The Seventh Python opens The Pacific Palisades Film Festival Thursday, May 14th!

The excitement is building for the screening of the award-winning The Seventh Python at the Pacific Palisades Film Festival next Thursday night, May 14th. The nonfiction comedic musical biopic of legendary satirist Neil Innes was hailed last week by the local Palisadian-Post as "riotously entertaining."

This week, the paper focuses on the film's producers, our pals at Frozen Pictures. Some highlights from Michael Aushenker's article:

Monty Python's Innes Doc Opens Film Fest

Call Neil Innes the missing link of the legendary six-man British comedy troupe Monty Python. Or perhaps Shemp to their Three Stooges. You'll also call him funny, outrageous, even musically inclined. The enigmatic Innes is the subject of a documentary, 'The Seventh Python,' which opens the Sixth Annual Pacific Palisades Film Festival on May 14.

'Neil's a great songwriter, a great comedian, and a great philosopher,' says 'Seventh''s director/co-producer, Burt Kearns. 'And all this while rejecting the star-making machinery, which is quite relevant today.'

With the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band in 1968, Innes recorded 'I'm The Urban Spaceman,' the group's only hit, which was produced by Paul McCartney.

'Neil appeared in The Beatles film 'Magical Mystery Tour,'' Kearns continues. 'He appeared in the last season of Monty Python's 'Flying Circus.' They did a parody of the Beatles called The Rutles. It was brought to 'Saturday Night Live' by Eric Idle in the late 1970s. The Rutles took on a life of its own.' Indeed, when 'Spamalot' arrives in L.A. in July, the Python musical will contain Innes' ditties ('Brave Sir Robin').

'Our film is a crowd-pleaser, with lots of laughs and songs,' Kearns says.

'How it came together, that's a movie unto itself,' says 'Seventh' producer Brett Hudson.

Kearns has lived in Pacific Palisades since 2000... and the documentary has other local ties. Supervising producer Alison Holloway lives here (conveniently, Kearns' wife) and associate producer Joachim 'J.B.' Blunck, an Emmy-winning producer/director and former Palisadian, now resides in Malibu, where producer/musician Hudson (one of the original Hudson Brothers and an uncle of actress Kate Hudson) also lives. And, Kearns notes, 'My son Sam is a production assistant on the film.'

...Kearns met Hudson in the late '90s while working on Miramax's 'The Best Money Can Buy'...

Kearns and Hudson formed Frozen Pictures, producing documentary-style programming, including 'All the President's Movies' for Bravo, Showtime's 'My First Time,' and 'Adults Only: The Secret History of the Other Hollywood,' which, after Court TV tried to bury it with a Sunday-night airing, pulled in the highest ratings for original programming in the channel's history.

'What Burt and I like to do,' Hudson says, 'is not give our point of view. We lay the truth out and let viewers decide.'

In 2006, Frozen released the Burt Reynolds comedy 'Cloud Nine.'

Kearns got the idea for 'Seventh Python' while working on a doc called 'Death of a Beatle.'

'I went to London and traced John Lennon's life,' he says. 'The person I wanted to interview was the guy who played John Lennon in The Rutles.'

'As a musician, I listen to his melodies, his harmonics,' Hudson says. 'He's very clever. The guy had fame in front of him on a silver platter and he rejected it. Given my background, I find that unique.'

Kearns credits associate Bonnie Rose for playing a key role: 'Bonnie had brought him to Hollywood in 2002. We thought he'd be a good documentary subject.

'I don't like what tabloid television gave birth to, this whole culture of stalking celebrities. The film with Neil is an antidote to that, the way he could influence culture and not be a part of it.'

...'It's not archival-looking black-and-white footage,' Kearns says. 'You're seeing the Pythons today.'

Last summer, 'Seventh Python' debuted at American Cinematheque's Mods and Rockers festival, and has since screened in Chicago, New Jersey, and at the Las Vegas Film Festival, where it won a Golden Ace Award.

Up next for Frozen: documentaries on Latin rocker Chris Montez, and on John Lennon's seven-month 'lost weekend' (in Los Angeles) with mistress May Pang. Last year, Hudson conquered throat cancer, and this inspired 'The Klinik,' about his journey to Germany to get cured. This is also in development, as is the pair's scripted comedy, 'Live From The Gaza Strip.'

For now, all eyes are on 'Seventh''s Palisades premiere.

'This is literally a homecoming,' Kearns says. 'To be invited to the festival is in itself a great honor. And then to be opening it!'

'The Seventh Python' screens with Jennifer Clary's short, 'The Christmas Conspiracy,' at 7 p.m., Pierson Playhouse, 941 Temescal Canyon Rd.

Tickets: www.FriendsOfFilm.com.

The producers of The Seventh Python have dedicated the evening to the late Dom DeLuise.

Every ticketholder gets a free The Seventh Python poster!

Monty Python website features The Seventh Python

Pythonline, the official website and news source for fans of Monty Python, is featuring a major item on The Seventh Python, the new movie about Python associate, Bonzo and Rutle Neil Innes, produced by our pals at Frozen Pictures and premiering June 26th as the opening selection of the ninth Mods & Rockers Film Festival at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.

