The Seventh Python movie and two-thirds of The Hudson Brothers combine for a historic evening at The Comedy Shrine

The Comedy Shrine in Naperville, Illinois was the center of the show business universe last night with a screening of The Seventh Python and a performance by its producer Brett Hudson and brother Mark Hudson in a special evening outside Chicago.

Frozen Pictures' acclaimed, award-winning film about Monty Python cohort Neil Innes made its fourth Chicago area appearance at the legendary comedy club and museum, while the Hudson brothers took time from their fan-flocked weekend at the Fest for Beatles Fans at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare.

The crowd of comedy and music fans gave a rousing reception to both segments of the evening. A delay in getting the Hudsons from the Beatlefest to the club was covered by a raffle and a Q&A by Seventh director Burt Kearns that began to reach its stretching point around the time he played the audience music from his iPhone to explain Frozen Pictures' new film about Chris Montez (which will be previewed at noon today at The Fest for Beatles Fans).


It was generally agreed that the Hudsons were hilarious, working off Mark Hudson's solo show material that was highlighted by his story of a Hudson Brothers song about Joni Mitchell whose trajectory to hit status was derailed by the line, "Joni, I want you to blow me..." The fact that the next phrase was "blow me a kiss..." didn't matter.


The Comedy Shrine, with its extensive comedy collection (just about every inch of the 4800 square-foot place is filled with comedy memorabilia), is one of the most unique attractions in all of America. Located in an upscale minimall in downtown Naperville, the pop culture treasure is the brainchild and labour of love of veteran comedian and Emmy winner Dave Sinker, a longtime friend of the Hudsons.

Dave Sinker in his Comedy Shrine

More on The Comedy Shrine to come...

The Seventh Python returns to Chicago! One night only! The Comedy Shrine! With special performance by Mark & Brett Hudson! Friday, August 14th!

So what is it with The Seventh Python and Chicago? The veddy-Anglocentric award-winning nonfiction feature about the veddy-British musical satirist, rock 'n' roll legend and Monty Python compatriot Neil Innes from our pals at Frozen Pictures returns to the Chicago area on Friday, August 14th, with a one-night-only screening and (two-thirds) Hudson Brothers performance at The Comedy Shrine.

The announcement is great news for comedy and Monty Python fans... but begs the question why, after entertaining audiences and winning standing ovations around the world-- from Perth, Australia to the New Jersey Meadowlands-- The Seventh Python keeps returning to the City of Big Shoulders in the American Heartland?

Since the film's premiere at the American Cinematheque's Mods & Rockers Film Festival in Hollywood, it's played at:

The Chicago Fest for Beatles Fans...

The Chicago International Movies & Music Festival...

The Wilmette Theatre...

and now...

The Comedy Shrine
22 E. Chicago Avenue
Naperville, Illinois
630.355.2844

So what's the secret to Chicago?


"The secret to Chicago is-- there is no secret," says Seventh Python director Burt Kearns. "Chicago is a comedy capital. They've got The Second City there, but also universities, where some of the finest comics and comedy writers were schooled. There are a lot of comedy legends in and around Chicago."

One of those legends is Dave Sinker. The longtime Hudson buddy, Emmy-winning writer and Second City veteran runs The Comedy Shrine, and came up with the idea of bringing back The Seventh Python for a return engagement.

The Friday evening show on Chicago Avenue in Naperville is set to begin with a screening of the hilarious film starring John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Aimee Mann, Matt Groening and many others, followed by a special performance by Brett and Mark Hudson (they'll arrive after they appear at The Fest for Beatles Fans at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare). Brett produced the film. Mark, the noted music producer and performer, was music supervisor.

Click here for tickets. Arrive early so you'll have some time to check out the extensive comedy memorabilia collection. They don't call it The Comedy Shrine for nothing.

