John Cleese denies that a scene from “Life of Brian” in which a man claims he has the right to procreate will be censored

A warning that the ability of men to give birth cannot be joked with by actors of the acting version Brian’s lifewon’t finally get John Cleese, one of the founders of Monty Python, to remove a well-known scene from the original screenplay, as reported by several British media outlets, and then picked up by communicators around the world. John Cleese himself denied it, stating that it was purely unverified information.

The former member of Monty Python, screenwriter and interpreter of the film, and now in charge of the theatrical adaptation, repeated that he has no intention of changing anything and explained where they came from fake news. Namely, everything came from a conversation he had a few days ago on the outskirts of London. “I told them [a los asistentes] that I was adapting Brian’s life to the theater […]and I told them we had first reading of the draft a year ago,” Cleese explained via Twitter, “and all the actors […] I was strongly advised cut scene of Loretta». A warning that fell on deaf ears. “I have no intention of doing that,” he said to settle the matter.

The problem arose after that Cleese lecture. “Someone from the audience called a journalist and misquoted me,” he explains, before blaming the journalists for taking the information as true without even checking it with him: “Surprisingly, none of the British media called me to check“, Mint.

..and that all the actors – some of them Tony winners – strongly advised me to cut the Loretta scene.

Of course, I have no intention of doing that

So someone in the audience called a reporter and misreported me. Strangely, none of the British media called to check

—John Cleese (@JohnCleese) May 25, 2023

Brian’s life is a satire of the New Testament, politics and much more, which tells the story of a resident of Judea, the son of a mother who was raped by a Roman legionnaire, whom the population confuses with the promised messiah. With his comrades from the Judean People’s Front, however, he participates in the rebellion against the Roman power led by stammers Pilate.

At one point, the militant Stan, played by Eric Idle, He announces that he wants to have children. and that from that day on they call her Loreta. The leader of the FPJ, Reg, played by Cleese, interrupts a session of dissing the other resistance factions, to tell Stan that he can’t have children because he doesn’t have a uterus. The commando members decide to support Stan’s right to have children in any case.

Initial reports said John Cleese, 83, said they were actors they refused to represent scene in the theatrical version Brian’s lifewhich will be presented on the London stage in the second half of 2025, although he was actually only warned.

blasphemers

During his conference, Cleese showed, as written by the British media, his amazement at the care taken by the actors to portray the scene in which Loreta comes out of the closet. “There were no complaints for 40 years”he told the audience. – And now, suddenly, we can’t because we would offend someone. Then he pointed out that in Brian’s life “There are many things that are strangely predictive of what will happen later.”

By the way, the premiere of the film was already surrounded by controversies. Production company EMI withdrawn from production two days before the start of filming. But Beatle George Harrison, a fan of Python, financed the production and saved the project. There was self-censorship in the recording so as not to offend Jews and to prevent distribution in the US. Its broadcast was banned in Italy, Norway, and there were protests in cinemas that showed it.

This, in fact, was just recognized by John Cleese himself this Thursday controversies often generate great publicity films and plays, as happened with the original film. “Producers are like scaredy cats, not remembering that the protests in New York back then meant we didn’t need advertising,” he explained. “Will Monty Python fans stop coming because we’re doing a scene they’ve been laughing at for 40 years?” he asks rhetorically.