THE SEVENTH PYTHON WORLD PREMIER! WITH NEIL INNES

Mods & Rockers festival number 9 opens on Thursday June 26 at Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre with the World Premiere of the full-length documentary “The Seventh Python.” The film is a portrait of Neil Innes – who since his film debut in the Beatles’ “Magical Mystery Tour” in 1967 has been a major presence as a comedic composer and performer with Monty Python, The Rutles (the spoof Beatles band he created with Eric Idle) and originally with the cult British group – the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. The film features all five of the surviving Monty Python members – John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam – who in a nod to the expression “the Fifth Beatle” – have dubbed Neil Innes as “The Seventh Python”. Innes will be present for the World Premiere and will partake in a conversation about his career with Festival producer Martin Lewis.

(Innes and Lewis are old friends and collaborators. They worked together on Lewis’ “Secret Policeman’s Ball” shows in the 1970s and 1980s – and Lewis instigated and produced Innes’ Rutles reunion album “Archaeology” in 1996.)

SECOND NIGHT – FIRST-EVER MODS & ROCKERS CONCERT AT EGYPTIAN!
The festival’s second night – Friday June 27th - sees a first – the first-ever concert presented inside the historic Egyptian Theatre as part of the Mods & Rockers Festival. Neil Innes will return to the theatre to present a very rare solo concert – his first L.A. live appearance in several years. He will perform songs drawn from his entire 40-year canon – including Bonzo Dog Band, Monty Python and Rutles material – and from his extensive solo catalogue.

click here for more information and ticket sales

Seventh Python Saturday night at Chicago Fest

The Seventh Python is screening Saturday night in a prime showcase at the Chicago International Movies and Music Festival. We pass along this release from its producers, our pals at Frozen Pictures:

The Seventh Python is Saturday night special
at Chicago International Movies and Music Festival

CHICAGO (FROZEN PICTURES) Tickets are still available for the exclusive screening of The Seventh Python Saturday night at the Chicago International Movies and Music Festival.

The acclaimed and award-winning film about legendary pop satirist and Monty Python collaborator Neil Innes will be screened in competition March 7 at 8 pm at the Chicago Cultural Center at 78 East Washington Street. Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as "charming and illuminating," and "hilarious" by the LAist, The Seventh Python was recently named winner of the Golden Ace Award from the Las Vegas International Film Festival for 'superior and standout filmmaking.'

The Seventh Python has been applauded for its handling of a unique artist with a marked distaste for "the fame game," while including appearances by Innes friends and fans including John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michal Palin, Simpsons creator Matt Groening and songwriter Aimee Mann.

The film also stands out because of its playful tweaking of the documentary form and a unique interactive element that eschews the hackneyed use of archival still photos and film clips. Instead, state-of-the art (and often Pythonesque) animation combines the aforementioned elements into an innovative new method of biographical time travel. The Seventh Python also contains prompts that encourage viewers to expand and extend the film's scope in any direction they wish.


"This isn't a crawl through someone's photo or video archives. This is a 21st century nonfiction film that takes advantage of the almost unlimited resources of cyberspace," says director Burt Kearns. "Neil's entire musical and comedy history is there online. We're giving the power to the audience and encourage viewers and fans to find it and do their own directors cut."

"To be honest, we're sick of the old ‘stills and archival footage' docos," adds producer Brett Hudson. "They're 20th century. They're old. We've been there and done that too many times. The Seventh Python takes us on a journey through the past, but Neil's story is set in the present and leads the audience into the future, just like Neil Innes does."

Tickets for The Seventh Python at the Chicago International Movies and Music Festival are still available at www.cimmfest.org.

AMERICAN CINEMATHEQUE ANNOUNCES THAT 'THE SEVENTH PYTHON' WILL OPEN NINTH ANNUAL MODS & ROCKERS FESTIVAL; STAR NEIL INNES TO APPEAR & PERFORM

We’ve been telling you about it for weeks now, but now the esteemed American Cinematheque has officially announced that its Mods & Rockers Film Festival will open with the world premiere of The Seventh Python, the new musical feature film about musical satirist and unheralded superstar Neil Innes, produced by our pals at Frozen Pictures.

And not only will Neil Innes be appearing at the legendary Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre for the premiere on June 26th— he’ll also be performing in a special concert at the theatre the following night:

Here’s the announcement from the American Cinematheque:

June 26 - July 9, 2008

Mods and Rockers

An Egyptian Theatre exclusive!

Join us for our ninth Mods and Rockers Festival, straddling the months of June and July in wide-stance, rock star fashion. We’re kicking off with the World Premiere of THE SEVENTH PYTHON, a superb documentary about founding Bonzo Dog Band member (and prime Python and Rutles accomplice) Neil Innes (who’ll be appearing In-Person)! It’ll be a super fun night, followed by another evening with Neil live in concert at the Egyptian.

We’ll also be featuring the U.S. Premiere of LOVE STORY, the fascinating documentary about key L.A. ‘60s band, Arthur Lee and Love as well as the Los Angeles Premiere of THIS IS GARY MCFARLAND, an incisive look at the Mod, ascot-wearing vibraphonist who died mysteriously in 1971. Plus in July you can look forward to screenings of Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett rarities as well as the welcoming of filmmaker Tony Palmer In-Person for his multi-episode extravaganza ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE, a glorious celebration of American music over 4th of July weekend. For more details go to: www.modsandrockers.com.

Thursday, June 26 – 7:30 PM
Rare L.A. Show by Neil Innes -
Double Feature: World Premiere!
Python/Rutles/Bonzos Star
Neil Innes In-Person!