"Multitalented, ever-clever, never going to be halftime at the Super Bowl": Chicago Tribune features The Seventh Python

A week ago, we featured pictures from a Chicago Tribune photo shoot featuring music and comedy legend Neil Innes, star of The Seventh Python, the nonfiction musical feature film from our pals at Frozen Pictures. The session was part of a media blitz surrounding the historic Innes concert and film screening at the Wilmette Theatre on June 9th, and accompanied an interview with Innes by Tribune writer Marc Caro.

The feature runs in today's issue of the Trib (which has already called the film "magical, mysterious, whimsical, hysterical!"), a little late for the Wilmette show but just in time for The Seventh Python's pair of showings at the Revelation Perth International Film Festival July 4th and 10th:

Chicago Tribune 'Seventh Python' has been making his mark for more than four decades But Neil Innes is far from a household name By Mark Caro, Tribune reporter June 21, 2009 Neil Innes was browsing the stacks at Vintage Vinyl in Evanston when the clerk brought over copies of several albums by Innes' anarchic '60s jazz/rock/comedy collective, the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. The records were priced at $50 apiece, prompting the 64-year-old British singer/songwriter/pianist/guitarist to marvel, "Is that what they are? Hmm. Well, good luck." He thought about autographing them, then reconsidered: "It would probably devalue it if I signed." He inspected the back cover of "Gorilla," the Bonzos' 1967 debut album, on which was listed a song called "Death Cab for Cutie." "That came from an American crime magazine which I found in Deptford Street Market [in London]," Innes recalled. "It was this lurid cover; it said, 'Death Cab for Cutie.' " Paul McCartney liked the song so much that he tapped the Bonzos to perform it in the Beatles' rambling TV movie "Magical Mystery Tour." A Seattle-area rock band subsequently took the song title as its own name and became so popular that the phrase's origins have become all but forgotten. So it goes for the multitalented, ever-clever Innes, who has been making his mark for more than four decades without ever becoming a household name. "I'm never going to be halftime at the Super Bowl," he dryly acknowledged. The Bonzos had one British hit, Innes' jokey-folky "I'm the Urban Spaceman" (produced by McCartney under the name Apollo C. Vermouth), and appeared regularly on the madcap British TV series "Do Not Adjust Your Set," which featured future Monty Pythonites Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. But the band never exceeded cult status, particularly in the U.S. Innes wound up providing musical contributions to "Monty Python's Flying Circus" and the movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" (1975). He's the minstrel singing about Brave Sir Robin, and he's also a peasant who gets crushed by a gigantic wooden rabbit. His impact on the troupe was such that Terry Gilliam dubbed him "The Seventh Python," also the name of Burt Kearns' documentary that brought Innes to town earlier this month for a screening and performance at the Wilmette Theatre. Post-Python, Innes and Idle created the Rutles, a Beatles parody group that debuted on the duo's British TV series "Rutland Weekend Television" before starring in their own 1978 NBC television special "All You Need Is Cash." It was the week's lowest-rated show among the major networks yet provided the "mockumentary" template for "This Is Spinal Tap" (1984) while sustaining a steady level of belovedness among Beatles and Python fans. Innes eventually spun off a second Rutles album without Idle in 1996 ("Archaeology"), and a solo Idle cobbled together a rather lame Rutles follow-up film in 2005 (the straight-to-DVD "Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch"). When Innes performed a solo show in Los Angeles in 2003, "The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening was among those who showed up to pay their respects, and Kearns started work on "The Seventh Python." Innes now has more paunch and less hair than when he played the John Lennon doppelganger Ron Nasty, but he's in anything but a retiring mood. His one-man show, which he performed at the Abbey Pub and again in part at the Wilmette, is called "A People's Guide to World Domination," a decades-spanning collection of his songs around which he wraps his theme "that the individual is being wiped out by the mass media." In typically cheeky fashion, the show climaxes with Innes leading a mock march in which he swears in the audience as "Ego Warriors," whose salute is the familiar thumb-to-the-nose gesture. Innes is eager for 2010 to arrive because that's when his current publishing deal expires, and he's so miffed at its terms that he's waiting till then to release any new music. "When we did the second Rutles album, I was naive enough to think if I paid a lawyer, that that lawyer would represent my best interests," he said, bursting into laughter. "No! How stupid could you get? "I am off the hook on Jan. 1 of next year, so I will be actually doing more, being a bit more prolific. I'm just so fed up with being burgled. At the age of 65, I shall be free, so I should become a complete fame slut now." By this point Innes was sitting outside with former Hudson Brother (and "Seventh Python" co-producer and co-writer) Brett Hudson at Argo Tea down the street from Vintage Vinyl. Neither of these two veterans was pining for the good ol' days or lamenting the demise of a record industry devoted to producing physical products. "Quite frankly, I'm glad that part is gone," Innes said. "In many ways, what's the difference for people like me and Brett? They took all the money then." The two of them laughed. "I'm glad that the record business has changed and isn't what it was," Hudson said. "Because now we have a chance to make some money." "It's gone full circle back to Woody Guthrie," Innes said. "You're absolutely right," Hudson said. "And, hello, we can get on street corners and say what's what," Innes said. "You're right," Hudson said. "Woody Guthrie. We can come back. It's true." Innes laughed. "This era is our era." mcaro@tribune.com Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune

