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Aussie Four Lions screening & podcast with CM and Kayvan Novak [split topic] [merged]

Started by Tbazz Why?, June 11, 2010, 06:37:26 AM

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Pink Rhoid

I'll jot down what I can remember soon and post it, but in hindsight I think a great deal of it was just banter and anecdotes for the fanboys. I didn't download that *rar above, but there are pictures on the Sydney Film Festival page itself:

http://sff.org.au/cms/default.asp?contentID=14

There's a Four Lions Premiere gallery and a gallery for the Talk itself. I even make an appearance in the background of the Denton photo, woop-de-doo, etc. Who is that on Denton's right though? The face looks familiar. Chris shows up in some other galleries, scary looking guy. There's a picture of Chris with Jonah Hill(!), who was there promoting Cyrus or whatever, I didn't see Russell Brand on the night but he was there too.

DJ Solid Snail

The RAR's got the photos from this flash gallery as as far as I can tell there's no way of directly saving them and I thought I'd save people the hassle of print-screening the lot.

Is there any way to capture the video of CM talking about distributors and The Chaser's apology? The Oz fella's reaction is priceless, he hasn't got a clue what to say, and quite right too. This isn't just "We're sorry if people took it the wrong way," it's "You're right, we went too far," which is a far bigger cop-out. And they didn't. There's been plenty of comedy that's covered very similar ground in tone as that sketch, which just makes me think one self-important berk flew upset and ABC (is it ABC?) bowed immediately, as many networks have a tendency to do.

CM's fashion sense is still completely appalling, it has to be said.

Groodle

Not wanting to turn this into a Chaser thread, I just find it an interesting discussion in light of Neil's comments on the site's main page:

QuoteI don't think there's ever ANY acceptable time for a comedian to apologise for a joke, ever, ever, ever.  Contextualising it is...ok, but saying sorry, for humour?  If you do that, you shouldn't even be allowed to consider yourself a comedian, you're just on the same level as someone like Russell Brand, and probably only play at being controversial in order to boost your public profile.

I always thought the apology was unnecessary but I don't assume it was entirely insincere. I remember Morrow being unhappy about the sketch because he thought there was no satircal target behind it. He elaborated on their apology during a public lecture:

QuoteI'd like to make a realistic assessment of the Realistic Wish audience, because I believe what's true of them is true of the Australian mainstream.

The first category – those who were hurt – is by and large are people who've been touched in a personal way by childhood cancer. They are the people that I'm sorry about. I know that they have, arbitrarily, been afflicted with grief caused by one of life's cruellest realities. You've got tears enough in your life if that happens. A comedy show shouldn't add to those pools of grief. Lest there is any misunderstanding, if you are one of those people, I want to reiterate my sincerest apology to you for the unwarranted pain that sketch caused when you have already have too much suffering in your life.

But the next category - people who were offended by the sketch - is in my view different. We live, thankfully, with genuinely free speech, which is a hallmark of a tolerant society. And it's not good speech, or nice speech, that needs to be tolerated. It's bad speech. Mediocre speech. Tasteless speech. Sometimes, hurtful speech. That is to say, most of what passes the lips of Kyle Sandilands . Even more chillingly, the entirety of Hey Hey It's Saturday. And a pretty fair chunk of The Chaser's work.

But the inevitable corollary to freedom of speech is that there is no such thing as a general right to not be offended. So to be honest, perhaps too honest, if you were just offended by that sketch I'm not really sorry.

Of course, you have every right to be outraged and to express your offence to whoever you like. In many, but certainly not all, cases, I recognise that your outrage springs from a good place, from compassion for the suffering of others. But if you were just offended, unlike those who've been hurt, I don't believe you're owed an apology.

13 schoolyards

Two small bits of Chaser context:

a): The Chaser's third series (where the offending sketch came from) was pretty much done "for the money" - not all the members wanted to come back, and as they were supposedly massively burnt out after 40-plus episodes in two years stuff was getting through that was below their already low standards. Plus the ABC was getting huge ratings for their "controversial" comedy, so there seems to have been pressure to take things further down that path.

b): the tabloids in Australia were running front page headlines like "The Chaser spat in the faces of dying children" for days afterward the sketch. It's fair to say the pressure was on and then some for a backdown, especially as their previous two series had received nothing but overblown praise from the press. And the ABC has a shit record for caving in to pressure at the best of times - the exec in charge of The Chaser was shunted sideways after their apology too.

