News that members of Monty Python would be re-united for 'A Liar's Autobiography' made global headlines around the world in June 2011. The exclusive announcement was in the New York Times (see link on front page), and was followed up by BBC News, Telegraph, Guardian and dozens of others.
Below are links to a small selection:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/jun/28/monty-python-graham-chapman-3d-film
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13939238
"This insanely entertaining animated biopic ... Predictably hilarious, A Liar's Autobiography is a wonderfully inventive tribute to one of the great comic minds of the twentieth century." - TIFF Official Brochure
"This hugely ambitious attempt to animate Chapman's hilarious cod life story succeeds not only in capturing the sprawling nature of the original, but also manages to feature some rare insight into Chapman's life between the tale's surreal flights of fancy. - London Film Festival Official Brochure
"A swirling surreal animated romp through the life - real and imaginary - of Monty Python member Graham Chapman, this blissfully odd merging of a splendid variety of animation styles is a unique tribute to the man himself ... and probably just how he would like to have been remembered - beguiling, complex, irreverent, charming and rather funny." - ScreenDaily
"A stupendously odd and entertaining 3D animated film ... an enthralling artistic achievement." IonCinema
“The film captivates the viewer with its dazzling visuals, which are, however, not and end in itself, but are instead intrinsically tied to the story and convey its essence perfectly” Jury of the Planete Doc Film Festival in Poland, awarding A Liar's Autobiography with Best Art prize.
"The best film I've been in since I died." - Graham Chapman
PRESS COMMENT ON SOME OF JEFF'S TV PROGRAMMES.
WHEN MOYLES MET THE RADIO 1 BREAKFAST DJS. May 9 2010
Radio Times Pick of the Day - "In this cheerful twirl through the Radio 1 Breakfast Show presenters, Moyles meets his spangly predecessors ... A highly entertaining canter through some of the broadcasting giants who've hosted the show."
MEET THE BRITISH – Radio Times Choice for June 2, 2009, BBC Four
“Producer Jeff Simpson has chanced upon a trove of archive material that is by turns hilarious and hideous. From the 1950s to the 80s, the Government produced dozens of short films promoting Britain to foreign audiences. Caravan rallies, Wurlitzers, asbestos spray, foil-wrapped babies, and a young Roger Cook modelling an electrical anorak are among the treats that should have you chortling with mirth and horror. I lost count of the times my jaw dropped at the parade of dire fashions, alarming hairdos and unbridled sexism. Enjoy!"
Independent: 3 June 09: Meet the British was delicious, a compilation of gevernment-sponsored promotional films, which presented Britian as an idyll where busses 'are always punctual', where London cabbies are 'cheerful', and the British policeman is 'a friend to all except the criminal'. Also, a country where an astounding number of yougn women seemed to chose bikinis as everyday wear.
RADIO TIMES, 12 APRIL 2008 - Letters page
'CLOSE FRIENDS ONLY' I'm in shock! I've just seend a documentary about someone in the entertainment industry that obtained comments only from people who actually knew or worked with the person being profiled! Congratulations to the makers of 'Marty Feldman - Six Degrees of Separation' for a creative, well-researched and involving documentary on a great comedian and writer who seems to have been forgotten in recent years. And not a current comedian or journalist in sight!
TIMES, 31 MARCH 08 - TV preview
... This affectionate biography reminds us of this rather forgotten talent, picking its way through his radio and screen appearances up to his fatal heart attack in 1982, at the young age of 48.
OBSESRVER, 30 MARCH 08 - TV preview
... Nowadays, as this programme argues, he's one of the 'forgotten greats' of British comedy'. ...
DAILY MAIL, 28 MARCH 08 - Feature article by Jeff Simpson
If Marty Feldman is remembered at all, it's as a footnote in the history of British comedy's most creative period in the 60s and 70s. A new TV film by documentary maker JEFF SIMPSON tells the story of Feldman's rise to fame - and argues that he should be recognised as a true comedy legend...
RADIO TIMES, 31 MARCH 08 - TV Page and Today's Choices
At last, a tribute to a long-neglected talent. Producer Jeff Simpson has assembled some real comedy powerhouses as contributors - John Cleese, Michael Palin, Gene Wilder - who all worked with, and thought the world of, Marty Feldman. .... This admirable, hugely entertaining biography should give him the recognition he so richly deserves.
RADIO TIMES, 2 JANUARY 2008 - TV Choices
(ALL ABOUT THUNDERBIRDS) ...a sparkling documentary reminding us of the Andersons' knack for firing young imaginations....
RADIO TIMES, 28 DECEMBER 2007 - TV Choices
(STORY OF STRICTLY) ... essential viewing for all Strictly fans as it traces the show's history from postwar Britain, through its heyday ... to its latest incarnation.
RADIO TIMES - TV previews for 'Girls and Boys', BBC Two
This is a joyful, knowledgeable and thrill-packed series looking at the cultural revolution triggered by pop music and sex. .... The great thing about 'Girls and Boys' is that it's packed with excellent talking heads, not the pack of dreary hacks who're usually wheeled out for this kind of thing. .... "It was a little hard getting artists to understand what we were on about," says Jeff Simpson, director of tonight's episode. "They've been pestered to death to take part in Top Ten this, that or the other shows, and there have been so many of these awful list programmes that, in my view, the whole currency of music documentary has been undermined. So the job was to explain to artists that this was not only about musical history, but also social history."