What a night! Neil Innes and The Seventh Python make comedy history at the Wilmette Theatre

They laughed. They cheered. They sang along. They got free movie posters! And for four hours last night, the crowd that packed into the historic Wilmette Theatre in suburban Chicago were at the center of the rock, pop, comedy and movie universe as Neil Innes brought his live show to the Wilmette stage, along with a command screening of The Seventh Python, the movie about his life and work.

The Wilmette's Nili Yelin Wronski introduces MC and comedy legend Tim Kazurinsky

And what a show. A crowd mixed equally with Innes aficionados and curious movie buffs welcomed the Monty Python collaborator and roared with laughter as he recounted stories of his work in the rock music legends, brought his own legend up to date with biting, witty songs that took hits at mass media and corporate culture, and performed treats like "Run Away," a rare call-and-response outtake from Monty Python & The Holy Grail, and his new "Imitation Song," the "final" offering from his Rutles alter ego, Ron Nasty.

After the film and a brief intermission, Innes joined producer Brett Hudson, director Burt Kearns, and Monty Python historian Howard Johnson in a lively panel discussion with questions field from the audience by local comedy hero and Saturday Night Live veteran Tim Kazurinsky.

Neil Innes spent more than an hour after the show signing posters and memorabilia for a long line of fans

Exclusive! Neil Innes at soundcheck

The evening, organized by Wilmette Theatre publicity whiz Nili Yelin Wronski, certainly cemented The Mette's reputation as a cultural hotspot and a center of Chicago's movie and music scene.

Next stop for Innes is Thursday's launch of the Secret Policeman's Film Festival at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.



The Seventh Python heads to the Revelation Perth International Film Festival in Perth Australia on July 4th and 10th.

(Tabloid Baby's Sam Peters, who arrived late to the show because of a "bad oyster" (!), adds: "The Wilmette Theatre is a splendid place, full of interesting artistic folks, with a top concession stand and ample parking! A tip of the Tabloid Baby hat to owner and gracious host Sam Samuelson, comedy giant Tim Kazurinsky, projectionist Chad Byers, and ace publicist, organizer and go-to gal, Nili Yelin!")

Video: Brett Hudson on the TV show Extra, talking about Farrah Fawcett, cancer, alternative answers and The Klinik movie

Brett Hudson's Beatles Fest cancer remarks spark international response, makings of a movement

Brett Hudson's surprise, emotional discourse on his fight against cancer last weekend at the NY Metro Fest for Beatles Fans continues to resonate throughout the world, as hundreds of victims, relatives, professionals and fans have contacted him and his related businesses, offering to help his cause.