Much as I'm not a Chaser fan, they were in a hard position from a number of directions here.

paint

I'm extremely jealous that Chris Morris came to the Australian screenings.
Perhaps he will come to the New Zealand screenings in the upcoming film festival?
Maybe that is a bit too hopeful though.

Bean Is A Carrot

I don't think The Chaser should have apologised, apart from having nothing to apologise for (even to the victims of childhood cancer, who shouldn't be allowed to dictate what we see on TV no matter what they've been through), they'd still get work - possibly more work. The people who complained, by and large, were not their "core audience" (many of them clearly hadn't seen the sketch), and the newspapers (all Murdoch-owned) were just doing their usual shit-stirring (and are anti the ABC anyway), so screw them.

I argued at the time, possibly on this forum, that The Chaser had messed up a little in the writing of the sketch. It's a fairly good comic conceit, and there are lots of funny bits (i.e. "Here, have this stick instead"), but what's with that line about "curtailing their selfishness and greed"? What satirical or comic point's being made there? I feel someone like Chris Morris wouldn't have put in a line like that, or if they had, they'd have made it stronger. And remember how Shaun Micallef revealed a few months on how he'd been offered the sketch for Newstopia but had rejected it for not being good enough?

Groodle

Quote from: Bean Is A Carrot on June 19, 2010, 10:17:54 AMI argued at the time, possibly on this forum, that The Chaser had messed up a little in the writing of the sketch. It's a fairly good comic conceit, and there are lots of funny bits (i.e. "Here, have this stick instead"), but what's with that line about "curtailing their selfishness and greed"? What satirical or comic point's being made there? I feel someone like Chris Morris wouldn't have put in a line like that, or if they had, they'd have made it stronger. And remember how Shaun Micallef revealed a few months on how he'd been offered the sketch for Newstopia but had rejected it for not being good enough?

Micallef said this a Sydney Morning Herald interview about the sketch if it's the statement you mean?

QuoteOur conversation inevitably turns to The Chaser's "Make A Realistic Wish Foundation" skit, which saw their show suspended from the ABC for two weeks. Micallef is reluctant to see the interview hijacked by the issue but is honest enough to acknowledge an interest. Not only did he and co-writer Gary McCaffrie write a similar skit for The Micallef Program (a dying child's special request was to be masturbated by Lisa McCune) but the Chaser's Chris Taylor offered the "Realistic Wish" sketch to Newstopia last year while his show was in hiatus.

Micallef turned the sketch down but not because it wasn't funny. "It makes you laugh; it is funny." He turned it down because he didn't want to repeat himself and he'd decided his character "wasn't going to be that nasty any more". He also admits he "couldn't really think of a way to justify it".

http://www.smh.com.au/news/entertainment/tv--radio/talking-bout-regeneration/2009/06/22/1245522773961.html?page=2


Bean Is A Carrot

OK, misremembered that one. This strikes me as the key point, though, albeit one Micallef made in retrospect.

QuoteHe also admits he "couldn't really think of a way to justify it".

13 schoolyards

Just to clarify, I don't think The Chaser should have apologised either - but I think their sloppiness was what put them in a situation where realistically in Australia in 2009 they weren't going to have much choice but to grovel to a bunch of right-wing nutbags. The sketch was weak, the right-wing press were a lot more agressive with Howard out of power, and The Chaser had grown over-confident and complacent (in part because they were worn out, in part because they didn't care that they were worn out) regarding how their "shock" comedy would be received in the wider world. Plus the ABC are well known for caving - Micallef's far more harmless Weary Dunlop sketch took a battering, and the joke there actually was that "people will complain about this" - so for them to think the ABC would back them all the way seems to suggest someone wasn't thinking. The ABC has no history at all of saying "screw them" to any pressure group - if The Chaser had gone to Nine or Seven for their third series (as was rumoured for a while) they would have had a much better chance of standing up to the tabloids.

The actual point of the sketch was fair enough (and really, "it's a joke" should be excuse enough for pretty much anything in my view), but Morris would have put in a lot more work to make sure the point was clear and that there was more going on than just "sick kiddies shouldn't be so greedy". The Chaser seemed to be pretty much sleep-walking through their job for a while there, thinking so long as someone was offended their work was done without any kind of rationale to justify themselves when people actually were really offended.

