Unless Frank Sinatra somehow rises from the grave and manages to convince them all to appear at the same live TV concert, the surviving members of Monty Python likely won’t be patching things up any time soon. As long as they continue giving interviews, it seems that reporters will continue to ask them about the ongoing tension in the group.
Eric Idle, who has a new book about the making of Spamalot, recently spoke with AARP. When asked about his friend, former Beatles supporter George Harrison and Brian’s life, Idle said the former Beatle once gave him some invaluable life advice. “He cheered me up when my first marriage broke up by telling me I was going to die,” Edel explained. “Which is good advice. Damn it. Every day you’re lucky.”
On the subject of The Beatles, Idle was asked whether or not Monty Python gave “each member veto power” over material as the Fab Four did. “Yes. All the Serpents always had the veto power until the last three shamefully removed it from the fourth last spring,” replied Edel.
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Idle’s comment is supposedly a reference to the group’s finances, which are currently run by Holly Gilliam, Terry Gilliam’s daughter – despite Idle’s objections. Speaking to The New Yorker last month, Idle made his displeasure very clear, saying: “I don’t think it’s appropriate for someone’s daughter to run the company. You can’t be neutral in a situation where your father is on the board. I think that’s not right. It leads to serious feelings and difficulties.
During the same interview, he also praised the group’s past use of veto power, and again claimed that it has now been abolished. “I love the veto. I thought it was the most civilized rule I’ve ever been a part of. They’ve gotten rid of it recently, I’m sorry to say, which is a shame. You can’t really force someone to be in something if they don’t want to Really to be in it.
In his memoirs, Always look on the bright side of lifeIdle similarly praised Python’s veto rule and noted that it actually prevents the group from committing a serious crime. While they were writing The Meaning of Life in Jamaica, the group complained that Handmade Films co-founder Dennis O’Brien owed them “a million dollars” for Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl. So Idle, remembering that O’Brien had a boat anchored nearby, motioned for them all to “grab his yacht.”
Everyone voted for the plan except Cleese. The former law student suggested that the plan amounted to piracy. “Monty Python voted for five out of six to become pirates,” Idle wrote, “but Python’s veto rule remained in place. Everyone had the right to object to the vote. It is a surprisingly effective and fair rule, meaning that no one could be forced to do what they would not.” wants to do.
So, in addition to Idle’s current frustrations, without the veto rule, there’s a good chance Monty Python would spend his final years in a prison cell in the Caribbean.
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