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Saturday, March 07, 2009

Exclusive! Chitown is Seventh Py-town!



Chicago's hipster movie and music trendsetters willingly lost their collective cool tonight as the Chicago International Movies & Music Festival featured an exclusive screening of The Seventh Python. As you can see from the clip above, the audience at the Chicago Cultural Center was fully appreciative of the Neil Innes biopic produced by our pals at Frozen Pictures. Tabloid Baby's special correspondent Sam Peters is in Chicago. He's sent us this report:


"The Second City Chitown is Seventh Py-town tonight, as the first annual Chicago International Movies & Music Festival takes over the windy city with cutting edge and experimental music flicks and shows that have made the indie the talk of the town from downtown to Wicker Park.... Hip and exclusive though it may be, most of the filmfest talk is about The Seventh Python, the flick with the most mainstream appeal... Pop satirist and Monty Python sideman Neil Innes ruled from afar as his doco biopic was featured at the oh-too-classy Chicago Cultural Center tonight...


"Rain did not dampen the spirits of the film festival crowd... good-sized audience... even the most jaded film buff was howling with laughter at stars like John Cleese and his fellow Pythons... hilarious Phill Jupitus was surprise standout laffmaker-- I see Ricky Gervais potential in this Brit comic... Wish I could say the same for director Burt Kearns. His post-movie Q&A showed he could use a public speaking coach, reminding us of the void left by the last-minute cancellation by film's writer-producer and longtime Chicago fave (and former Hudson Brother) Brett Hudson...


"Kearns did score points, taking on local rag Chicago Reader's misguided whacks at the film's innovative and deliberate rejection of archival footage... defended 'deliberate decision' to 'not turn this into the standard VH1 or BBC documentary' in creating 'a portrait of the artist as an old man. Not elderly, still vital-- but as he is today'... Urged audience to seek out Innes' entire career on YouTube... Reader's been served! Kearns not so bad after all!... Big cheers for animation director and NeilInnes.org creator Bonnie Rose and her win in the Colbert Report Green Screen Challenge... Celebs in the crowd included 'Vet' Ken Simpson, one of the Innes backing musicians featured in the film; star local performer and 'Storybook Mom' Nili Yelin; and, I'm pretty sure, Oprah.



"CIMMfest awards are handed out Sunday evening. Look for The Seventh Python to strike again!"


Sam Peters On The Aisle!
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Stay tuned...

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