Pink Rhoid

What I can remember from the Q&A after the Australian premiere on Saturday night and the Q&A following the Sunday screening hosted by Julian Morrow. What follows will be all over the place and a bit of a mishmash from both Q&A's, if anybody else was there feel free to correct or clarify anything, I was a hazy myself and a bit star struck. There's some stuff here which is probably redundant and been mentioned elsewhere, but hey... - cue rant:

First question from Julian was about the parallels between the 7/7 bombings and the plotting of the film, Chris quipped back 'You saying I planned them?' before going off on a tangent about him sending off cuts of the script to terrorists with a disclaimer along the lines of 'Maybe you can do something with this?'

I know there's plenty of discussion on here about what Chris will do next etc. (Chris mocking said 'Rom-com?'), and going by his answers to a few questions I wouldn't rule out him returning to any prior mediums (remember that he went back to radio for Blue Jam after Brass Eye? etc.) Specifically about radio he said that he 'didn't have any good ideas' that he wanted to explore. There was a question about preference of medium, and he sort of indicated that it was more a/an 'idea(s)' than a medium itself that interested him, I remember him talking about some ideas not being medium specific, but he did say something about Four Lions being better suited to film because of the story having a three act trajectory, and that it wouldn't work as a sitcom because the characters die at the end (that arc could have been easily been adapted into a 6 episode TV serial or something though? Hmm.)

He spoke about the headaches of the funding process, meeting thankless suits who want to have seven meetings before saying 'Oh this is ridiculous, this should never be made' etc. Also spoke about meeting a funding body who wanted to change the ending (!).

Also spoke about the 'fundingmentalism' email, spoke about Popbitch (don't remember). Julian pursued a line of questioning about this being a really good way to get funded, because it was 'free money'. Chris kind of cringed and spoke about how if people volunteered their money, although there is no 'return' required, deep down everybody who contributed would want something 'really fucking good', and if they didn't get it...etc. He said that fandom was something that is exploited in certain circles, he mentioned Prince specifically and how he has concerts for fans only that cost $170 ($170 in what currency?) a seat, I basically got the impression that he was just really sour about and wary of milking fans. There were plenty of Brits there, some guy got up and did the whole 'I'm a huge fan, I'm from England and I think you're a legend' routine and Chris sort of cut in with 'Hey easy there', which kind of confirms a few stories I've read on here about people saying 'I came here to meet you', 'No you came here to see the film.' etc.

Someone from Foulston (?) asked why Foulston was singled out as being a shithole (?), 'Here is where I say that Riz improvised that line', real answer, 'Because it sounded funny'.

Question from the audience about him keeping a low profile over the years, and now with Four Lions his career has really 'exploded', Chris quips 'Carefully chosen vocabulary there'.

Another question from the audience, with the clear subtext that Four Lions marginalizes females, she mentioned the 'Bleachdom Test' (?), which is three questions like, 1. Do women feature in the work? 2. Do they interact? 3. Do they speak about anything other than the men? Chris was sort of put off-side by the question, but to any perceptive viewer, Four Lions isn't about women. Chris pointed out that the Julia Davis character talks about 'pigeons falling off the roof' or whatever, once Chris warmed to the question he went off on a tangent that culminated in rampant lesbianism - absolutely floored the room.

As mentioned before Chris was seriously considering Colin Farrell as a Pakistani after seeing him in In Bruges, and even went so far as to approach 'his people.' Kayvan did a spot on impersonation of Colin on speed doing dialogue from Four Lions - was a shame that everybody's interest in Chris kind of eclipsed Kayvan. Was very funny watching Chris and Kayvan interact though, Chris ripping into Kayvan and the others for 'diddling the day away' while he was running around and slaving over some minute detail of filmmaking. Kayvan mentioned that Chris could give people bollockings if he didn't like what they were doing, but it's hard to gauge how serious a bollocking. Chris told the story about giving an actor a 'mild reprimand' who was playing a policeman, and instead of being serious (as it is supposed to be a siege situation), the actor was in the background laughing with his mate, after take seventeen Chris let fly - but again, I think it's just Kayvan and Chris being anecdotal, a great deal of shooting the shit.

