real people yeah that's so it still plays is the good tears well it does I mean and you were brilliant aching the piss if I can put it in those terms and and Eric I have to come to you on this one because I don't have to because why aren't you pretty good I'm sure you'll get back in time but I think I think I go to where kids I think you actually probably wrote the Bruce skit or we're a risk actually get it together I wrote the song but we wrote the sketched skit together get it yeah because at that time I was married to Sheila - Sheila yeah I do see Leigh so you had the Australian I had a lot of a show in France in in in London there are a lot of why I came over why did you choose an Australian Department of Philosophy say that the University of Waterloo what did you do that well it seems to be silly doesn't it it seems like an unlikely they were two together and the key thing was there was somebody who was a talk to what was it logical positivism he's also in charge of cheapness yeah this is a funny idea you know a lot it's just putting things together that are incongruous thanks so much we're talking about political correctness area and I'm actually wondering could you do that whole skit now I'm thinking back to the original one and rules number one three yeah I think Uganda Civil War anymore you got a rule for yes yes because at the time I think it was satirical I promise rule for now was that the dough puffs gas no birthday that was all number one that was another one I use it what is it number one was anyway it was nothing I don't think I'm funny anymore being other selves it was mocking a certain kind of Australian auntie yes and a sort of this lady that doesn't exist since the gay Mardi Gras are you suggesting well which I went to in about 25 years ago extraordinary thing yes so yeah no it's that's that long without horses gone you know yeah and I so I think that target has gone to because nobody can be that I think you could do an America where they still are as Nast in the South yeah yeah now I have to tell you you guys know the writer Christopher Hitchens yes it was a great friend of the late line diagram and personal friend and when he came out to Australia did a thing at the Sydney Opera House we just talked we talked together as we're doing now and there was a huge round of applause at the end of people calling for an encore and what did he do he did the Philosopher's I've seen it I'm seeing that you think you see my because I knew him a little bit that many many times and I was absolutely flabbergasted you every word he's saying the whole thing yeah I don't know how could she it's amazing John I want to go back because the the final series of Monty Python you weren't there for a lot of and because you were off with Connie booth doing Fawlty Towers famously only 12 episodes and of course you know the world has been crying out ever since for 12 more 12 or 12 less the thing was he did write there's some wonderful material of yours in there after buying an ant sketch oh yes the Harrises a lot of it him in there which is already used to me but one of the ones that people forget was that the kid business it's the beginning of both and Graham Chapman became an alcoholic and writing with a cup of bottom two alcoholic is not that much fun because grey couldn't remember in the afternoon won't be written in the morning and none of the others I didn't see Terry Jones running forward and say well let me write regrets over that time but you'd also been doing this three-minute comedy sketch since you know beef yes it's called the 8:00 show much longer than we had and he got bored with it my son for some time something I felt we were repeating ourselves I said there was the sense that artistically we weren't moving forward in an exciting way but the point was most of the others of particular genes and and and Palin were just loving the process and that's fine but I wasn't but the dance what was good about that is it led into the movies yes indeed we kept on which TV shows which I might add would not have happened it sounds like without George Harrison so is that is that true for life O'Brien life for million yeah he mortgaged his home and paid for it movie was extraordinary could you see again remember I so talked about consecutives not knowing what they're doing when we went out with Life of Brian which was recently voted in quite a sensible poll best British comedy of all kind we could not get financed either from a British studio or an American we went around all the Hollywood studios they all said no so that's how much they know I think we're going to have to wind this up I don't want to I'd it I don't either yeah well let's just keep going she won't have well let's just keep going for a little while at least that there may be Oh Diana you're such a bore go away Diana Romeo is my we can be waiting good I've got it I quickly come to both of you two to summarise really where you're going because John 76 years old and we hear that you're planning a Fawlty Towers stage show yes and the rumor is is going to premiere in Australia is that correct absolutely right I'm actually here because we're starting this tour together in about a week on the 25th and Gold Coast and I'm also here to cast all the basil Manuel Polly Sybil all those plants from American actors because on August the 20th will be the world premiere of 40,000 stage here in Sydney Cannon American actor play well the same actors did I say oh you said American accent thank you music yeah sure a certain actors can play back Wow only Australian no American actress no chuckles Actors Equity were just suddenly Ozzy no generation yeah the pitchforks were out was already happening and Eric you're on the road with John obviously now but you've written an E novel you're doing a TV show on quantum physics yeah Brian Cox watch what's next for you well we'll get to film that hopefully the BBC we're going to do it and we're going to do as a Christmas special okay and I'm doing it like Eric and Ernie it's the universe everybody we may be here bro very silly man thank you what oh nothing it's hard I've been you know we spent months writing this down I know you haven't I universe give us you will learn something from this yes and there's a little bit songs songs songs about Celine it is something we are very disappointed everyone knows songs in it yeah no TV show by the way Brian Cox I think can carry he plays he plays piano very nice a does it yes he does it was endearing like what he was in the group or D ream the 90s gentlemen we could keep going fine obviously well we'd like to do a musical now I'm not going to with where you myself a musical eyes and 40 a musical what what do you do 40 is a musical it be to see to slow it up to it because they that's controversial know what I mean is is what I mean is quite seriously that that kind of particle comedies got a played at a frantic pace to stop the songs yet would work we're looking forward to that frantic pace from both of you and your songs Eric man Australian actors thank you for this radio neck is thank you very much both of you has been a great pleasure to talk to you know you too thank you very much I haven't enjoyed it no no I was thinking it wait yeah he's not very nice really as easy as all that smiling yeah doesn't subscribe to easily no not for a second try way to television people did we get paid for this no no yeah she from ocean one no that's it you

Channel: ABC News (Australia)

Views: 261,916

Rating: 4.880713 out of 5

Keywords: John Cleese, Fawlty Towers, Monty Python, Eric Idle

Id: ryu4x2-Kag4

Length: 30min 14sec (1814 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 18 2016