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"In Conversation With Chris Morris" - Bootleggers required,

Started by Neil, March 02, 2007, 04:29:23 PM

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StuartGranger

Quote from: "Anonymous"
Quote from: "StuartGranger"

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When asked about 'word play' he said that it had fascinated him since childhood, and that growing up he loved 'The Two Ronnies', he also mentioned a female author, but I can't remember her name..damnit.
--------

I asked that question - the 'female author' is Vivian Stanshall, surrealist, leader of the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band and creator of the very bizarre Rawlinsons. Vivian was also a man...

Fuck me, I'm learning tons here. Nice one!

Neil

Quote from: "Anonymous"I asked that question - the 'female author' is Vivian Stanshall, surrealist, leader of the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band and creator of the very bizarre Rawlinsons. Vivian was also a man...

Well I hope so, or else that 'asphyxiation from smouldering beard fumes' will take on a whole new meaning.

The Thick Of It is enjoyable, but not too funny really.  The Bonzos, on the other hand, are fucking brilliant, you'll love them, Stuart.  Thanks to everyone who's provided reports, very interesting reading.  Here's one from someone who has asked not be named, it's a really great read:

Quote
Chris Morris @ Bournemouth University 6th March 2007.

There was still a definite audible gasp as Chris Morris walked into the (very warm) lecture theatre at Bournemouth University. He was tall and thin, wore Converse trainers topped with fluorescent bicycle clips, and had a black jacket with a frilly white shirt underneath. A glittered scarf completed the outfit and his hair has grown back into a curly mess. He looked like how Doctor Who should, basically.

He sat in a dirty chair, and played constantly with the broken armrest throughout. After a really vague introduction by the ‘journalist’ interviewing him, we had a clip from Brass Eye, (from the ‘cake’ episode) and then we were off.

The interviewer’s questions were awkward at times, and slightly misinformed, but that increasingly didn’t matter, as Chris took these questions as jumping-off points for things he really wanted to talk about.

He began by reminiscing about his days at BBC Radio Bristol, and the fact that people there were convinced he was taking the piss, when he genuinely wasn’t. A key moment was the Lockerbie crash, which caused cheering in the newsroom when someone found that ‘a local’ had been killed. Chris had â€" ironically â€" grown up listening to the phone pranks of Noel Edmonds and spoke at length about his love of radio. He also mentioned the comedian and musician Vivian Stanshall. He was also generous towards Victor Lewis Smith, particularly his work on Loose Ends. It seems that there has been a thaw between the two.  

Prompted by a question from the floor, he readily admitted his comedy was often based on wordplay and language, and this he had learned from listening to his heroes on radio. Chris said he would both love to do more radio and he would like to work with Warp again. He thought that Dean Man’s Shoes was an excellent film. He also bemoaned the lack of innovation on radio, particularly Radio One. He seemed exasperated that Chris Moyles is viewed by the BBC as a great DJ.

Taking questions about the industry, Chris said that he hadn’t yet found a production company or organisation that he felt at home with. He said that Talkback was now a huge global company and this often made things difficult, but something he learned from his BBC days, is that the bigger the organisation, the more room there is to hide and find a way through and find people who’ll champion your work. He said that part of the commissioning process was to ‘con’ producers into commissioning you, and interestingly he said that ‘will’ was more important than talent. He supported this statement by arguing that so much TV was terrible, that only ‘will’ got it made, because the creators clearly had no talent.

He seemed almost upset at the very existence of Jeremy Kyle, and he savaged The Verdict. He convincingly suggested that people were acting in court cases anyway, so the programme was about actors, acting at acting, which was ridiculous. He said that it was an excuse to use the words, ‘penis,’ ‘vagina,’ and ‘anus,’ a lot whilst showing close-ups of Jeffrey Archer.

He also talked about Big Brother, as someone asked if it could be subverted. Chris said he’s love to see it being done, but even by being in the show and trying to attack it from within, you’re still part of Big Brother. He thought that Jack Dee had come closest, because he was so ‘flat.’

He also talked about some of the things he liked, and seemed embarrassed at their mainstream popularity. He thinks the The Thick of It is a triumph, and he also loves (some) of Curb your Enthusiasm, but admitted that some episodes were very poor. He said that watching Extras and then The Office he noticed a massive ‘gap in quality’ between the two. He, perhaps alarmingly, also expressed a liking for Danny Baker.

As for Brass Eye, well the series seemed to take its toll on him. One phone prank with one of the Krays resulted in a visit from a thug at their production offices. Noel Edmonds still harbours a grudge, but others such as Tania Bryer shrugged it off and blamed themselves for being so gullible. Bernard Manning was a difficult one, as just before filming (which took place at Manning’s infamous Embassy Club in Manchester) the old comedian told Chris that his two bouncers had beaten someone to a pulp the night before for smoking a joint.  

