Diaries 1969-1979_ The Python Years - Michael Palin [323]
Friday, February 2nd
To Neal’s Yard this morning. Pick my way through piles of uncollected garbage piled up in the passageway from Monmouth Street. At least we’ve had heat and light, but we don’t have any dustmen at the moment.
At six I’m in De Lane Lea’s basement for a preview of Brian.
The audience is three or four times the size of the last showing I attended, the night before I left for New York. And, although the film is shorter, with Shepherds and a large part of the raid removed, I think it’s the size of the audience that makes all the difference. They are much noisier in their appreciation and the end section goes particularly well.
I end up in the Carlisle Arms with Anne H, John G and Terry G and Julian. Julian is finding it almost impossible to spend any time on his own fine-cutting the movie without constant interruptions from Terry, over small points which Julian now regards as of secondary importance to getting the movie completed on time.
I am appealed to, almost as if they’d tried everything else, to talk to Terry and impress upon him the need to keep away from Julian for the next few days.
Saturday, February 3rd
A clear, bright, sunny morning. My first weekend with the children since Rachel’s fourth birthday on the 13th but I have to spend today at Neal’s Yard, trying to patch up the wretched PR problems between editor and director. Gilliam arrives on his bicycle with a list of points on the film – ‘A Few Hopefully Helpful Hints in the Pursuit of Perfection’, which I take down with me.
I get to the editing rooms by 10.15. Terry is already there and Julian has been in since six!
Terry, Julian and myself sit and work amiably and constructively through the entire film, raising all the points from yesterday’s viewing. Terry G’s as well. TJ is amenable to most of the suggestions and some good cuts are agreed on.
Drive TJ back up to Hampstead at four and as we go he tells me of the difficulties of working with Julian. Terry acknowledges in one breath that Julian is an excellent editor, but at the same time bitterly accuses him of not taking a blind bit of notice of any of TJ’s suggestions. I urge TJ to take a breather from the film – at least for twenty-four hours. He looks as baggy-eyed as Julian is red-eyed.
Tuesday, February 6th
Completed a rewrite on the end of’Whinfrey’ this morning.
Drive into Soho for one o’clock viewing of Brian – mainly for Eric who arrived back from LA last night. He has to leave the country again on Friday – for tax reasons. The showing is a good one and confirms my feeling after last Friday that the movie is consistently funnier than the Grail, but without the high points of visual and verbal felicity such as Trojan Rabbit and Black Knight fights.
Sandy Lieberson is at the viewing. He warns us that it will be ‘X’ rated because of the full-frontal nudity and that’s about all. I feel we must not compromise on the ‘full-frontal’ (what an absurd phrase anyway). It’s a very funny scene, and Graham’s reaction as he appears stark naked at the window, only to find 500 ‘followers’ waiting to worship him, is one of the biggest and best laughs of the film.
Eric looks unhappy. He feels both Haggling and Ex-Leper should go. He is dissuaded from this, at least until they’re dubbed – the general feeling being voiced by Julian, who claims that they are both scenes which people listen to and appreciate rather than roar with laughter at.
Clash over’Brian of Nazareth’ Life of Brian title suggestions. Eric says everyone in America he’s talked to will be very disappointed if it’s not ‘Nazareth’. TJ and I maintain it’s inviting a misleading comparison with Jesus of Nazareth. Eric says we could lose a million dollars or so with a flat title like Life of Brian. Eric’s sharpness makes me sharp in return. A pity, because we need to listen to each other a bit more.
David Leland and Stephanie come round to dinner this evening. We have a chat over the