At both Q&A's, Chris really let fly at the commercial world, all pervasive advertising etc. Before the premiere, but after the introduction advertisements, Chris said it was good to see the commercials before the film, because you could see which companies condone terrorism. He spoke at length about how during filming the art department were constantly running around covering up logos and anything that remotely looked like a Coca Cola sign, and also the headache of filming at the London marathon because of the sponsorship of Flora (?), and how they deliberately plaster signage everywhere so no matter where you take a picture, the logo is featured, as a result the film is a 'uniquely brandless' depiction of England. Also mentioned that they filmed material at another run for close-ups and what not. Mentioned that it's actually Mark Herbert in some of the scenes involving Riz in that frizzy thing.

Audience member asked if the Julia Davis appearance was a continuation of the Jam character. 'No', he just needed an actress to play someone mental, and whenever he thinks of mental cases, he thinks of Julia. Mentioned that filming in that area he really did encounter a weird homeless lady, cue Chris rambling something like a Blue Jam monologue.

Julian asked about doing comedy in the native dialogues featured in the film. The only thing that seems to have caused offense to people was the swearing, which offended the parental generation (from the Muslim community? although it has been really well received, this is a standard question he keeps getting). He said that it was like he'd taken a sacred church language (Arabic?), and then said things in it which were barbarically vulgar. Then the other language (Urdu?), was inately and 'delightfully obscene', can't remember exactly, but some insults along the lines of flabby vaginas, hairy cocks, etc. He did confess to ramping some of the language in the film up though, of course.

Chris was asked if there was anything in the film which he would have gone back and changed. He singled out a line of dialogue late in the film due to his 'inner...mangled...ness', and it's the line where Waj has said to him 'You look confused', which Chris thinks is really redundant and obvious, I thought it was fine. But Chris was relaying a story where he had Mark Herbert on the phone and he was talking about if he could withdrawn the film, cut a second out of it to make it 'significantly better', and Chris did a hilarious thing about Mark not wanting to do it, and Chris is berating Mark on the phone and it finishes with Chris screaming 'KUBRICK DID IT!' He then said something about understanding why Terrence Malick was still editing The Thin Red Line twelve years later.

He also mentioned in editing that he wanted to cut the 'fuck mini babybels', because it wasn't 'thematically binding' or something. And the editor looks at him and says '...but it's funny.'

Someone asked Chris about that terrorism piece he did for The Observer, can't remember what he said exactly, but emphasised that it was more the 'media's coverage' being satirised, although it did include 'generic gags' about blowing up goats, etc. The only other work by Chris that got a mention was Brass Eye, and even then it wasn't a really in depth discussion. He spoke about the 2001 special a little bit, with Julian stepping in saying that 'everybody should see it', the question leading to discussion of the 2001 special was something along the lines of why his work gets labelled controversial by the media. I can't remember the answer exactly, but Chris said that he thought people were 'just lazy', and how it's just easier to dump a little label on something so you don't have to engage with its subtle intricacies and so on.

Chris mentioned that his 11 year old son was talking to his older brother, and said that he was going to ask Dad a question at a Q&A in England with the intention of asking Dad *in a Cartmen impersonation* 'Can ya suck ya balls?'. But when his son did put up his hand to ask a question, it was about what was going to happen to Omar's wife and son, which is very sweet. Then Chris and Kayvan did a bit of banter about a Four Lions sequel, saying that the wife and the son could just go on with their quiet lives (sort of like a bleak Blue Jam thing), before depressing everybody in the room and saying 'How's my pitch going so far?'

In hindsight, a great deal of the questions were just an exercise in asking Chris a question. I mean, for most of them you could just sit down and have a bit of a think and answer your own question. It wasn't a wasted opportunity, because it was a pleasure to just be in his presence. It's apparent immediately that he is a very very sharp and funny guy. For all the things that make Chris's comedy so good, his bulletproof self-assurance is big part of it. It's a shame that Chris was and has been getting the same questions over and over, but that's inevitable.

Expect the above and more to be mentioned on the DVD commentary, it was referred to a few times during the Q&A - Chris might show up for the wider release on August 19th? Nothing was said, but who knows.