Chris said that there wasn’t a hierarchy of ‘cuntery’ when choosing which celebs to attack, but he was often surprised. He managed to fool an (unnamed) newspaper editor with a gag, but Russell Grant rumbled him straightaway â€" ‘he clearly has a lot of nous’ according to Chris.

As the Brass Eye shoot took place over a year, the make-up artist had real problems with continuity as, by the end of the year, Chris looked, ‘so fucked-up’ and no amount of make-up could get him looking like he did 12 months before. He shrugged off the Daily Mail’s attack on the paedophile special, saying that it wasn’t very good, even by the Mail’s standards. He seemed a bit insulted by this.

Chris admitted that he did the IT Crowd as a favour to Graham Linehan, but he’s not doing anymore, and his character dies by jumping out of the window in the first episode of series 2. He’s working flat out on Nathan Barley 2, but with a different set of characters, and exploring different situations than before. This was a constant theme, as it seems he doesn’t like to stand still for very long. He admitted that Barley was always going to have a small ‘cult’ audience, and he said that the TV Go Home website version of the character was ‘external’ whereas the TV series had to be more internalised. But he likes working with Charlie Brooker very much.

He hinted that he was working on a large future project that would take him back to his current affairs roots. He was very guarded, but it would range, ‘from Jeremy Kyle to Osama Bin Laden.’ He said that he would love to do something about 9/11, as it was, ‘only 3000.’ He said that 7/7 was lame in comparison, and it was notable that he seems to be interested in conspiracy theorists, as he stated with conviction that we shouldn’t think that 7/7 was initiated by some young Pakistani men from Leeds. He thinks that people should make comedy from things like the Holocaust, and that he would love to do ‘the comedy version of United 93.’

Finally, asked why he had come as he never gave interviews, he said that he was attempting to recruit some secular terrorists, because people blowing themselves up for no reason would really ‘fuck with the actual terrorists heads!”

He seemed completely at ease, and totally devoid of ego or attitude. He had chatted to media students at Bournemouth University before the interview, and he stayed for sometime afterwards, signing Brass Eye and My Wrongs DVDs. He said that he wanted to know where the new comedy was coming from, as it wasn’t on Radio One anymore. Then he rushed for his train, and the cycle ride from Waterloo back to Battersea.

StuartGranger

That was ace, I'd forgotten about 'The Verdict' and 'Big Brother' stuff.

Well written whoever put that together, far better than by drunken garblings.

Huzzah!

I'm reading up on 'The Bonzos' I'd certainly heard of them, but will now make a concious decision to download/buy their stuff.

Huzzah, I say!

And yes, he really would make an interesting 'Dr Who'.
Shit yeah, him twiddling with the arm rest was most amusing. Like a bored kid sat in the back of a car. What a guy. Thrice, Huzzah!

Generally that article is very good (in fact most of it is great and a very good read), but this

QuoteHe, perhaps alarmingly, also expressed a liking for Danny Baker.

is well wide of the mark.  Cheers for the update Neil and mystery person!

StuartGranger

Quote from: "aaaaaaaaaargh!"Generally that article is very good (in fact most of it is great and a very good read), but this

QuoteHe, perhaps alarmingly, also expressed a liking for Danny Baker.

is well wide of the mark.  Cheers for the update Neil and mystery person!


What do you mean, he was practically ejaculating about the guy...?


Ballad of Ballard Berkley

I think he means that the words "perhaps alarmingly" are wide off the mark, seeing as Danny Baker is a fantastic, inventive broadcaster. I'm really not surprised that Morris rates him.

Yeah, that's what I meant.  Doesn't really detract from the rest of the article which I've read a couple of times now.

Godzilla Bankrolls

He's been mates with Baker since the GLR days, and was occasionally touted as a guest on his BBC London shows. Morris sat in for Baker for a week or so when the former was on Radio 5, and recorded some trails for the London show a few years back - they used to be available for download from this very site.

Lt Plonker

Cheers for the various reports, chaps! Great reading.

Deadman97

That really made fantastic reading, would have so so loved to have been there.

Anonymous

Quote from: "StuartGranger"
I'm reading up on 'The Bonzos' I'd certainly heard of them, but will now make a concious decision to download/buy their stuff.

Huzzah, I say!

!

Some of the Bonzo's stuff is still funny, some of it's incredibly dated (but charmingly 60s). You're best of getting The Bestiality Of The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band as an introduction.

