Eric Idle Completely Forgot He’d Written “The Spamalot Diaries” | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend

the thing that's special about the. Spamalot Diaries is when you were. putting Spamalot together and this is. 2004 and you kept a diary of the entire. process of putting it together you then. set the diary aside and I remember going. to your house when you and Tanya were. packing it up to leave to move to to a. different house and in that process you. find the diary that you had forgotten I. had completely forgotten I written it I.

completely forgotten I kept it and I. read it and I gave it to actually. puddles you know puddles his wife to. read and she said this is great and then. I gave to my wife and she said oh this. is fantastic because what's interesting. about a diary is you don't know what's. going to happen you don't know it's. going to be that thing and it's going to. be successful and so it's it's full of. anxieties and arguments and rouss and. and it's the process yes this is what I. love saying about it it's a process not. a miracle there.

this misconception and maybe it's it's. appropriate it should be this way people. love to think they're going to come in. and they see something miraculous and. that it just happened and maybe that's. the way an audience should look at it. but what's amazing is you read through. this diary because I think well oh yeah. spam a lot massive hit sold out. forever um so of. course it just happened you read this. and you you see how much work and. anxiety rewrites and the.

creative. wrestling uh between you and the. director Mike Nichols the famous Mike. Nichols and you have these you have. emails in here you have notes back and. forth there's disagreements with other. you know or sometimes friction with. other pythons and you're you're just. like job you're just going ahead trying. to make this thing happen I think that's.

what's interesting because and I'd. forgotten about it I I was just writing. at the every few days what I was feeling. and so it's just kind of direct form of. honesty and I kept in the routs because. I thought no no people mustn't believe. that the artistic process is just we'll. have a cup of tea and we'll we'll make. this thing there are conflicts people. need to be angry we used to row in. Python about what sort of chair it. should be that's not a funny chair this. is a funny chair no no this is a funny.

chair you know so I I think those those. are important and so I kept here and. particularly the ra early on with Mike. because I thought it was very important. for people to understand that you must. maintain your vision of something if. you're a writer and you're doing a play. and the director doesn't have every say. and fortunately for us we'd been friends. for 15 years you and Mike Nichols I we'. just been Pals we've been on holidays. we' had the best of times been to the.

theater been to places all overseas and. we had never had a cross word and then. suddenly we're working together and it's. a completely different relationship. obviously yes now you're the real you're. that person he's that person and I I I. thought well I'm going to leave that. because I think it's important to know. that people establish who they are and. then they can move forward guess the. part that is most fascinating to me. is the statement that one of the themes. that comes through in the Spamalot.

Diaries and this applies not just to. Spamalot but to Python and I think just. to Comedy and and all work is that. fighting arguing is an essential part of. the process turmoil anxiety is part of. the process and I cannot tell you how. many When someone tells me oh I love to. write I just love writing I think you. must be a terrible. writer because I don't that's not my my. process and my wife is a very good.

writer and she will tell me oh I'm just. I'm I hate it it's miserable and I'll. say right exactly yes that's what it is. that's you know keep going but that's. what it is I think if you're content. with what you're writing you're not be. good I I and almost all great writers. you know I think gram green said he'd. written one or two sentences he was. quite proud of yeah sentences you know I. think I think all writing is like that. because you're trying to capture flies.

in aspic you I mean you it's it's really. a very difficult thing you're doing it's. you're putting down life in these code. 26-letter code yeah how does that. possibly even work yeah and you and how. some people have the gift of making you. just read any sentence about anything. and you just pick up a book and you'll. just read them all the way through. because of the way they write I find. that fascinating I've read a biography. recently there's a wonderful biography. of Mike Nicholls and you find out I mean.

his childhood in his. experience re U fleeing Nazi Germany. Coming to America re kind of remaking. himself he had famously had alopecia he. lost all of his hair all the having to. wear a wig uh not speaking English not. speaking English and he completely. remade himself into the coolest smartest. most Urbane guy doing comedy along with. Elaine May the for the sheer not just.

talent but will to and and the amount of. struggle and pain you have to go through. to remake yourself as Mike Nichols into. that and then I think you yourself we've. talked about it before in the previous. podcast and you've you've been very open. about it you had you have a very. difficult childhood in many. ways yes yes um I think that's an. advantage in art I think um um but.

nobody had as more difficult childhood. as Mike and for me there's a new book. about um the making of Virginia wolf and. which he's in and I'm amazed it's his. first film and he's standing up to Harry. Warner saying no it's going to be in. black and white who's Afraid of Virginia. wolf he he wanted to shoot it in black. and white he's got the two biggest stars. on Earth Richard Burton and Elizabeth. Taylor and um he's a he's a young punk.

who's never directed anything in his. life and he's telling the biggest man in. Show Business to off and so the. balls on that guy absolutely incredible. unbelievable but and it's but it's based. on some kind of his perception of what. should be was really was really pure. right if Mike said something and it you. it wasn't quite right you go oh it's not. quite right I I never had any doubt that. some you know sometimes he would.

he was he was the most fabulous friend. of H he didn't write but he wrote with. you in a sense that he he'd say well we. we need somebody to say say this and. then I say this then and he would. encourage it out of you so that you. wrote better always with him.