BFI Screening of Brazil in the presence of Terry Gilliam himself

Terry Gilliam and me last night 

After our 3-hour lunch, discussing Brazil, back in 1991. Photo taken by Ray Cooper. More of my Brazil photos here: https://www.facebook.com/johnalexwood/media_set?set=a.10151116111849014.463589.517774013&type=3

"In Terry Gilliam’s distinctly British ‘retro-futurist’ take on George Orwell’s nightmare prophecy, omniscient state bureaucracy runs mad. The film follows low-level technocrat and fantasist Sam Lowry (Pryce) as he attempts to rectify an administrative error that has seen an innocent man arrested while the real ‘enemy,’ Tuttle (De Niro), roams free. All the while, Lowry pursues Jill (Kim Greist), the girl of his dreams. The visual invention, social commentary and dark wit of Brazil still astonishes, in what may well be Gilliam’s masterpiece." James Bell, BFI

How often do you get a chance to have your favourite film introduced by its director, have him watch the film with you and then listen to him discuss it in a Q&A afterwards? Well, almost never, but that's exactly what happened last night for me!

When I saw Brazil for the first time in 1986, it was a major and significant event in my life. It was almost a religious experience for Pete's sake! Since then, the film has loomed large in my life. I've visited many of its filming locations and met many of its cast and crew (several by complete coincidence, including Terry himself back in 1991), but that's a pipe of a different colour. If I was ever to write an autobiography, the Brazil chapter would take up a lot of pages.

So last night was very special for me. I've met Terry many times over the years now, including a 3-hour lunch back in 1991 to talk about Brazil, and I had a nice chat with him last night too. I tried to listen to what he was saying, but it was difficult because of the voice in my head which was louder than his, saying,

"Wow, you're talking with Terry Gilliam! Can you believe that?"

I had to make sure he remembered me first. I was in the front row, clearly visible to him throughout the Q&A and he said that he had been looking at me, trying to figure out why he recognized me. I didn't tell him anything about winning the BFI competition as the biggest Monty Python fan, nor about appearing in Molly Lavik's book because of my Python Passion: "Going Supernova - The Bold Paths of 101 Superachievers", nor did I tell him about the fact that Python has shaped my whole life, influencing my marriage, and that I found my new love through the Monty Python dating Facebook group I set up. Maybe I should have done, but this was his show, not mine.

What I did ask him was where all the Brazil props have ended up. He told me he has one of the masks (I think he meant the one that Michael Palin wore), the flying Sam model and an Executive Toy ("Something  an executive") but he really didn't know where all the rest went. I told him I had heard that the film's producer Arnon Michan has the samurai warrior suit and he had heard the same, and he thinks maybe Arnon has more props too. So, I now want to contact Arnon. How the hell do I do that? Any ideas anyone?

The reason for the film's screening last night? It was part of the BFI's "Sci-Fi: Days of Fear and Wonder: Tomorrow’s World" season - which is ironic because Terry explained during the Q&A that he never intended Brazil to be a Sci-Fi film at all. He said it was really a political cartoon that was taking place in a time that was a combination of past, present and future.

I assume Brazil will be back on the agenda next year for its 30th anniversary. One question that never came up during the Q&A was whether Terry thinks Brazil is his masterpiece or whether he's fed up with people going on about it, wishing they would talk about his more recent work. Maybe I'll ask him that next time. What do you think?

The autographs and photos begins even before the film. It was such an informal event and Terry was so approachable.

Terry saying silly things before the film (he couldn't find his seat)

Terry taking his seat

Terry is invited on stage for the Q&A after the screening; he pretends to fall over on going up the steps, of course

Terry and I have a nice little chat

I get to meet Elaine Carew who was one of the make up artists on Brazil.
Ray Cooper was also present (but I've already got a photo with him)

BFI staff told me this rarely happens. The director or celeb usually disappear sharpish after a Q&A. He was so generous with his time. Everybody loves Terry Gilliam!