THE SEVENTH PYTHON, 2008, Frozen Pictures, 88 min. Dir. Burt Kearns. "The Most Famous Rock Star You’ve Never Heard Of…" 40 years after he made his debut in the Beatles’ MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR as a founder member of the legendary Bonzo Dog Band, the gloriously unplanned career of Neil Innes is spotlighted in this new documentary. Featuring appearances by all 5 surviving members of Monty Python. "You've got to remember that the Bonzos did 26 television shows with Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, and Terry Gilliam. I think Eric's acknowledged that there was an influence from the Bonzos in terms of the anarchy. There is a link…when the band first met Eric and Mike and Terry and whatnot, there was a certain mutual suspicion, 'cause we were crazy guys just coming off the road. And they'd come from Oxford and Cambridge, and they'd written stuff for David Frost, and they were young, up-and-coming writers…It was a kind of cross-fertilization that took place over a couple of years. We all became very good friends." – Neil Innes (from a Perfect Sound Forever online music magazine interview) http:///www.theseventhpythonmovie.com.

THE BONZO DOG DOO-DAH BAND 40^th ANNIVERSARY CONCERT, 2007, Classic Rock Legends, 89 min. Featuring original members: Neil Innes, Roger Ruskin Spear, Rodney Slater, Vernon Dudley Bohay-Nowell, Sam Spoons, Bob Kerr and the Irrepressible "Legs" Larry Smith. The year 2006 marked the 40th anniversary of the release of ‘My Brother Makes The Noises For the Talkies’, the first record by The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. The part of the late great and sorely missed Vivian Stanshall is performed here in the live concert variously by Messrs Stephen Fry, Adrian Edmondson, Phill Jupitus and Paul Merton. For the first time since the group broke up in the early ‘70s, a British stage once again resounded to the inspired flights of lunacy of the Bonzos favorites performed live. Some of the songs included: "My Brother Makes The Noises For The Talkies," "Little Sir Echo," "Falling In Love Again," "We Are Normal," "The Trouser Press," "My Pink Half Of The Drainpipe," "Mr Apollo," "Look At Me, I'm Wonderful," "Rhinocratic Oaths," "Monster Mash," "Urban Spaceman," "Canyons Of Your Mind," "The Intro and Outro" and more! http://www.bonzodog.co.uk Plus Rutles and Bonzo Dog film and TV rarities. Discussion in between films with Neil Innes.

Friday, June 27 – 7:30 PM
Rare L.A. Show by Neil Innes -
Live Performance of Monty Python,
Rutles & Bonzo Dog Songs!

LIVE CONCERT WITH NEIL INNES. In celebration of the World Premiere of the new film about him, THE SEVENTH PYTHON, Neil Innes gives a very rare solo concert to celebrate the celebrations. He will perform songs from throughout his 40-year career, including material from the Bonzo Dog Band, Monty Python and Rutles canons. Entire program approximately 120 min.

The prestigious festival was founded by producer, humorist and impresario Martin Lewis (left) and Cinematheque programming director Dennis Bartok in 1999. Martin Lewis, who recently pulled off an unprecedented, historic reunion of The Rutles at the Egyptian, continues as the curator and face of what’s become the most prestigious pop culture and rock ‘n’ roll film festival in the world.

Chicago Tribune features "multitalented, ever-clever, never going to be halftime at the Super Bowl" Neil Innes and The Seventh Python

A week ago, we featured pictures from a Chicago Tribune photo shoot featuring music and comedy legend Neil Innes, star of The Seventh Python, the nonfiction musical feature film from our pals at Frozen Pictures. The session was part of a media blitz surrounding the historic Innes concert and film screening at the Wilmette Theatre on June 9th, and accompanied an interview with Innes by Tribune writer Marc Caro.

The feature runs in today's issue of the Trib (which has already called the film "magical, mysterious, whimsical, hysterical!"), a little late for the Wilmette show but just in time for The Seventh Python's pair of showings at the Relevation Perth International Film Festival July 4th and 10th:

Chicago Tribune
'Seventh Python' has been
making his mark
for more than four decades
But Neil Innes is far from a household name
By Mark Caro, Tribune reporter
June 21, 2009

Neil Innes was browsing the stacks at Vintage Vinyl in Evanston when the clerk brought over copies of several albums by Innes' anarchic '60s jazz/rock/comedy collective, the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.

The records were priced at $50 apiece, prompting the 64-year-old British singer/songwriter/pianist/guitarist to marvel, "Is that what they are? Hmm. Well, good luck."

He thought about autographing them, then reconsidered: "It would probably devalue it if I signed."

He inspected the back cover of "Gorilla," the Bonzos' 1967 debut album, on which was listed a song called "Death Cab for Cutie." "That came from an American crime magazine which I found in Deptford Street Market [in London]," Innes recalled. "It was this lurid cover; it said, 'Death Cab for Cutie.' "

Paul McCartney liked the song so much that he tapped the Bonzos to perform it in the Beatles' rambling TV movie "Magical Mystery Tour." A Seattle-area rock band subsequently took the song title as its own name and became so popular that the phrase's origins have become all but forgotten.

So it goes for the multitalented, ever-clever Innes, who has been making his mark for more than four decades without ever becoming a household name.

"I'm never going to be halftime at the Super Bowl," he dryly acknowledged.

The Bonzos had one British hit, Innes' jokey-folky "I'm the Urban Spaceman" (produced by McCartney under the name Apollo C. Vermouth), and appeared regularly on the madcap British TV series "Do Not Adjust Your Set," which featured future Monty Pythonites Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. But the band never exceeded cult status, particularly in the U.S.

