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Please post questions for Armando Iannucci (Dont, it's done and dusted) [rename]

Started by Neil, October 17, 2007, 10:32:50 AM

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Neil

I'm trying to get some more interviews set up for the site, and really want the questions to come from the community as a whole.  So please post up questions for Armando Iannucci in this thread, as I'll be interviewing him sometime next month.  Thanks.

MojoJojo

No ideas yet, but my brother interviewed him about 6 months a go, and was given strong warnings not to mention Chris Langham, so questions on him might be very interesting since he hasn't said much about it already, or may just result in him hanging up.

Little Hoover

You haven't read the Time Trumpet thread have you?

Neil

I'm not interested in asking him about Chris Langham.  I'm thinking I want to know his opinions on the current British comedy scene, and also how he feels about some of his past projects now.  Perhaps why he seems to have done a 180 on YouTube after Time Trumpet, too.

I also really want this to harness some of the knowledge floating around here, in order to try and make this good.  I know very little about comedy, so it's up to you lot.  Interviews get criticised here quite frequently, so ask the questions you would like to see asked.  Please.

Little Hoover

 So Armando, you know Graham Linehan, has he always been so thin-skinned. [/neil]

sorry, I will try and come up with a serious suggestgion eventually.

Clint Hollow

Great stuff Neil. Was he familiar with the site? My suggestions are a little banal; but anyway . . .

Does he feel that the dumbing down of television has directly affected the commissioning of comedy programmes and has potentially forced writers/directors/producers to avoid taking risks in their work?

Does he have any plans to work with Chris Morris again in the future?

What are his comedy (films, radio, tv) desert island discs?

What are the programmes on which he's worked that he is least/most proud of?

What was the last thing that made him really laugh?


Dunno, you could probably have come up with those yourself. Fuck it, they're not bad just a bit boring.



Neil

Thanks, I like those.

Does anyone have tips for interviewing in general?  I know some folks here have done a load of them.  You can PM me if you wish, would be really grateful, I want these interviews to be good.

Quote from: Clint Hollow on October 17, 2007, 11:55:46 AM


What are his comedy (films, radio, tv) desert island discs?



Acording to wiki, hes already been on desert island discs.

It might be interesting asking him about some of his ad work, like the recent post office advert and how the post office strikes may effect such a campaign?

Starlit

Is there something that would have been brilliant had he worked on it, but instead was just OK?

maybe that could be rephrased as

Is there any programme that you would liked to have worked on, and do you think that you could have made any improvements to it?


Whug Baspin

I'd like to know if he feels like he's part of any particular generation of comedians and how long he sees himself involved in making comedy.

Neville Chamberlain

Hey, Armando, are you really as bewildered by the world and the people around you as you appear to be in the Armando Iannucci Shows?

boxofslice

How does he view so-called celebrity comedians like Ricky G*rv*is and Peter Kay?

Hoskinator

I like to know his views on radio comedy compared to TV comedy and does he prefer Radio to TV comedy

is he going to do anything else on the Internet after time trumpet was not well received (word it better but you get the idea).

Does he have any favorite websites and does he ever read forums about his shows.

Quote from: Hoskinator on October 17, 2007, 12:33:30 PM
I like to know his views on radio comedy compared to TV comedy and does he prefer Radio to TV comedy

If you can catch a repeat of his stint as radio 7's comedy controller, he goes into some musing about his childhood and growing up with radio comedy.

(Edit) I Believe his choices were
I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (3/6/02)
The Atkinson People (30/4/79)
The Consultants (27/2/03)
A Wet Handle (2/6/97)
The Museum Of Lost Keyboards (13/12/03)
The Burkiss Way - Is Britain Going the Burkiss Way (23/4/79)
The Big Fun Show (16/1/88)

drberbatov

What is your favourite cheese?

Is there any particular comedian/ienne you would love to work with in the future?

Should you wear socks underneath sandals?



Jack Shaftoe

Bearing in mind he likes a lot of american drama stuff like BSG and the Wire, does he see himself moving away from comedy and into drama in the future?

Does he think different parts of the country have a different sense of what's funny? (actually that's a bit shit that one)

Something about music in comedy, not sure exactly yet, I'll come back to that one.

Jemble Fred

It's a funny old thing, the interviewing, Neil. All I do is just have one side of A4 plastered with questions, then take a deep breath, and have a nice chat with the person in question. I seem to have the knack (at least when interviewing via Skype or phone) not to panic or be too obsequious, and just hit the ground running in a relaxed way. Go for a casual but friendly tone, and be sure to be the FIRST to say 'nearly done..' before they volunteer the information that they're bored of talking to you.

I'd like to know...
Why it is he thinks The Mary Whitehouse Experience has been all-but expunged from the comedy history books? The shows aren't overly topical, and still amuse today. It should be seen as a watershed show, but nothing's ever been released, bar the original Encyclopedia. What does he think RN, DB, HD and SP's influence has been?

Bean Is A Carrot

These are badly phrased, but...

Does he think there was a golden age of British TV comedy. If so, when was it and why did it end. If not, why not.

Which contemporary/newish comedians does he admire.

Which non-comedy things have influenced his work.