You;d probably recognise I'm The Urban Spaceman as it was a novelty hit...My Pink Half Of The Drainpipe is a very funny (and still relevant) Noel Coward class spoof, Do Blue Men Sing The Whites spoofs the late 60s blues scene and The Canyons Of Your Mind is a brilliant doo-wop Elvis parody with Stanshall in full swing.

Stanshall was a true eccentric, but brilliant with words, so if you want full on bizarre get Sir Harry at Rawlinson End. It's mad but brilliant.

As for the Bonzo's, btw, you'd probably also know Neil Innes as he provided the music for Monty Python (in particular The Holy Grail) as well as the most spot-on Beatles parodies ever produced for the Eric Idle pastiche The Rutles. Worth searching out as it sounds nothing so much like mid-period Oasis.

Mr. Analytical

I must say I do love the line about The Verdict being an excuse for using the words "penis", "vagina" and "anus" whilst showing close-ups of Jeffrey Archer.

Beck

Quote from: "Guest"some of it's incredibly dated
Which bits exactly? There's the vaguely dodgy accents in Hunting Tigers Out in 'Indiah', I'll give you that, but their music sounds as brilliant now as it ever did. And the Cornology boxset is the best way to go, being both ridiculously cheap and consistently fantastic.

Anonymous

Someone mentioned he talked about liking South Park.  Does anyone remember what he said about it?

Tommy Trumpet

He seemed to like it alot, he said he likes the fact that it is able to cover any subject without losing it's own identity (something along those lines, anyway).

That prompted someone to ask if he'd ever considered working with animation - and he said that he would be interested but didn't have any real plans to.

Anonymous

Thanks Tommy.  Come on, start poking your friend who has the recording!

Anonymous

That's a nice way of putting it.  I like it too, so that's the same as I think really.

derekandclive

Quote from: "Anonymous"Thanks Tommy.  Come on, start poking your friend who has the recording!
big time. poke poke poke. i'd love to hear it

the psyche intangible

Could the recordings be unleashed please? Need to hear this.


the psyche intangible

Quote from: "Neil"Give the bloke a chance, eh?

I don't get excited about much anymore, so it's like a Christmas, circa 1985.

All cool people love Vivian Stanshall.  This is a fact.

timguest

hey all. Might sign up in a bit, saw this thread on facebook. I laughed when I heard that someone from this site (presumably) had phoned to ask if the Wessex Media Group was a sppof organisation or something.

I'd concur with everything that's been said on the talk so far, and especially how out of touch the interviewer, freelancer Paul Lashmar, was. Morris had to really talk around his questions in order to say what he wanted to, though I have a feeling that's just his technique of dealing with journalistic angles.

I can't stress enough how much of a down-to-earth and accommodating personality he had (or seemed to), it was truly a memorable evening. To meet Chris Morris stripped of every single barrier that usually bars his way was just incredible. I will never forget it.

Someone mentioned the people who made him sign stuff when he clearly wanted to go. I was one of those people, and if you were one of the animation students who were banging on and on about your projects for the entire 15 minutes he had to hang around, you'll appreciate why we made him sign stuff. I'm writing my third year dissertation on the man, and I didn't even get a chance to tell him that, so you'll excuse me for making sure I at least took his signature.

Neil

Quote from: "timguest"hey all. Might sign up in a bit, saw this thread on facebook. I laughed when I heard that someone from this site (presumably) had phoned to ask if the Wessex Media Group was a sppof organisation or something.

Hmm, admittedly I did wonder if someone was taking the piss at first, but that's not quite right.  I emailed the interviewer to confirm there was an interview on the 6th and mentioned how incongrouous it was for Morris.  Heh, in reference to the rest of your post, I also asked what topics were planned for discussion, and the guy said 'dunno, haven't thought of any yet.' :-) (this was on the 2nd.  He didn't understand why I thought it incongrouous either, incidentally.)

timguest

Oh it IS incongruous. I don't know if I'll ever get a chance like that again, unless I devote several months of my life into making it happen.

He kindly signed my copy of Jam, with a blue biro, and looked at me and said "Well this will just be some sort of colourless indentation" and then wrote 'colourless indentation' above his name. I replied that I could use it as a transfer.

derekandclive

Completely impatient but do we have any solid fact that there is audio of Chris's interview?

Glebe

Thanks for he info, folks. I would have loved to have been there. If anyone does have the audio to upload, that'd be fricking fantastic!

timguest

I went to a Nathan Barely themed after party, and spoke to someone there who said he'd been recording it through his pocket, so I wonder how that turned out (though he also said he's done this before and it had worked).

I hope any audio that does turn up gets distributed through this site rather than facebook or something, seems slightly unfair on the man having his interview splashed all over the intternet, and in a roundabout way just highlights why he doesn't get involved with public talks etc.

timguest

ps - why is registration for this site closed at present?