The popstar-turned-producer was at The Beatles Fest to perform and meet fan in his role as a former member of The Hudson Brothers, as well as to present The Seventh Python, the Neil Innes biopic he produced with his Frozen Pictures. It was during a Q&A on the making of the film that he announced Frozen's next project is The Klinik, a film that uses his own battle against throat cancer-- and his treatment at alternative treatment centers in Germany-- as a starting point for revealing alternative and experimental treatments and therapies, and exposing the American medical system that denies patients such protocols.


Hudson's remarks-- and his announcement that he's starting a foundation to give others access to the choices-- sent an electric jolt-- and a bracing shot of reality-- through the fan convention, that drew thousands to celebrate the music and legacy of The Beatles. As word spread through the Crowne Plaza Hotel and beyond, it's generated offers of donations and thousands of hits on The Klinik website, where "Brett's Blog" (currently down for maintenance) has already been a major gathering point.

"It was great to see you in Jersey! I'm so happy to see you filled with energy and enthusiasm. It was also great to hear you talk about your fight against throat cancer and how you have become a survivor. People have to be aware of their options, not just the ones offered by their American doctors. If you decide to document your crusade against cancer and would like any assistance with videotaping or video editing, do not hesitate to contact me..."

"you are truly an amazing man........ BLESS YOU"


The sole negative reaction was recorded hours after Hudson's lecture, by an attendee who wrote on The Examiner website:

"...Hudson spent a goodly amount of his Sunday forum session... sharing his stories of cancer survival and his battles with the U.S. healthcare system. Without sounding unsympathetic to his personal plight, it was an inappropriate diversion from the festivities to say the very least."

Occasional Tabloid Baby contributor Sam Peters, who attended the forum session and sent us the earliest, excited reports about the positive response, reacted this morning:

"The guy what wrote that? I heard Neil Innes sing his theme song when they showed The Seventh Python: How Sweet To Be An Idiot!" Peters told us when roused this morning. "Here's a little tip to that schnook. Don't write about things you're not smart enough to comprehend. I was there and Hudson's talk was a lot more appropriate than playing Cars songs on the ukulele-- no offense to the great musician Gregg Hawkes who did so. Cancer has killed as many Beatles as crazed gunmen. George Harrison died of the same cancer that Hudson's beat. Paul McCartney would never have got tied up with that one-legged ex-hooker if his beloved Linda hadn't died of cancer. Ringo's ex died of leukemia.

"You think that was inappropriate? Hudson made the Beatles Fest relevant to today. The guy that wrote that? I know where his head is. And he should get a little help from his friends to pull it out!"

Whew. Then there were the notes of support:

"I can honestly say that I would not be here today had I not had the escape that was The Hudson Brothers...My daughter is healthy and happy...I am physically healthy and have insurance that is so far cooperating with helping me stay emotionally healthy. I am not only inspired by your strength and fortitude, but I am inspired by the countless Americans who have to endure the sub-par medical care we have in our country. You are right, politicians and government cannot fix this FUBAR system... we have to do it... I will join any group, write to any congressman and do whatever I can in my power to make sure everyone and their brother sees the klinik movie so change can start to happen. When your movie is complete and people start to see it there will be a revolution. Bravo! If I can help in getting even one more person to see it then might not have, then I will be on my way to paying my debt to you..."

"I hope all is well with you, and that you are on your way to feeling more energetic and healthy. Your blogs happen to be in perfect timing with what I am teaching in Pharmacology. I just finished discussing the fentanyl 'transmucosal' narcotics (lollipops!). I hope you don't mind, but I showed the students the photo of your neck, and the images of you in the mask. I heard a couple of audible gasps when I showed the photos..."

"YOU AMAZE ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow, Brett, I can hardly believe that you were at the NY Beatles Fest. Wow! You are a 'soldier/trooper' for sure! I viewed many of the pics, videos, your blog, the Tabloid Baby write-up that you had, and was so proud of you for speaking up for what you believe in!! So good to see your SMILING FACE. Brother, I don't know how you have done it and continue to do it! You are ONE SPECIAL PERSON!"