Innes wound up providing musical contributions to "Monty Python's Flying Circus" and the movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" (1975). He's the minstrel singing about Brave Sir Robin, and he's also a peasant who gets crushed by a gigantic wooden rabbit. His impact on the troupe was such that Terry Gilliam dubbed him "The Seventh Python," also the name of Burt Kearns' documentary that brought Innes to town earlier this month for a screening and performance at the Wilmette Theatre.


Post-Python, Innes and Idle created the Rutles, a Beatles parody group that debuted on the duo's British TV series "Rutland Weekend Television" before starring in their own 1978 NBC television special "All You Need Is Cash." It was the week's lowest-rated show among the major networks yet provided the "mockumentary" template for "This Is Spinal Tap" (1984) while sustaining a steady level of belovedness among Beatles and Python fans.

Innes eventually spun off a second Rutles album without Idle in 1996 ("Archaeology"), and a solo Idle cobbled together a rather lame Rutles follow-up film in 2005 (the straight-to-DVD "Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch"). When Innes performed a solo show in Los Angeles in 2003, "The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening was among those who showed up to pay their respects, and Kearns started work on "The Seventh Python."

Innes now has more paunch and less hair than when he played the John Lennon doppelganger Ron Nasty, but he's in anything but a retiring mood. His one-man show, which he performed at the Abbey Pub and again in part at the Wilmette, is called "A People's Guide to World Domination," a decades-spanning collection of his songs around which he wraps his theme "that the individual is being wiped out by the mass media." In typically cheeky fashion, the show climaxes with Innes leading a mock march in which he swears in the audience as "Ego Warriors," whose salute is the familiar thumb-to-the-nose gesture.

Innes is eager for 2010 to arrive because that's when his current publishing deal expires, and he's so miffed at its terms that he's waiting till then to release any new music.

"When we did the second Rutles album, I was naive enough to think if I paid a lawyer, that that lawyer would represent my best interests," he said, bursting into laughter. "No! How stupid could you get?

"I am off the hook on Jan. 1 of next year, so I will be actually doing more, being a bit more prolific. I'm just so fed up with being burgled. At the age of 65, I shall be free, so I should become a complete fame slut now."

By this point Innes was sitting outside with former Hudson Brother (and "Seventh Python" co-producer and co-writer) Brett Hudson at Argo Tea down the street from Vintage Vinyl. Neither of these two veterans was pining for the good ol' days or lamenting the demise of a record industry devoted to producing physical products.


"Quite frankly, I'm glad that part is gone," Innes said. "In many ways, what's the difference for people like me and Brett? They took all the money then."

The two of them laughed.

"I'm glad that the record business has changed and isn't what it was," Hudson said. "Because now we have a chance to make some money."

"It's gone full circle back to Woody Guthrie," Innes said.

"You're absolutely right," Hudson said.

"And, hello, we can get on street corners and say what's what," Innes said.

"You're right," Hudson said. "Woody Guthrie. We can come back. It's true."

Innes laughed. "This era is our era."

mcaro@tribune.com

Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune

"A must for Python fans!" Excitement builds for Neil Innes and The Seventh Python at the Wilmette Theatre

Excitement is building and tickets are reportedly selling at a rapid clip for the history-making Night of The Seventh Python at the historic Wilmette Theatre outside Chicago. For the first time, legendary musical satirist Neil Innes will perform live following a screening of The Seventh Python, the acclaimed, award-winning nonfiction musical film about his career, philosophy and influence, and the importance and significance of the event is being amplified by rave reviews and press throughout the Chicago area.

"When the film premiered at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre at the American Cinematheque's Mods & Rockers Film Festival, (festival curator) Martin Lewis had Neil there for a Q&A, and a special concert the following night. And while Neil's been on hand for other screenings, this is the first, and possibly only time the film will be followed by a concert by the real thing," said director Burt Kearns. "What makes it even more exciting is that this be the finale of Neil's US concert tour. This will be great!"

Great? The Chicago Sun-Times News Group agrees. Their wide-ranging suburban weeklies feature an interview and a three-star (we're assuming out of three) review of the film, to which we add exclamation points as we summarize:

"In this... genial documentary...much is made of the surprising un-famousness of Neil Innes, an unofficial member of Monty Python (perhaps best remembered as the teasing minstrel in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"), with all of the surviving Pythons among those giving testimony regarding his remarkable talent!

"Its best service is providing the opportunity to appreciate Innes' musical career, beginning with the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band and continuing with the Pythons (where a particularly brilliant side project was his score for the Beatles parody 'The Rutles'). Featuring live performances of charming tunes! There's also a nice recipe for Belgian Waffles in the credits! A must for Python fans!"

In the feature, The Seventh Python breaks his silence, Innes talks about the film and his illustrious carer under the radar. Here's a taste:

Q: What's your favorite moment in the film?

A: They (interview) someone on Hollywood Boulevard, who says, "You're making a documentary about a guy nobody's ever heard of." I'm rather unusual in show business as being a bit shy. If I could do all my work and not have to be made a fuss over, that would be nice.

Q: Are you writing new songs?

A: I've been working quietly at getting myself out of the mess I got myself into by not paying attention when I signed things. I'm happy to say that on Jan. 1, 2010, I get my publishing catalogue back. It frees me up to come out with the newer stuff I've been working on, because otherwise it was going to be swallowed up by white-collar multinational companies. So I will probably, at the unlikely age of 65, come out from behind my camouflage and say, "Hey, I'm ready for halftime at the Super Bowl!"

