# Eric Idle is still looking at the bright side, but is also cranky about some things **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 13, 2024, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-is-still-looking-at-the-bright-side-but-is-also-cranky-about-some-things/997498 "2024-02-13T00:45:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-is-still-looking-at-the-bright-side-but-is-also-cranky-about-some-things/997498/1 "2024-02-13T00:45:49Z")
> **[Eric Idle Rampage: Monty Python Star Takes Shots At John Cleese, Terry...](https://deadline.com/2024/02/eric-idle-monty-python-john-cleese-terry-gilliam-netflix-twitter-x-rant-1235822733/)** > > Eric Idle was on the war path on Twitter/X over the weekend, taking shots at Monty Python chums John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, as well as Netflix. This has been going on for the better part of a week. > “We own everything we ever made in Python and I never dreamed that at this age the income streams would tail off so disastrously. But I guess if you put a Gilliam child in as your manager you should not be so surprised. One Gilliam is bad enough. Two can take out any company.” In his tweets he also takes shots at John Cleese, and my sense is that they are well deserved (including the fact that it was Cleese who fired the prior manager and put Holly Gilliam in charge). He’s still entertaining, though, and positive about many things, and if you have an X account it’s worth following him (and his daughter’. ETA he was still going even when I posted this > > > Henry Madison @RageSheen ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-is-still-looking-at-the-bright-side-but-is-also-cranky-about-some-things/997498/2 "2024-02-13T03:47:11Z")
I can’t remember the last time I saw a Python movie scheduled on cable tv. PBS used to run their tv show over 20 years ago. That must shrink their residuals. I suspect money earned 40 years ago is much smaller compared to successful actors today. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-is-still-looking-at-the-bright-side-but-is-also-cranky-about-some-things/997498/3 "2024-02-13T07:35:51Z")
Netflix carries the movies, but I don’t know how their revenue is worked out. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-is-still-looking-at-the-bright-side-but-is-also-cranky-about-some-things/997498/4 "2024-02-13T12:58:22Z")
If Eric Idle still has to work for a living, a large part of the responsibility for that is on him. I don’t see him acknowledging that. mmm ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-is-still-looking-at-the-bright-side-but-is-also-cranky-about-some-things/997498/5 "2024-02-13T15:51:07Z")
[Eric Idle has been through some shit.](https://time.com/6215318/eric-idle-pancreatic-cancer/) ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-is-still-looking-at-the-bright-side-but-is-also-cranky-about-some-things/997498/6 "2024-02-13T16:03:22Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > If Eric Idle still has to work for a living, a large part of the responsibility for that is on him. I don’t see him acknowledging that. I think it’s pretty reasonable as a Python to assume that decades of income stream won’t suddenly disappear. But I don’t know any details beyond that. > > > Jacob @Perrid13 ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-is-still-looking-at-the-bright-side-but-is-also-cranky-about-some-things/997498/7 "2024-02-13T16:45:35Z")
I suspect the Python collapse has more to do,with a changing society that no longer appreciates their humor. And their best movie, “Life of Brian”, has been pretty much shunned because of political incorrectness. “I want to be Loretta” does not play well any more. Also, so much of Python’s humor was based on lampooning British lifestyles and manners of the 70’s and 80’s. That world no longer exists. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-is-still-looking-at-the-bright-side-but-is-also-cranky-about-some-things/997498/8 "2024-02-13T16:45:48Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > I think it’s pretty reasonable as a Python to assume that decades of income stream won’t suddenly disappear. But I don’t know any details beyond that. That’s not a reasonable assumption for any revenue stream, particularly in entertainment. I doubt that the actors in The Cosby Show expected that their residuals would immediately disappear. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-is-still-looking-at-the-bright-side-but-is-also-cranky-about-some-things/997498/9 "2024-02-13T16:46:47Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I suspect the Python collapse has more to do,with a changing society that no longer appreciates their humor. This too. Their fans are dying off. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-is-still-looking-at-the-bright-side-but-is-also-cranky-about-some-things/997498/10 "2024-02-13T16:52:13Z")
I mean, Spamalot is still hugely successful on Broadway, so clearly there are a few left. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-is-still-looking-at-the-bright-side-but-is-also-cranky-about-some-things/997498/11 "2024-02-13T17:08:32Z")
A few. And fewer each year. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-is-still-looking-at-the-bright-side-but-is-also-cranky-about-some-things/997498/12 "2024-02-13T17:09:43Z")