"There seem to be so many people that have no integrity, have no conscience, have no heart and will lie as they are looking right at you. Then you meet people or others you know do something so good and sometimes so unexpected that it somehow makes it all okay. Those moments bring tears of gratitude to my eyes..."

Reached this morning, Hudson confirms that he's been "overwhelmed" by responses on various platforms including Facebook, MySpace, websites, email and telephone.

"All the personal praise is very flattering-- but this is not about me," he again insisted. "This is about saving lives and giving people who need financial help the same opportunity I had. Giving them the opportunity to go where they they will get the best treatment for their illness. I'll get the word out when the time's right to support this cause-- if not by donation but in their hearts.

"Most important: speak out! It's also important to simply spread the word!"

Brett Hudson stuns, inspires crowd at Fest for Beatles Fans, announces plans for cancer film, foundation project

A routine question-and-answer session about the making of The Seventh Python turned into a newsmaking and emotional highlight of The NY Metro Fest for Beatles Fans this afternoon, when producer Brett Hudson broke from the script to deliver a broadside against the American medical establishment and a call to arms in the fight against cancer.

The Seventies pop star-turned-Hollywood writer and producer, who's been performing at the Fest with his brother Mark Hudson, has received international attention and kudos since it was revealed early last year that he was battling throat cancer and had succeeded against great odds thanks to state-of-the-art treatment not widely available in the United States. His advocacy of other cancer patients and the crucial importance of individual determination of treatment and a positive attitude, displayed on a widely-circulated blog, has attracted a worldwide following and given Hudson a new mission that he pushed to the forefont today.

Well-attended

Hudson had earlier introduced The Seventh Python with director Burt Kearns and star Neil Innes at a well-attended afternoon screening, and had rushed from an autograph session to join Kearns was onstage at the Crystal Ballroom to discuss the making of the film.


The discussion had led to future Frozen Pictures projects, including a Hudson Brothers reunion and a film about Sixties rocker Chris Montez, when Hudson stopped the session to bring up the project that has been foremost on the Frozen Pictures agenda.

"On August 27, 2007, I was diagnosed with Stage 4 throat cancer. My doctors told me to get my affairs in order and that I wouldn't survive six months. I proved them wrong.

"I was headed toward a morbid operation to remove my larynx when my dear friend Cher, whom I've known for 35 years, led me to a doctor in Germany, and today I don't have cancer.


"Bottom line: You go to Germany, they'll cure your cancer. You stay in America, they'll cure you if you survive the treatment."

Help!

The crowd, there to hear the dishy show business behind the scenes stories and scandals, wastransfixed as Hudson, wrapped in a scarf that many assumed was worn in homage to the skiing sequence in Help! but which he explained he wore to protect his radiation-scarred neck from sunlight, took them down a dark alley that each and every one could relate to. He explained that Frozen Pictures is already at work producing a nonfiction film called The Klinik, which uses his own experience as the jumping-off point for a larger-themed story about innovations and obstacles in cancer treatment.

"I don't care if you see the film or buy the DVD, but go to the website The Klinik Movie dot com, Klinik spelled 'k-l-in-i-k' and spread the word."

Farrah

Hudson then detailed some of the most intimate details of his illness, spoke movingly about others who've sought him out for help and amazed the crowd as he told of the state-of-the art treatments that removed 14 tumours from Farrah Fawcett's liver-- not to mention his own throat cancer.

After revealing that his treatment has cost him more than $400,000-- despite insurance-- he broke the big news:

Foundation

"I will take my fee for this film-- with the exception of the Writers Guild payment, because I need their insurance, which is great-- and I will use it to start a foundation. I'm not going to put my name on it, I don't need that. I'm going to use it to help people who can't afford to get treatment. The way it is now, if you've got the money you can live, if you don't have money, you don't have the choice. I want to pay for transportation to treatment centers, for medicine. I want people to have the same choices I have."

(clockwise from top: Greg Hawkes, Martin Lewis,

Earl Slick, Brett Hudson, Neil Innes, Mark Hudson)