The Seventh Python screens Tuesday night June 9th at 7 pm the historic and hip Wilmette Theatre, 1122 Central Ave., in Wilmette, Illinois outside Chicago. The $25 ticket price includes a movie poster and details can be found at www.wilmettetheatre.com.

More to come...

"Engaging & revealing": Magazine features Neil Innes and The Seventh Python on the road to Tuesday's history-making event at the Wilmette Theatre

With pop music legend Neil Innes receiving rave reviews on a United States concert tour that culminates in a much-anticipated appearance alongside the acclaimed, award-winning film The Seventh Python, the Bonzo, Rutle, Monty Python cohort, Ego Warrior and heretofore hidden treasure, talks about his reaction to the film and the subsequent showers of appreciation in a magazine interview that's just hit the stands.

Innes shares the stage with the Frozen Pictures Innes biopic at the historic Wilmette Theatre outside Chicago on Tuesday June 9th. And as he continues his concert tour, fans, and folks who are about to discover him, can read an excellent interview by writer Jeff Elbel in the new issue (#64) of The Big Takeover, the very hip and forward-looking Brooklyn-based music magazine.

A brief excerpt from the article in the magazine you must hold in your hands:

JE: The Seventh Python must stoke your ego and provoke your contempt for fame simultaneously. Will you have difficulty maintaining your power of invisibility with a film about yourself in circulation?

NEIL: Well, it’s not really up there with The Dark Knight, is it? [laughs] I quite like that they went around with a photograph of me and nobody recognized me. One woman in Windsor said, “It’s not that Russian that got poisoned, is it?” - clinging to the idea of "it's got to be somebody who's been on the news."

JE: I particularly enjoyed the testimonials in The Seventh Python from your Python mates, during which they celebrated your vices. John Cleese described your deadly cigarettes, which were apparently "so strong, they were like something the police would throw at you during a riot."

NEIL: Cleese would arrive like an ocean-going schooner and demand, "Give me one of your cigarettes." He never really bought any of his own [laughs], but he was rather tempted by my incredibly strong cigarettes - which I only used to smoke half of. It was very wasteful. They were killer cigarettes, but I certainly didn't smoke them all the time, and I never smoked them all the way down.

"The Seventh Python is an engaging
and revealing look at the 'accidental career'
of beloved musical satirist and creative powerhouse
Neil Innes, a predominantly unsung figure despite
over four decades in the public eye and ear."
– Jeff Elbel, The Big Takeover

JE: You can see the writer's mind in his anecdotes. John's insistence that you had developed an admirable approximation of a British accent despite the "fact" that you're Belgian was very funny, too.

NEIL: John will take something absolutely incredible, and look it in the camera until it backs off. "He is from Bruges." [laughs]

JE: Michael Palin seemed to relish the story about how you would harangue the night porter for drinks after hours.

NEIL: It's funny to see Michael's interpretation. The way he says it, it makes it sound like I'm a complete alcoholic desperate for a drink!

The thing is, being on the road with a group, you would come back late [after the show]. After you've been on stage, you're pretty up [from adrenalin], and you can use something to quiet yourself down. Most hotels in the UK would be closed up. Usually, there's a night porter who's got a cupboard with a few miniatures in it. You could get a couple of shots of whiskey or something as a nightcap.

I got used to the fact that they would say, "No, it's too late." If I went, "Now look, there's a night porter's cupboard. What have you got in there?" ... if you insisted, politely and nicely as well, they'd normally get it out. That's all it was; I wasn't driving motorbikes around the corridors, demanding booze.

Neil Innes in The Seventh Python

JE: What do you make of a statement like the one Eric Idle made, suggesting that you should have paraded your talent around the states more often, and that you owed it to people?

NEIL: That is a more conventional showbiz approach. I want it all, though. I want all the toys and all the friends, and all the anonymity. I'm a greedy bastard, and I want even more than most people.

JE: Less is more.

NEIL: More or less, less is more!

JE: Did you learn anything about yourself through the film?

NEIL: I already knew how prickly I can be sometimes. I thought Michael was very good about saying, "Well, he knows what he wants." That was the thing about working with Python; everybody has an opinion, and you don't get anywhere from just nodding and being polite. But eventually the best solution comes forward. It's up to everybody else not to have any grudges and go along with the majority...

Jeff Elbel & Neil Innes take the Ego Warrior oath

JE: The Seventh Python underscores what you’ve always said about degrees of celebrity before - that it's easier being a Rutle than a Beatle.

NEIL: Fame and money have become the twin pillars of modern-day culture. I like to go off into fantasies about it. I love the idea of a D-list celebrity, which is someone who’s been hit on the head by Tiger Woods’ golf ball...

JE: George Harrison had a reputation as an insightful person. With distance from the most extreme years of Beatlemania, did he become more comfortable with his status?

NEIL: No, he was always [wary of fame]. To his credit, he wasn’t fooled by show business. He once said in an interview; “It’s all very well, wanting fame and fortune, and good luck to you if you find it. But you still have to find yourself.” Money can’t buy anyone love, you know.

Great stuff! And this brief selection only hints at the insight on both sides of the conversation.

The Neil Innes interview appears in The Big Takeover's issue #64. If you can't find it, you can order it by clicking here.

