Rob Walton of Playboy.com finagled a sitdown with the immortal John Cleese of Monty Python, Fawlty Towers, and other fertile deltas of laughter. Here’s his interview:
It seems almost quaint in retrospect, but in 1979 Monty Python's Biblical satire Life of Brian was met with angry movie theater picketers (who helped word of mouth immensely). Today a two-disc DVD version hits video stores, without benefit of any protest. In need of a backlash to promote this "Immaculate Edition," Life of Brian co-writer and co-star John Cleese turned to Playboy to generate some controversy. To that end, Cleese -- who played Q in two Bond Films and earned an Oscar nomination for writing A Fish Called Wanda-- names his favorite Bond Girl and uses our Vice President to illustrate the fundamental flaw of blind faith. He also recalls how Playboy had a hand in launching Monty Python onto the big screen in 1971 when it financed the British TV troop's first feature film.
PLAYBOY: You've had first-hand experience with being boycotted, censored and protested by religious groups. So why was Martin Scorsese's poetic The Last Temptation of Christ protested while Mel Gibson's super-violent The Passion of the Christ was not?
CLEESE: It's only the fundamentalist kind of personality that bothers to protest those things. Marty's film would have been offensive to a lot of people who call themselves fundamentalists, whereas Mel Gibson's is exactly the version of Christianity that a lot of the fundamentalists seem to be taken in by. I've often said that the fact that Jesus suffered in this terrible way is not in itself a good reason to accept to his teaching. In other words, if somebody crucified Dick Cheney, I would feel sorry for Dick Cheney -- eventually -- but it wouldn't bring me any closer to Dick Cheney's views. A person who lays down a set of beliefs as Christ did, whether or not we accept those beliefs should be based on how we evaluate those beliefs, not on whether the guy who set them down was hurt badly or not. It's irrelevant. We ought to believe in him because he suffered so much? Bullshit! We should believe in him because it is the most beautiful teaching -- along with Buddhism -- that I've ever come across. That's why I believe in his teaching.
CLEESE: Hef's great buddy Victor Lownes ran the London Playboy Clubs, which were a tremendous success. I got this call in 1970: Would I come in and have lunch at the Playboy Club with Victor Lownes? I sat down there in the restaurant, which was the best value restaurant in London because it, of course, was subsidized by the gambling. Victor said to me, "Your show is never going to get on American television, but how about making a cinema version of it because there are 2000 college campus cinemas and if we can make a movie that shows in each of those we can make a little bit of money?" When it came out, to our total surprise, it was quite successful in London where we didn't think people would bother to go because they'd seen most of it on the television. It was an absolute flop in America because it was publicized with some awful poster that we didn't see for years that had this very happy looking snake with a funny hat on. People looked at it and thought it was a kid's movie.
PLAYBOY: Have you since been to the Playboy Mansion?
CLEESE: I got an invitation in the 1980s when the Pythons were at the Hollywood Bowl. I went up and wandered 'round and met Hugh Hefner in the pool room. We chatted. He was very nice. The main thing I remember is the feeding of the koi carp. These fish were so voracious that when they were fed they were almost literally coming out of the water. There were some that seemed to be sliding around on the top of the others trying to get above them to the food. It was a wonderful symbol of Los Angeles.
PLAYBOY: Your character Q was absent from last year's Casino Royale? Will he be in the new Bond film, Quantum of Solace?
CLEESE: My dear agent, who is half my age, asked the producers and they said "No way." That is because they've removed the old humorous aspects of Bond -- that is Q and Moneypenny -- and made it more gritty and realistic. That's the way they're going to go, so I shall never be doing that again. But it was a lovely job while it lasted and they're very nice people.
PLAYBOY: Do you have a favorite Bond Girl?
CLEESE: I was always in love with Shirley Eaton, the girl who was killed by being covered with gold paint in Goldfinger. She was the great lust object of my youth and I always thought she was immensely fanciable.
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Comments on this entry:
In addition to the Playboy-produced film "And Now For Something Completely Different", there are a couple of other connections between PEI and Monty Python that this particular interview could have addressed. In connection with the discussion of the release of the new 2-DVD set of "The Life of Brian", you might want to post your November 1979 feature "The Gospel According to Monty Python". Also, I am surprised that in Cleese's description of the Playboy Club, no mention was made of Carol Cleveland, the "female Python" pseudo-member of the troupe, who used to be a Playboy Bunny.
Great interview!
I really enjoy Python and Cleese is such a character! Thanks!
Thank You. Mr Cheese er uh Cleese is a HUGE influence on me as we are both tall and surprisingly graceful and stunningly modest. I paid homage to him in college by doing my own impression of "The Ministry of Silly Walks" to the tune of instrumental gem by Pete Townshend called "Brrr"
I love Cleese's voice and I think he is incredibly handsome, just stunning. He deserves an Honorary Academy Award a soon as possible.I have big tits so I should be the one who hands it over.
Here is in one of my favourite Cleese moments . Just listen to his calm voice and gaze upon his suave and debonair demeanor as he tries to make money hand over fist off of Sellers and Ringo. Just dripping with snobbery-1.31 is the best.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK4jO80rmc0
And here delivering perhaps the greatest eulogy for any entrainer at Graham Chapman's funeral.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsHk9WC7fnQ