The UK Premiere of "German Concentration Camps Factual Survey"

Dr Toby Haggith of the Imperial War Museum, Archive Researcher on the film, third from the left

13th October 2014 - BFI Southbank, London - Now finally complete 70 years late, "German Concentration Camps Factual Survey" is such an important document but it's extremely hard to watch.

Some links:

• IMDb Listing
• IWM Press Release
• Daily Mirror
• Hollywood Reporter
• BBC

Preview of "Night Will Fall"

Yesterday, I was invited to a preview (the first-ever public screening) of the feature-length documentary "Night Will Fall" at the BFI Southbank. The audience comprised those involved with the making of the film. My father, Leonard Berney, appears on screen many times, giving his account of the liberation of Bergen-Belsen.

The film is really quite harrowing and it doesn't pull any punches at all. It gets across in graphic detail what it was like to witness the horrors at the aftermath of the Nazi concentration camps, close up. Just watching it on film was difficult enough, so to have actually been there; to have seen it and smelled it first hand is an experience that is difficult to imagine. 

When the credits had finished rolling and the lights had faded up, the audience were in stunned silence.

Night Will Fall (2014)
Feature Length Documentary
Synopsis
In the spring of 1945, Allied forces liberating Europe found evidence of atrocities which have tortured the world’s conscience ever since. As the troops entered the German concentration camps, they made a systematic film record of what they saw. Work began on a documentary to show the horror they witnessed to the German population.

Sidney Bernstein, chief of the Psychological Warfare Film Section of SHAEF commissioned the film. Those involved in the production included Alfred Hitchcock and renowned editor Stewart McAllister; they produced perhaps the most remarkable testament of the 20th Century. “No German can say he didn’t know” insists the commentary, co-written by Richard Crossman, the future cabinet minister.

These sentiments were judged by the British Government to be unsuitable to the bridge-building mood towards Germany. The film was never shown.

40 years later an American researcher found a rusty can marked “F3080” in the vaults of London’s Imperial War Museum. It was in very poor condition and the last roll was missing, but in 1985 a scratched and blurry copy was shown on PBS in America. Now after three years of work by Dr Toby Haggith of the IWM, the entire film has been fully restored and piece by piece, frame by frame, the lost last reel has been put together from the original shot lists. For the first time in history the completed “F3080” is ready to be shown.

Spring Films is co-producing with Angel TV a 90 minute documentary for theatrical and television release. This documentary, ‘Night Will Fall’ is to coincide with the release of the remastered original film and will tell the remarkable story behind the making of the film, the people involved and the reasons why it was never shown.

Team Credits
Director: André Singer
Directorial Advisor: Stephen Frears
Executive Producer: Richard Melman
Producer: Sally Angel

Partners
Angel TV
Cinephil

The Launch of A Liar's Autobiography at LOCO Film Festival

A Liar's Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman opened the LOCO Film Festival last night at BFI Southbank with all the excitement you'd expect at a movie premiere.

Celebrities present were Terry Jones who appears in the film (well, his voice does) and Simon Pegg who doesn't, but he came along, I assume, because he's a Monty Python fan like the rest of us; well those with good taste anyway. I said hello to Simon (I had to!) and told him I went to school with Eric Fellner. It seems they're good friends!

Rebecca Front and Tony Law were also there, both on the "What Have the Pythons Ever Given Us?"panel after the showing of the film, discussing the influence that Monty Python has had, and still has, over comedy in film and TV. I was also very happy to see Python stalwarts André Jacquemin and Julian Doyle there.

LOCO/Graham Chapman animation
by Anna Ginsburg

Part of the evening included the wonderful Animate Chapman Exhibition put on by Justin Weyers (the film's Animation Producer) of Made Visual which included artwork and props from the film as well as a live animation demonstration. On display too were Graham's Cambridge scarf, the sun motif worn by Graham in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and the shoe (the sign!) from The Life of Brian.