THESEVENTHPYTHONMANIA! Neil Innes invades America! Kicks off concert tour! Appears with film in Illinois! At Secret Policeman's Ballfest in Hollywood!

Musical treasure and legendary satirist Neil Innes lands in America tomorrow to kick off a pre-summer tour that will be capped off with live appearances alongside some very special films: in Wilmette, Illinois for a command performance of The Seventh Python, the nonfiction musical comedy about his life and work from our pals at Frozen Pictures, and alongside Martin Lewis as the Mods & Rockers film program kicks off a monumental bicoastal festival dedicated to the The Secret Policeman's Ball concert film series.

"Off to USA tomorow," Innes twittered hours ago. He'll be landing in New York and opening his acclaimed one-man multimedia concert tour in New Jersey, before touching down June 9th at the historic Wilmette Theatre outside Chicago, where he'll perform live before an audience that includes Chicago's comedy elite after a showing of The Seventh Python.


Two days later, he'll be onstage at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard (where The Seventh Python had its world premiere last summer), with impresario and producer Martin Lewis to launch the film festival that will be showing the entire series of Amnesty International benefit concert films that began 30 years ago (the shows started out as comedy galas featuring popular British comedic performers and later expanded to include top rock stars, inspiring musicians like Bob Geldof, Bono, Sting and Peter Gabriel and events like Live Aid and Live 8):

Thursday June 11, 2009 - 9:30 pm
The Egyptian Theatre, Hollywood

Opening Night Extravaganza!
Three World Premieres in one night!
Series star Neil Innes and series co-creator/co-producer Martin Lewis in-person

REMEMBER THE SECRET POLICEMAN'S BALL? (2004, 75 min)
THE SECRET POLICEMAN ROCKS! (2009, 60 min)
THE SECRET POLICEMAN'S RARE NUGGETS! (2009, 15 min)
The Opening Night of the festival features no less than three premieres and an in-person appearance by Neil Innes (Monty Python and The Rutles) to share his memories of appearing in three of the first four Amnesty shows. There will be the World Theatrical Premiere of a superb documentary about the “Secret Policeman’s Ball” series – crammed full of vintage clips and contemporary recollections by the stars. This will be followed by the World Premiere of a new special celebrating 30 years of rock performances for Amnesty. And finally the World Premiere of some wacky outtakes and rarities from the Secret Policeman’s vaults. Given the wealth of Monty Python fans and Amnesty supporters in the entertainment community – the opening night audience is likely to be rather star-studded…

Friday June 12, 2009 - 7:30 pm
The Egyptian Theatre, Hollywood

Double-bill of the first two shows before they had the "Ball" title
Two US Premieres!
Series star Neil Innes and co-creator/co-producer Martin Lewis in-person

PLEASURE AT HER MAJESTY'S (1976, 101 min)
THE MERMAID FROLICS (1977, 52 min)
THE SECRET POLICEMAN'S RARE NUGGETS! (2009, 15 min)
The “Secret Policeman’s Ball” title was first used for the 1979 Amnesty show – but the seeds of the series were planted in 1976 and 1977 with these two pioneering shows organized by John Cleese. These shows subsequently became regarded as part of the “Secret Policeman’s” canon. “Pleasure At Her Majesty’s” is the film of the 1976 show “A Poke In The Eye (With A Sharp Stick)” which was to British comedy what George Harrison’s 1971 “Concert For Bangladesh” was to rock music. A gathering of the British comedic tribes. Never before screened uncut in the US. Includes the only-known documentary footage of the Monty Python troupe rehearsing. “The Mermaid Frolics” stage-directed by Monty Python’s Terry Jones has never been seen in the US in any form. Never on TV, VHS or DVD. This double-bill of rarities is a delight for fans of Monty Python, Beyond The Fringe and British comedy. Followed by a quickie nightcap of outtake treasures from the vaults. Expect to see familiar faces among the many aficionados of British comedy in the audience…


Here's the Innes itinerary:

Neil Innes US Tour

Saturday 5/30/09
The Record Collector
358 Farnsworth Ave
Bordentown, NJ 08505
609-324-0880
(website)

Sunday 5/31/09
Rams Head Tavern Annapolis
33 West Street
Annapolis, MD 21401
(410) 268-4545
(website)

Tuesday 6/2/09 8:00 PM
B.B. King's Blues Club and Grill
237 W. 42nd St., New York, NY 10036
(website)

Wednesday, 6/3/09
Sellersville Theater 1894
24 W. Temple Ave.
Sellersville, PA
215-257-5808
(website)

Thursday 6/4/09
The Bop Shop Atrium
(formerly Bodhi's Cafe)
274 N. Goodman
Rochester, NY 14607
(585) 271-3354
(website)


Friday 6/5/09
The Winchester
12112 Madison Avenue
Lakewood/Cleveland OH 44107
(216) 226-5681
(website)

Saturday 6/6/09 7:00 PM
The Abbey
342 W. Grace
Chicago, IL 60618
(website)

Sun 6/7/09 8:00 PM
Magic Bag
22920 Woodward Avenue
Ferndale, MI 48220
(website)

Tues 6/9/09
Screening of Seventh Python
Mini-concert & Q&A with Neil
The Wilmette Theatre
1122 Central Ave.
Wilmette, IL 60091
(847) 251-7424
(website)

Thurs 6/11 9:30
Friday 6/12 7:30
Secret Policeman's Ball Film Festival
Grauman's Egyptian Theatre
6712 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90028
(website)


The festival is also showing in NYC. Click here for more information.