Which comedies/comedians from outside of the UK does he like.

Jemble Fred

Also, definitely ask about the ads – but make sure not to let a whiff of 'sell out' interrogation enter the questions. Take it as read that they've given him financial comfort and he's hardly done adverts for the Nazi Party...

That said, it'd be interesting to know whether he feels as invested in his ads as he is his TV shows? How much does he care about the quality?

Also...
Any plans to work with Peter Baynham in the future, or is he lost to America?

Also...
Do you regret the unusual job of supporting actor in the 'Lionel Nimrod' series? It's fascinating to hear him playing characters and trying out silly voices. He should do more!

Also...
Is there any bad feeling remaining about the whole Lee & Herring/On The Hour debacle? Do you wish you could have put out the shows commercially without editing out their input?

Also...
(My personal fave AI work is the Armisitice, folks) Are there any plans to ever do anything with the Armistice footage? A Best Of DVD could be great. Or perhaps a 21st Century Special? How's Mr Tony Blair doing these days?

And rest.

Bean Is A Carrot

Any chance of a DVD release of the pilot of The Day Today/Brass Eye (I forget which one isn't available).

James Christopher

Some quick tips on interviewing...

Do your research. Read as many interviews of your subject as possible. More often than not, the same type of questions get asked, resulting in generic, rehearsed responses. Ask questions which you find genuinely interesting. Try to order your questions in such a way that it gives continuity to the interview.

Hope that doesn't sound patronizing, I'm no expert myself!

brrrr

I'd like to know what he thinks went wrong the Alan Partridge character,he said himself on the Armando Iannuci shows commentary that he had watched the second series of I'm Alan Partridge and thought it was terrible.I never really liked Partridge after KMKYWAP it wasn't quite the same thing as when he had a chat show.Also ask him about the much used Partridge voice inflection by other comedians.

Xander

I've interviewed a few people and although it seems obvious, the worst thing you can do is suddenly become awestruck. Keep in mind that these are just 'normal' people whose jobs mean that they are widely known. Not that you would, but it's very easy to go to pieces and become gushing or try and impress them. I cringe at my Regina Spektor interview which was conducted face-to-face. She's very attractive and incredibly sweet and I'd had a major crush on her for a long time before. This lead to much fumbling, drooling, and essentially acting like a 14 year old at a school disco. The interview itself didn't come off as bad, but when all you can think is that you want to marry the other person, it gets uncomfortable and obvious. Not trying to say you want to marry Armando, but there's an irresistable urge with your first few interviews to see if you can get chummy with them. Try and ignore it.

Saying that, Jeffrey Lewis wants to give us "an hour of his time" next Monday. This could be disastrous...

MojoJojo

I'm sure there is a good question to ask about the influence of the Office, given his involvement in similar style things like the Pool in TDT. Could the Thick Of It be described as influenced by the Office. That isn't a question for Ianucci, I haven't seen it.

What is the most ridiculous misprounciation of your name that you have ever heard?

Backstage With Slowdive

When you were on Radio 4's A Good Read you weren't very impressed by Samuel Beckett's Murphy, and said you didn't likemuch of that school of Irish writing apart from Flann O'Brian. Since a lot of modern comedy from the Goons to The Mighty Boosh is influenced in various ways by surrealism and stylistic deconstruction, do you find this influence inhibits your enjoyment in any way, or is TV and radio comedy a more appropriate genre for that style of writing?

You also didn't like the Raymond Carver story Why Honey? for its glib political ending. Do you like political comedy generally, and what do you think is bad political comedy?

purlieu

Continuing from the Partridge question, after the whole trad/dark lectures, does he see himself going back to a 'traditional' sitcom approach any time?  I vaguely recall Linehan mentioning the idea of them working together at one point.  It's something he's not done much of (after all, Partridge wasn't his character originally, and everything else has been a bit less trad - sketch, panel, mockumentary, whatever) and I wonder if he sees himself ever heading that way.

Standup comedy - any ideas about upcoming stars?

Shoulders?-Stomach!

Tell him from me that his style of humour is far better suited to channelling through a misanthropic outlook on life such as The Armando Iannucci Shows than quite aimless and toothless guff like Time Trumpet, and he should aim to be more like the former and less like the latter in whatever work he writes for.

A question on Chris Langham/The Thick Of It would also be welcome and neccessary.

Sam

Here's a couple:

To what extent does your postgraduate Oxbridge education inform your comedy? Do you think being an intellectual helps comedy or harms it?

How's your piano playing coming along? I heard you'd been learning and was wondering what level you're at and what sort of pieces you like to play?

I've always wanted to know who the bizarre Barber character in the Armando Iannucci Shows were based on as during a signing session at the Dancehouse in Manchester for his book 'Facts and Fancies' I asked him if he thought that beardless Jeremy Beadle resembled Fred West, to which as you'd expect he stared at me blankly, asked if I was a stalker and then said he would use it somewhere if I wanted.

Naturally the enthusiasm of meeting him about 10 years ago tinged with the slight embarassment of the reaction of my observation has haunted me all this time. Quite rightly too. What was I thinking?

I was going to ask a couple of more but most of you have nailed the good ones.