Fawlty Towers creator, John Cleese, gives advice to wannabe

[Digmen1]

Yes its that old story.

10% talent and 90% luck (right place at the right time)

[ilovewombles]

if john cleese n ricky gervais were in a room with my id lick their salty balls, fucking heros

[Riotnz]

Damn straight they are some of the funniest actors I've ever seen.

[chibago1]

'What's wrong with being elitest?' ?? You must be a Liberal or Demo. If you believe in art for its own sake and don't seek government handouts to pursue your hobby then there is nothing wrong with that type of elitism. But most films, music etc have to get support from the market and the ticket buying public is in my opinion the most expert art critic. Furthermore he is saying 'something should succeed if it is critically acclaimed'. Himself defining success by ticket sales.

[nicck]

I'd understand this discussion on some kind of political video, but not a video of a british comedy actor,

Nobody cares.

[taxmonkey123]

By your logic 50 cents is one of the greatest musicians of the current age, and Avatar is the greatest accomplishment in the history cinema. The masses don't know shit about the arts.

[acrobaticaromatic]

@taxmonkey123 Yes! I tell people the exact same thing! It's nice, kind of validating to see others coming in with the same opinions and thoughts as oneself. If something appeals to the masses then it means it's safe, and boring, with nothing truly exceptional about it, which is how it appeals to such a big audience. True, honest art always finds smaller audiences, and that's because it is unique and it resonates with people who share some of it's sensibilities.

[acrobaticaromatic]

@taxmonkey123 but in the case of things like Fawlty Towers, they start with small audiences, and with minor critical support, and then the masses -after being told so many times that something is good - will come to the same conclusion, basically because, in a way, they've been told to. So while Fawlty Towers has millions and millions of fans worldwide, I wonder how many are truly appreciative of how good it is, and how many people just watch it because it's so often mentioned as being great.

[Kalleesto]

@chibago1

"... the ticket buying public is in my opinion the most expert art critic."

You cannot possibly be serious ... !

By that logic, Britney Spears is the artistic genius of the century with Paris Hilton running a close second.

Clearly, you have not thought this through ... >.>

[simonbath]

listening to cleese chatting reminds me of pete townshend.

[CharlieChan007]

"I like Cleese but his assertion that if something is critically acclaimed it deserves to be successful is elitest."

What's wrong with being elitist?

[godverdegodverdomme]

"I like Cleese but his assertion that if something is critically acclaimed it deserves to be successful is elitest."

Elitist or not, that assertion is still correct.

Unintelligent people are slandering art left

and right, and they suck for it.

[chibago1]

I like Cleese but his assertion that if something is critically acclaimed it deserves to be successful is elitest. Let the critics buy the tickets if they like it so much. How many of them would attend then?? BTW I'm 145.

[thelawtman]

i am 144

[owenhunt]

105th lololololoolllolloll ahaha! Yes!

[madsted012]

i am the 94th lol

[snapshotofharlech]

and im the second LOL.

[drmop2]

iam the 1st person 2 watch this.. XD