And watch this space for the latest!

Media: Monsters & Critics & The Seventh Python

Monsters and Critics, one of the larger independent web-only news and review publications, reaches millions of unique visitors each month and this weekend they’re reaching them with the latest news about The Seventh Python, the Neil Innes biopic from our pals at Frozen Pictures that’s been selected to open the American Cinematheque’s prestigious ninth annual Mods & Rockers Film Festival in Hollywood on June 26th:

Movies Features
The Seventh Python Neil Innes fêted in Hollywood June 26, 27

by April McIntyre

A rare Neil Innes concert will follow the world premiere of “The Seventh Python,” Frozen Pictures’ nonfiction film about the life, work and unplanned career of musical satirist, Rutle and Monty Python collaborator Neil Innes, Thursday, June 26th at 7:30PM at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.

The biopic opens the American Cinematheque’s 9th annual Mods & Rockers Film Festival.

The two-day premiere includes a special concert performance by Innes at the Egyptian on Friday, June 27th.

The film will combine concert performance footage, animation, a unique interactive element and interviews, appearances and performances by Innes' friends, colleagues and protégés, including surviving Pythons: John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin.

Matt Groening, Aimee Mann, comedians Phill Jupitus and an assorted Rutle or two, among others will be in attendance.

“The Egyptian Theatre on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is the perfect place to open this film,” says director Burt Kearns, who produced and wrote Python with Frozen partner Brett Hudson.

“Neil Innes has spent his entire career fighting the celebrity fame game that’s gotten so out of control here in recent years. This film celebrates a true comedy and musical genius who’s been all too happy to work beneath the radar. Until now, of course.”

“Even more important,” Hudson adds, “we explain why Neil wears a duck on his head.”

Innes’ resistance to the celebrity worship that haunted his friend George Harrison is at the heart of this film that one early reviewer has called “Touching, hilarious and inventive!”

“The Seventh Python” traces Innes’ winding path at the edge of fame with his influential work that keeps one foot each planted in the worlds of comedy and rock ‘n’ roll.

From the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band to the Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour, from Monty Python to The Rutles, from his work with Harrison to his songs in Idle’s Broadway smash Spamalot, Neil Innes is that rare artist who is both a brilliant satirist and songwriter who happens to occasionally wear a duck on his head.

John Cleese has likened Innes to Steve Martin and Charlie Chaplin; Terry Jones draws comparisons of him to Paul Simon.

Showtime is 7:30PM for the June 26th premiere. Tickets are available for the film and the June 27th Innes concert online here or at the Egyptian Theatre box office.

"Weird Al" meets The Seventh Python

Ha! Check out this press release from our pals at Frozen Pictures, whose new movie, The Seventh Python, premieres Thursday as the opening selection of the American Cinematheque's Mods & Rockers Film Festival at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood:

"Weird Al" Yankovic raves about The Seventh Python:
"WITHOUT QUESTION, ONE OF THE FINEST DOCUMENTARIES I'VE SEEN!
(about Neil Innes) (so far this year)!"

HOLLYWOOD (JONAS PR) - Grammy-winning, million-selling, Top 10 recording artist, parodist, singer and accordionist 'Weird Al' Yancovic has stunned the show business world and brought the art of the 'movie quote' to a sublime new level of greatness in his outrageous praise of The Seventh Python, Frozen Pictures' nonfiction film about fellow satirist, Rutle and Monty Python collaborator Neil Innes, which premieres June 26th at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, opening the ninth Mods & Rockers Film Festival.

"Weird Al" was among a select group-- including Innes, festival organizer Martin Lewis and comic Emo Philips-- to attend an early advance screening of the film on the Sunset Strip. As he prepares to embark on his Summer 2008 Straight Outta Lynwood concert tour that opens Friday June 27 in Henderson, Nevada, he took time to send producers a quote that sums up his feelings about the film:

"The Seventh Python is without question one of the finest documentaries I've seen about Neil Innes so far this year."

Blue Smoke & Mirrors Inc., the design firm that created The Seventh Python graphics and ad campaign, slapped the quote on the premiere poster that's showing up across Hollywood this weekend.

By the time the film's producers read the quote, it was too late.

"It sounded right," says BS&M's creative director Joaquin Blanco, whose native language is Portuguese. "In my business, you don't always have time to read the fine print."

Innes, who's traveling from London to Los Angeles for the promotion leading to the premiere and his June 27th solo show at the Egyptian, said he thought 'Weird Al' captured the spirit perfectly.

Tickets for The Seventh Python on July 26th at 7:30 pm and the Neil Innes concert on July 26th at 7:30 pm are available at www.modsandrockers.com

Tickets for "Weird Al"'s Straight Outta Lynwood Summer Tour can be found at www.weirdal.com/touring.htm

The Seventh Python producer says film festival selections and awards will lead to new screenings

More news from The Seventh Python front: The City of Chicago and The Chicago International Movies & Music Festival are gearing up for the arrival of the acclaimed nonfiction film from our pals at Frozen Pictures, which is being featured in a prime festival showcase on Saturday night, March 7th. Frozen's already got a team on the ground laying down promotion in the Windy City as the film's selection for the prestigious CIMM Fest competition slate has shined an international spotlight on the hilarious and moving flick-- and the man at the center, legendary and still-vital pop satirist and Monty Python collaborator Neil Innes.