Neil

That was brilliant, Pink Rhoid, thanks very much for typing all those thoughts up.  Fascinated to hear that he wants to cut a second out;  At the Bradford premiere(s) - which are very hazy for me - I can remember him saying the film was 'frame-perfect'.  I remember this being in response to a sort of 'you took years to make it, are you happy?' question.  So I wonder if he was keeping that self-doubt down at the time, or he's realised this since.  It also addresses something I have wondered in general, about whether he considers work done, over and finished once it's out there, or whether he continues working on it in his head afterwards, obsessing over the minor details that then perhaps become amplified because you can't do anything about them.

An tSaoi

Thanks Pink Rhoid, fascinating read.

It's interesting that old CM is an influence on Australian comedians. Is he that well known over there?

Pink Rhoid

Quote from: An tSaoi on June 21, 2010, 01:17:56 PM
Thanks Pink Rhoid, fascinating read.

It's interesting that old CM is an influence on Australian comedians. Is he that well known over there?

Chris is definitely limited to the purist, comedy savvy, *torrent generation. The ONLY thing that he has featured in over here that I'm aware of is The I.T. Crowd. Not sure if his radio stuff has ever been broadcast here? People at the screening that I went to were predominantly 40s and 50s it seemed, keeping in mind that the film program went out with the Sunday paper as a supplement, 'Oh a comedy about suicide bombers, sounds like something different!'. But he's been name-checked a few times by The Chaser in print, which I'm sure piqed some interest as The Chaser are/were a big deal here. He's very much a word of mouth phenomenon, the most sincere publicity you can get, and it's free. I don't know if anybody read a copy of Rolling Stone in late 2007 that had The Chaser on the cover and a huge interview, but Julian Morrow said openedly that he didn't believe that The Chaser were contemporaries of Jon Stewart and Chris Morris, but more pale imitators, after I read that I cut them some slack. The Jam CD on Warp might have also circulated his name too.

Bean Is A Carrot

Australian broadcasters haven't screened any of Morris' stuff (apart from IT Crowd) to my knowledge. I heard about Morris' work in the mid 90s from a guy I'd got talking to about British comedy online. He had cassettes of On The Hour and KMKY which he copied for me, and then I tried to find other stuff by the same team, which I eventually did from a British friend who sent me The Day Today, Brass Eye, KMKY with AP and I'm Alan Partridge on video. I couldn't believe the ABC weren't screening this stuff!

I'm Alan Partridge got a screening on the now defunct Optus Vision in about 1998, which got a big write-up in The Age. The Age didn't really cover shows on channels from Optus Vision that often, so I guess we can assume there were plenty of other afficionados who sought out such shows in Australia via various means, including people at The Age. Several Age writers (Marieke Hardy and Catherine Deveny) have mentioned hearing about Chris Morris and Steven Coogan's stuff and getting copies of shows thanks to "comedy mules".

(Australian comedian) Tony Martin's in that category. He's well known for getting stuff sent from overseas, or downloading it, or buying it on R1 or R2 DVD, and then moaning about how no network in Australia is screening it. He tells the story in this article - http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/tv-radio/articles/2009/09/16/1252780347961.html.

An tSaoi

What's the state of Australian comedy overall? Is it all panel shows and badger whimsy like the UK? Any real gems you'd recommend?

Bean Is A Carrot

Australian comedy has Britain to blame for the concept of panel shows. No one except a few of those people who used to import British shows had heard of the idea, but since the late 90s Australian networks have started doing their own shithouse rip-offs of shows like HIGNFY (Good News Week) and Buzzcocks (Spicks & Specks), as well as "new" panel show/comedy game show concepts (Thank God You're Here, Talkin' 'bout Your Generation). As a result, sketch comedy's pretty much died as a genre. Meanwhile, sitcom's gone all Gervais/realistic...so nothing much of interest there.

Some to try:
The Late Show - Vaguely Mary Whitehouse Experience esque live sketch/anything can happen show of the early-mid 90s.
The Micallef P(r)ogram(me) - Python-influenced sketch show starring Shaun Micallef. Australia's greatest sketch show. Probably.
Frontline - Satirical sitcom set behind the scenes of a tabloid current affairs show. Made in 1994-1997, was shot realistically and influenced by Spinal Tap (<--- yet more evidence that Gervais isn't a ground-breaking genius). It's also funny.
The Games - Satirical sitcom about the Sydney Olympics. Quite popular in Canada for some reason.
Clarke & Dawe - Duo doing political satire (as seen in The Games). Have been doing a weekly sketch since the late 80's. A bit like The Long Johns. Quite famous online for The Front Fell Off (see YouTube).
Get This - Cult hit radio show which ran for 2 years and then was cruely axed.
Martin/Molloy - Another radio show, difficult to track down, but the CDs are fairly easy to get hold of.