An unexpected highlight for me happened during the "What Have the Pythons Ever Given Us?" discussion. I was sitting almost dead centre in the front row and on two occasions, Tony Law decided to loudly point me out to the whole audience as the World's Greatest Monty Python Fan. It was being videoed too, but you can edit that out can't you Ida?

What an incredible evening that was! I love the guys at Trinity Film! Thanks to Cedric Behrel (Co-founder and Co-director) who hired me, I am now working within the world of Monty Python, having been a dedicated fan for 40 years. I am so grateful to you Cedric! Thank you! My dream has become a reality.

Next up: A Liar's Autobiography goes on general release in the UK on 8 Feb but it can also be pre-ordered now from Amazon as a DVD or Blu Ray.

A Liar's Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman stars Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam, Stephen Fry, Cameron Diaz plus Philip Bulcock, Carol Cleveland, André Jacquemin, Justin McDonald and Jamie Jacquemin.

£1 goes to QUIT, the charity that helps prevent children from starting to smoke and adults to quit, for every pre-order of the film on DVD or Blu-ray. Visit: www. quit.org.uk until 1st Feb 2013.

UK Premiere of A Liar's Autobiography, Empire Leicester Square

A Liar's Autobiography flyer we were given on entering the cinema

On the back of the flyer, the words to a very rude song, for us all to sing along to 

The two tickets I won in the BFI's "Biggest Monty Python Fan" competition after the one I paid for

16 October 2012: As winner of the British Film Institute's "Biggest Monty Python Fan" competition, I felt I was on official duty to some degree during the proceedings! Many people throughout the night told me they had seen my tweets promoting the film, that they were grateful and that I was famous! 

I had been looking forward to the premiere for such a long time as I somehow knew about this project when it was just an idea. Even though I had a ticket (three actually as you can see above!), I decided to stand behind the railings by the side of the red carpet to watch the celebs arrive and the media circus unfold.

I was chuffed that Bill Jones, one of the three directors of the film (and Terry Jones's son), recognised me (from the Adobe Private Screening of A Liar's Autobiography 2 weeks earlier) while walking down the red carpet and came up to me and said hello!

Then Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Carol Cleveland, Neil Innes, Justin McDonald, Ronald Rivron, Sanjeev Bhaskar and Barry Cryer walked the walk and the media circus was well and truly underway. To keep the fans happy, there were several Graham Chapmans wandering around in character, namely, the Colonel who kept saying "Stop that, it's too silly", King Arthur (and Patsy) with coconuts, Mr Throat Wobbler Mangrove, pronounced "Luxury Yacht" (complete with huge polystyrene nose) and Brian who later, inside the cinema, gave us Brian's speech from Life of Brian that includes the line "We're all individuals" to which someone in the audience inevitably, and exactly on cue, shouted, "I'm not!"

I went inside and took my seat and the three directors and three very well known members of the cast introduced the film in a very original way, and did a Q and A session afterwards.

 

It was so good to see the film a second time. There is so much to take in, it needs at least two viewings. The length of time images and scenes stay in your head from the movie you have just seen is my measure of how good the movie is. Well it's still happening, and I first saw it on 4 October! I say it's a masterpiece and Graham Chapman would have loved it!

When the Q and A session ended with a "Sit on My Face" singalong, we all had fun at the after party. It was such a wonderful unforgettable night! I was on Cloud 9 the whole time!

Why I think I might be the biggest Monty Python fan

This is my entry in the British Film Institute's competition:

"The search for the biggest Monty Python fan"

Here are 28 reasons why I think I could win this competition:

Monty Python itself                                     

	1) I first saw the Flying Circus on a black and white TV in 1969 aged 9. It meant nothing to me, plus I was disappointed there was no circus as promised. My big brothers loved it and I couldn't figure out why. Then in 1973 aged 13, a school friend played me his Python albums and I got completely hooked. Python has been a major part of my life ever since.
	2) I recently visited Teddington Lock where the famous fish-slapping dance was filmed.
	3) I own all 45 Flying Circus TV shows, all 4 movies, all the Python audio albums, an original copy of the "Big Red Book", the "Papperbok", "Just the Words" (the complete scripts of all 45 TV shows) as well as the scripts of almost all the movies, and I also attended  "Not the Messiah", Monty Python's 40th anniversary concert at the Royal Albert Hall.
	4) I have seen "Monty Python's Spamalot" 11 times since 2007 and blogged about it each time, and I was part of the Spamalot-hosted world's largest coconut orchestra in Trafalgar Square. I blogged about that too. Last month, I won Harold Pinter Theatre's Spamalot's competition for a free goody bag (because no one else entered)
	5) In 2011, I saw Hampstead Theatre's Monty Python legal docu-drama play "No Naughty Bits" twice, the second time being press night which was attended by Terry Gilliam who signed my copy of the script, together with Nancy Lewis-Jones (a central character in the play and wife of Simon Jones who plays an official in Terry Gilliam's "Brazil").
	6) In 1979, I transcribed the entire "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" soundtrack album - yes, on a typewriter!! - as a present to the same friend who got me hooked in 1973.
	7) In 2009, I carried out some research on a voluntary basis for Bill and Ben Productions when they were putting together the "Almost The Truth" documentary. In return, they gave me a credit in the movie in the 'With Special Thanks' section. Priceless!
	8) I run the Pythonesque blog and Twitter account. If you search for "biggest monty python fan" in Google, #1 of the 2.2m results is the BFI announcement of this competition, but at #2 and #3 you will see my blog post entitled, "Are you the biggest Monty Python fan of your country?" predating the BFI article by over two years. So there!
	9) Python is such an important and central part of my life which has even shaped the way I see the world, I can't imagine it being possible to be in a relationship with someone who doesn't get Python. It's like being tuned into a very weird wavelength. You're either tuned into it or you're not. My ex most certainly was not. No surprise we split then. She considered Python to be infantile drivel! So in finding a new life partner, my top priority is to find someone who at least gets it. This is paramount for me, while age and looks do not matter (that is a blatant lie!) I am hoping that, out there somewhere, is a gorgeous 30-something, Python-quoting single lady. If this BFI competition helps me find her, what a story that will be!
	10) I have suggested to Methuen, Python's publishers, on many occasions to bring out a book of the scripts of the albums. In many ways, I find the albums better than the TV shows as they are so polished and contain so many gems. But to this day, many have never even heard of the albums! This is sacrilegious! I'm hoping that the release of the scripts will stimulate a resurgence of interest in the albums. I'm going to keep pushing for this until the book is in print. It's unthinkable to me that this book does not already exist!
	11) I was actually considering studying Python for an MA or similar post graduate qualification (but real life intervened). Photo: mobygames.com
	12) Future Plans: Preferably not alone, if you know what I mean, I want to visit more Python filming locations such as Doune Castle and the streets where the Gas Men, Silly Walks and Hungarian Phrasebook sketches were filmed. And at this rate I shall, no doubt, want something Python-related played at my funeral... will have to think of something more original than "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" though.