And on the heels of the Python's Golden Ace Award from the upcoming Las Vegas International Film Festival, Seventh co-executive producer Keith Walker announced today that film, which also stars Python alums John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin and Terry Jones, will be screened for the general public as well as distributors during the Las Vegas festival, which runs April 9-12.

"Since we've already been honored with the Golden Ace, we won't be screening the film in competition at the Vegas fest," Walker tells us this morning. "But this prestigious award has gotten a lot of people asking where they can see it in Vegas. We're arranging screenings in a movie theatre. We'll be inviting the cast of the Beatles' Love show from The Mirage, some folks who worked with Spamalot when it was in town-- and a magician or two."

The Atlanta-based Walker, a veteran producer who's the Southern and East Coast emissary for the LA-based Frozen Pictures, says he's also arranging screenings in his hometown.

"Atlanta's been Monty Python country from the beginning. Spamalot, which includes Neil's music, is coming to town next month. Elton John's got a place here. And we've got a great music and film scene. Folks can't wait to see The Seventh Python."

Watch this space for details for announcements about Los Angeles and other cities.

(The Seventh Python will also be shown March 28th at 11 a.m. at the NY Metro Fest for Beatles Fans, the world’s largest Beatles fans convention. Director Burt Kearns and producer Brett Hudson will be on hand for the screening in the ballroom of the Meadowlands Crowne Plaza Hotel— along with Neil Innes himself, who will be performing and signing autographs throughout the weekend.)

Major film festival award for The Seventh Python

The Seventh Python has picked up a major prestigious film festival award as it begins a new round of screenings across the country.

The musical nonfiction film about legendary pop satirist and Monty Python collaborator Neil Innes has been named winner of the 2009 Las Vegas International Film Festival's Golden Ace Award.

The festival judges announced that the film from our pals at Frozen Pictures “demonstrated superior and standout filmmaking and is deserving of special recognition” as one of the best among nearly 2000 films submitted from over 50 countries around the world.

The Las Vegas International Film Festival takes place from April 9th to 12th. The Seventh Python director Burt Kearns and producer Brett Hudson will be featured at the awards ceremony and will soon announce Las Vegas screening dates for the film that weekend.

Fans across the country will also have the chance to see The Seventh Python in coming weeks.


The film, which featured Python alums John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin and Terry Jones, along with Innes fans and friends like Aimee Mann and Simpsons creator Matt Groening, has been chosen as an official selection of the Chicago International Movies & Music Festival, and will be screened in competition on March 8th. Director Burt Kearns and producer Brett Hudson will be on hand to discuss the film after the 8 p.m. screening.

The Seventh Python will also be shown March 28th at the NY Metro Fest for Beatles Fans, the world’s largest Beatles fans convention. The screening in the ballroom of the Meadowlands Crowne Plaza Hotel will take place at 11 a.m.—an “early bird special” for festivalgoers, by popular demand after a similar showing at the Chicago Fest drew more than a thousand people and a standing ovation.

Kearns and Hudson will be there— along with the star, Neil Innes himself, who will be performing and signing autographs throughout the weekend.


The Seventh Python was the opening selection of the American Cinematheque's 2008 Mods & Rockers Film Festival. Watch this space for announcements of more screenings leading up to the crowd-pleasing movie's inclusion in the Revelation Perth International Film Festival in July.

The Seventh Python returns to Chicago!

Friday, August 14th, The Comedy Shrine
22 E. Chicago Avenue Naperville, Illinois 630.355.2844

So what is it with The Seventh Python and Chicago? The veddy-Anglocentric award-winning nonfiction feature about the veddy-British musical satirist, rock 'n' roll legend and Monty Python compatriot Neil Innes from our pals at Frozen Pictures returns to the Chicago area on Friday, August 14th, with a one-night-only screening and (two-thirds) Hudson Brothers performance at The Comedy Shrine.

The announcement is great news for comedy and Monty Python fans... but begs the question why, after entertaining audiences and winning standing ovations around the world-- from Perth, Australia to the New Jersey Meadowlands-- The Seventh Python keeps returning to the City of Big Shoulders in the American Heartland?

Since the film's premiere at the American Cinematheque's Mods & Rockers Film Festival in Hollywood, it's played at:

The Chicago Fest for Beatles Fans...

The Chicago International Movies & Music Festival...

The Wilmette Theatre...

and now..

The Comedy Shrine
22 E. Chicago Avenue
Naperville, Illinois
630.355.2844

So what's the secret to Chicago?


"The secret to Chicago is-- there is no secret," says Seventh Python director Burt Kearns. "Chicago is a comedy capital. They've got The Second City there, but also universities, where some of the finest comics and comedy writers were schooled. There are a lot of comedy legends in and around Chicago."

One of those legends is Dave Sinker. The longtime Hudson buddy, Emmy-winning writer and Second City veteran runs The Comedy Shrine, and came up with the idea of bringing back The Seventh Python for a return engagement.

The Friday evening show on Chicago Avenue in Naperville is set to begin with a screening of the hilarious film starring John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Aimee Mann, Matt Groening and many others, followed by a special performance by Brett and Mark Hudson (they'll arrive after they appear at The Fest for Beatles Fans at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare). Brett produced the film. Mark, the noted music producer and performer, was music supervisor.

Click here for tickets. Arrive early so you'll have some time to check out the extensive comedy memorabilia collection. They don't call it The Comedy Shrine for nothing.