No doubt other Australians here can list some more shows worth checking out.

Neil

I know it has been given short shrift in the Aussie comedy thread, by some, but I still adore the first two series' of Kath & Kim.  Great rewatch value, too. 

Bean Is A Carrot

I accept that some people enjoy Kath & Kim, I just don't share their enthusiasm. Essentially it's exaggerated characters who use slightly incorrect words in sentences. I expect more in a comedy than that.

There's also a fair bit of taking the piss out of a certain type of suburban Australian, which, because it doesn't make me laugh, just makes me wonder if it's class snobbery (even though it probably isn't). And yet, Barry Humphries, who is a genuine right winger and class snob, does almost the exact same thing and gets away with it. Why? I think it's because he's laughing more at the pink bathroom tiles than the person who bought them.

Lee

Quote from: An tSaoi on June 21, 2010, 03:23:35 PM
What's the state of Australian comedy overall? Is it all panel shows and badger whimsy like the UK? Any real gems you'd recommend?

Besides BIAC's suggestions, The Chaser's earlier show CNNNN was as close as I've seen to achieving TDT-levels of accuracy and laughs. Newstopia (hosted by Micallef) was a good attempt at Daily Show topicalness and Day Today silliness. Review With Myles Barlow's a pitch-black comedy offering ratings of up to five stars for murder, self-actualisation and being friends with dicks. And then of course there's the CGI-laden show I worked on that I tend not to talk about here anymore as it's very mention causes one particular forum member to vomit bile. I'm sure someone else can fill you in though.

13 schoolyards

Quote from: Bean Is A Carrot on June 21, 2010, 05:57:34 PM
Some to try:
The Late Show - Vaguely Mary Whitehouse Experience esque live sketch/anything can happen show of the early-mid 90s.
The Micallef P(r)ogram(me) - Python-influenced sketch show starring Shaun Micallef. Australia's greatest sketch show. Probably.
Frontline - Satirical sitcom set behind the scenes of a tabloid current affairs show. Made in 1994-1997, was shot realistically and influenced by Spinal Tap (<--- yet more evidence that Gervais isn't a ground-breaking genius). It's also funny.
The Games - Satirical sitcom about the Sydney Olympics. Quite popular in Canada for some reason.
Clarke & Dawe - Duo doing political satire (as seen in The Games). Have been doing a weekly sketch since the late 80's. A bit like The Long Johns. Quite famous online for The Front Fell Off (see YouTube).
Get This - Cult hit radio show which ran for 2 years and then was cruely axed.
Martin/Molloy - Another radio show, difficult to track down, but the CDs are fairly easy to get hold of.


I wouldn't add much to that list - Lee is also right about Newstopia and CNNNN being worthwhile (and Double the Fist, which Lee is too modest to mention by name, does have it's moments) - though I do rate Shaun Micallef's sitcom Welcher & Welcher very highly (and the DVD of MIcallef Tonight is full of gems too), and if you like The Late Show then the short-lived The Mick Molloy Show might also be worth a look. Australia does manage to cough up some decent stuff, but only occasionally. Bean's list goes back to the early 90s and that's pretty much all the worthwhile comedy that's come out of here. Chris Lilley's work is highly praised by many, but it's sub-Gervais mockumentary drivel mostly notable for the way Lilley refuses to let any other actor get a single "funny" line. Oh and for his obsession with "offensive" high school musicals (no series is complete without at least one "shocking" musical number).

As far as Morris / TDT / Partridge goes, it's only in the last few years that Morris has even been mentioned in the local media - the local television press only really talk up people you've never heard of when you're just about to hear a whole lot about them thanks to the ABC broadcasting their latest show, and as nothing Morris did ever made it here there press had zero interest until the internet made obscure name-dropping a much quicker way to looking cool for trendiod columnists. Ten years ago you wouldn't have got an article about Morris because his shows weren't on, so a columnist name-dropping him as an aside would have just got a blank stare - now they can (and do) say "comedy genius Chris Morris" and leave it at that, knowing that people can fill in the blanks. Four Lions should raise his profile here a bit, but I doubt any of his shows will get a DVD release or any kind of wider exposure.

