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!©®™

Stay tuned...

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.

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.)

Exclusive! The Seventh Python at film, fan fests

The Seventh Python, the acclaimed Neil Innes doco film from our pals at Frozen Pictures, is officially on the film festival trail.

The film has been selected for inclusion in the first annual Chicago International Movies & Music Festival and will be screened March 7th at the Chicago Cultural Center downtown. Director Burt Kearns and producer Brett Hudson will discuss the film after the screening.



The film will be in competition with other first-rate musical docos. Awards will be presented on Sunday.


Then, on March 28, the film will be a highlight of another Fest for Beatles Fans. The film will be shown as an 11 a.m. Saturday morning "early bird special" in the Grand Ballroom of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in the Meadowlands (a tunnel from Manhattan), where the 35th annual convention-- the New York Metro Fest"-- is taking place. When the film was shown at the last Beatles fanfest in August, a thousand fans gave it a standing ovation.


Once again, Kearns and Hudson will be at the fest all weekend for fan Q and As. What's more, Neil Innes himself will be there to perform and join in. (Victor Spinetti will also be at the Beatles fan fest, so expect photos.)

Other Seventh screenings and festivals will be announced soon. We do know the film is headed to the Revelation Perth International Film Festival in Perth, Australia in July.