Individual Monty Python members

	13) I met Terry Jones and Michael Palin together by chance in 1975 when they were working on Ripping Yarns. While my brother, Steve, was giving me a lift driving through Soho, he stopped at the Nellie Dean Pub to buy some cigarettes. In the pub BY COINCIDENCE were Michael and Terry. I used to collect autographs at the time (I was a teenager, come on!) and the celeb I had just met previously wasn't particularly friendly. So my first words to Terry and Michael were: "Excuse me, are you nice famous people?" Michael's response was to say to Terry, "I'll 'old 'im," whilst grabbing the labels of my coat, "and you 'it 'im." In my autograph book, they wrote "Michael and Terry, Nellie Dean Pub, Mon-Fri 8-8.30pm". I have since met them both again on several occasions, the most recent being the signing of the recently released "Ripping Yarns" DVD.
	14) In 1989, I attended the premiere of "Erik the Viking" in Brighton where I managed to say hello to Terry Jones again.
	15) I am a big fan of Eric Idle's 1990 film "Nuns on the Run", so much so that I visited its filming locations in Chiswick, London.
	16) I attended the "Secret Policeman's Biggest Ball" for which the billing included John Cleese and Michael Palin. I managed to speak to John when he popped out of the theatre for a break. I asked him what the Neville Shunt sketch meant, and he explained it to me!
	17) I managed to catch the Oxford performance of John Cleese's Alimony Tour last year.
	18) Astrophysicists had told Eric Idle that the figure he gives in the lyrics for the width of the Milky Way in "The Galaxy Song" was incorrect, so he changed the figure in future live performances to what they had said was more accurate. Then another astrophysicist discovered that Eric was actually right all along. I noticed that Eric was not aware of it because he was still using his altered figure. I managed to get this message through to Eric via the then administrator of Pythonline.com. Eric's response was "I wish they'd make up their fucking mind!"
	19) I was given permission by the Python office in 1990 to visit the set of Michael Palin's movie, "American Friends". I met with Michael and Charles McKeown and watched a scene being filmed. I also visited the Liberal Club in London where a scene from Michael's movie, The Missionary, was filmed.
	20) In May 2011, I attended Terry Gilliam's debut as an opera director. 'Damnation of Faust' by Berlioz was performed at the ENO. On the way to my seat, I bumped into Elton John's percussionist, Ray Cooper, who has appeared in several of Terry's films, including 'Brazil'.
	21) When I first saw Terry Gilliam's movie "Brazil" in 1986, it was rather a life-changing experience; an epiphany. I loved it SO much, it became another major part of my life. I have been to most of its filming locations and have met more than half the cast who signed my book "Battle of Brazil". I also - out of the blue - bumped into 6 members of the cast entirely BY COINCIDENCE. e.g. Bryan Pringle came into the restaurant I was in while I was talking about Brazil with my mother; Ian Richardson walked past me in the street in my hometown, and in 1991, I spotted Terry Gilliam at Gatwick Airport and invited him to lunch (as you do). I brought along my Brazil scrapbook and we spent 3 hours discussing the film and my obsession with it. In my book, he wrote: "Thanks for keeping "Brazil" alive! - at least in your mind. It makes me feel it was all worthwhile. Thanks for letting us take over your life, Yours Terry Gilliam. From the hand of the Ministry."
	22) Apart from Graham Chapman, Eric Idle was the last Python I had not yet met. I finally caught up with him at the stage door of "Not the Messiah" at the Royal Albert Hall in 2009.
	23) I was invited BY COINCIDENCE to Adobe UK's private screening of "A Liar's Autobiography" in October 2012 where I met Bill Jones (Terry's son), one of the 3 directors of the movie, and was photographed with him and Graham Chapman! Not meeting Graham is such a regret for me, but I felt I got pretty close to him that night.

People who have worked with Monty Python

	24) I met up with Neil Innes after his show during one of his recent UK tours.
	25) I also met Carol Cleveland at the Royal Albert Hall after "Not the Messiah".
	26) Julian Doyle and his daughter Margarita have worked with the Pythons on scores of projects for decades. I got a photo taken with them at the world premiere of Julian's movie, "Chemical Wedding". Julian is probably most well known to Python fans as the policeman who puts his hand over the camera at the very end of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" and Margarita was the voice of Central Services in "Brazil": "This has not been a recording."
	27) In December 2011, André Jacquemin, Python's sound engineer, was kind enough to invite me (plus friends) to his studio to listen to outtakes from the Python albums as well as see an exclusive preview of the first 9 minutes of "A Liar's Autobiography" which he was doing the sound for at the time.
	28) At the premiere of Chemical Wedding, I also met up with Terence Bayler who delivers the famous 'Blessed are the Cheesemakers' line in "Life of Brian": "Well, obviously it's not meant to be taken literally. It refers to any manufacturers of dairy products."