(I found out about Morris when reviewers started saying Grant Morrison's comic The Filth was heavily influenced by Blue Jam... so that's hardly the road of mainstream acceptance).

Knowing Me Knowing You also went out on free-to-air TV in the mid / late-90s (at midnight on a Saturday, and I think Tony Martin talking it up constantly on Martin / Molloy might have had something to do with it getting even that). I'm Alan Partridge got the same treatment, only a decade later. Don't worry, we did get every episode of The Catherine Tate Show in prime time.

A.A

In recent times, it's Hollowmen (The Thick of It-lite) and Very Small Business.

And not much else. 



13 schoolyards


Neil

Just saw another Aussie article about Four Lions, I'll stick it in here rather than the press archive, I guess.  Will do another round-up on the article database soon, I'm just waiting for my replacement external HD to arrive before I can do much more on this place.

Source

QuoteCompetition contender boldly makes terrorists a laughing matter

REVIEWED BY GARRY MADDOX
June 14, 2010

FOUR LIONS

Directed by Chris Morris

HOW I ENDED THIS SUMMER

Directed by Alexei Popogrebsky

THE KILLER INSIDE ME

Directed by Michael Winterbottom

State Theatre, June 11 to 13

With the $60,000 prize rewarding ''audacious, courageous and cutting edge'' films, Four Lions is certainly bold for centring on four British Muslims who plan a suicide bombing but can't even make a decent jihad video, keep their preparations secret or agree on a target.

Led by serious-minded Omar (Riz Ahmed), who reads a jihad version of The Lion King to his son at bedtime, the would-be martyrs include ''thick as fudge'' Waj (Kayvan Novak), terminally confused Faisal (Adeel Akhtar) and rabid Barry (Nigel Lindsay), who believes their car breaks down because Jews invented spark plugs to control traffic.

Four Lions plays like a series of comic sketches - a notable one has Omar and Waj heading to a Pakistan training camp and performing so badly they are sent home in disgrace - until it broadens to include the bumblings of anti-terrorist police as the jihadists attack the London Marathon in cartoon costumes.

Morris's direction throws away gags - and many of the English references are cryptic - but he mostly pulls off a film that has reputedly resulted in laughs rather than death threats from Britain's Muslims.

With only the Australian drama Wasted on the Young to come, Four Lions and the comic French-Canadian drama Heartbeats seem the two strongest films that fit the jury's criteria in an up-and-down competition.

The highlight of the disappointing Russian competition film How I Ended This Summer, for example, is the stark beauty of the Arctic landscape.

At a remote island weather station, the spirited young Danilov (Grigory Dobrygin) and gruff professional Gulybin (Sergei Puskepalis) record data and radio it through to their base. But their relationship changes when Danilov learns via the radio that his colleague's wife and son might have been killed in an accident.

What Russian writer-director Alexei Popogrebsky starts as a film about isolation and madness turns into a thriller with the enraged Gulybin hunting down Danilov. The performances are strong but the story is glacially slow - in fact, there is a glacier in the film that moves faster - and the twists are puzzling.

The art-house popularity of director Michael Winterbottom, whose films including 24 Hour Party People, Genova and A Mighty Heart, must be the reason his latest film is included in the festival's competition.

While entertaining, The Killer Inside Me is a standard thriller that follows in American Psycho's creepy footsteps for its deadpan portrayal of a serial killer.

In the 1950s, a fresh-faced, piano-playing, West Texas deputy sheriff, Lou Ford (Casey Affleck), starts a cold-hearted killing rampage after taking up with a prostitute (Jessica Alba) and devising a plan to rob the son of the town's wealthiest man. While telling her how much he loves her, Ford beats her savagely and shoots the man dead.

A combination of quick wit and luck keeps him out of jail but Ford has to keep killing to stay a step ahead of an investigator (Simon Baker).

It's a violent adaptation of a pulp novel by Jim Thompson with excellent performances by Affleck, Alba and Kate Hudson as Ford's long-suffering - in more ways than one - girlfriend. The extended beatings of both women suggest Winterbottom is trying to put the ''pulp'' back into pulp fiction.

THE English comic Chris Morris goes for laughs about bumbling terrorists in Four Lions, a sometimes savagely funny comedy that emerged as a leading contender in the competition at the Sydney Film Festival over the weekend.