I’d be curious to see the average age of a Spamalot audience. I suspect it might be like classic rock band audiences - the audience they had when young is still mostly there, but now they have a lot of money. So you pay $500 for an Eagles ticket, and it looks like the money teain will go on forever. But if you look at the audience, it’s full of gray hair. What can’t last, won’t. As boomers die off, a lot of boomer music and comedy will die with them. Some of it will be picked up by younger generations, but comedy rooted in a particular date and time is unlikely to survive. Vaudeville tried to transfer to movies and TV, and a few stars made it for a while, but it died out eventually from irrelevance. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-is-still-looking-at-the-bright-side-but-is-also-cranky-about-some-things/997498/13 "2024-02-13T17:35:09Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > > [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > > > If Eric Idle still has to work for a living, a large part of the responsibility for that is on him. I don’t see him acknowledging that. > > I think it’s pretty reasonable as a Python to assume that decades of income stream won’t suddenly disappear. But I don’t know any details beyond that. I can’t muster much sympathy for him if he failed to plan for himself financially. I do not have to work for a living (any more), and I’m sure I’ve earned a whole lot less than he has in my lifetime. This sounds like I’m bashing him, but I like Idle (and Python). It’s just that his remarks seem to indicate that he bears no responsibility for whatever his current situation is. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-is-still-looking-at-the-bright-side-but-is-also-cranky-about-some-things/997498/14 "2024-02-13T20:01:49Z")
Many Python fans of a certain age probably get their fix from Michael Palin’s and John Cleese’s newer work as well, rather than somehow continuing to re-pay for movies and TV made decades ago. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-is-still-looking-at-the-bright-side-but-is-also-cranky-about-some-things/997498/15 "2024-02-13T20:52:02Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I’d be curious to see the average age of a Spamalot audience. I suspect it might be like classic rock band audiences - the audience they had when young is still mostly there, but now they have a lot of money. So you pay $500 for an Eagles ticket, and it looks like the money teain will go on forever. But if you look at the audience, it’s full of gray hair. What can’t last, won’t. And yet nobody expects the fannish transition. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-is-still-looking-at-the-bright-side-but-is-also-cranky-about-some-things/997498/16 "2024-02-13T21:10:45Z")
Nicely done. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2024, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-is-still-looking-at-the-bright-side-but-is-also-cranky-about-some-things/997498/17 "2024-02-14T15:28:16Z")
Yep. I think part of his problem is that while John Cleese has had a pretty robust post-_Python_ career, and Michael Palin has basically branched out into being a sort of TV presenter/travel show host, it looks like Idle went into less lucrative work like cartoon voice work and clever songwriting. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2024, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-is-still-looking-at-the-bright-side-but-is-also-cranky-about-some-things/997498/18 "2024-02-14T15:44:07Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I think part of his problem is that while John Cleese has had a pretty robust post-_Python_ career, and Michael Palin has basically branched out into being a sort of TV presenter/travel show host, it looks like Idle went into less lucrative work like cartoon voice work and clever songwriting. I haven’t researched this, but I seem to recall Cleese has worked as hard as he has at least in part to finance his several divorces. Robust career, yes. But I’m not sure how much he’s enjoyed it. And I read not long ago that Idle is actually the wealthiest of the Pythons because of his leading the efforts on Spamalot (the Broadway show, I don’t know about the upcoming film), the live shows they put together ten years ago and music royalties for songs he’s written. Up-thread someone mentioned Life of Brian’s reputation suffering from political correctness. I don’t really see it. The film certainly had its detractors when it came out, but those attacks were largely from offended religious people (who often hadn’t seen it). Again, I’ve done no research, but I think it stands as a wonderful critique of organized religion. I talk about the Pythons and their films with a lot of people, and I’ve never heard a critique from the standpoint of political correctness. Maybe you wouldn’t show it to a young kid because there’s full frontal nudity. But apart from that, I even know a public school language teacher who shows the “Latin lesson” scene between Cleese and Chapman in her classes. I’m reminded of how we often hear movies like Blazing Saddles “couldn’t get made today”. I’m pretty dismissive of such assertions. It used the N word a lot, yes - mostly to highlight the idiotic racists using the word who were portrayed as bumbling, brainless twits. Yet Django Unchained got made not long ago. Very different film, of course. Could someone make a similarly irreverent film today? I think so, yes. Maybe not of the same quality. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2024, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-is-still-looking-at-the-bright-side-but-is-also-cranky-about-some-things/997498/19 "2024-02-14T16:50:18Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > Up-thread someone mentioned Life of Brian’s reputation suffering from political correctness. I don’t really see it The allusion apparently is to a number of specific gags: 1. The recurring one about “but we recognize his (OR HER) right to WANT (OR not want) to have a baby” with Idle’s trans character and Cleese’s reaction to it. (Allegedly transphobic, I suppose. ) 2. “Sure, but BESIDES the roads, aqueducts, post office, law courts, sanitation, etc., what have the Romans done for us?” — (allegedly an apology for colonialism?) 3. The ridiculing of “Liberation Movements” in general. As mentioned, this seems to be a reprise of the whole “you could not make Blazing Saddles again” fallacy — as if _those_ signs of their time were the point of the work. But really, I have heard little if anything like that about Life of Brian. I suppose in 5 years when **it** turns 50 we may hear more of that. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2024, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-is-still-looking-at-the-bright-side-but-is-also-cranky-about-some-things/997498/20 "2024-02-14T17:49:15Z")
Couldn’t make it today? It darn near didn’t get made then. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-is-still-looking-at-the-bright-side-but-is-also-cranky-about-some-things/997498.md?page=2)